Events

Co-sponsored Event

The Billionaire Tax: California Decides

Monday, Oct. 26, 2026 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | In-Person Only

Proposition 40, the California Billionaire Tax Act, is on the ballot this November. Join us as we learn about the proposals on the ballot, including Prop. 40 and related Propositions 41 and 42. Professor Darien Shanske will provide insight into the initiative drafting process. Professor Vik Amar will discuss the initiative system, its challenges, and the opportunities it provides for California voters. 

Darien Shanske is Martin Luther King Jr. Professor of Law at King Hall. An expert on taxation, local government law, public finance, and political theory, he takes an exceptionally long view of jurisprudence, informed by his scholarship on ancient Athens. Prior to becoming a professor, he worked as a financial consultant to California local governments and as an attorney in the public finance department of Sidley Austin in San Francisco before clerking for Judge Pierre N. Leval of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Some of his current projects are on the local property tax, the state and local fiscal relationship, the fiscal constitution of California, and the role of reciprocity in Aristotle.

Vikram D. Amar is Daniel J. Dykstra Distinguished Professor of Law at King Hall. He is one of the most respected, and most frequently cited, authorities on constitutional law, federal courts, and civil procedure. In addition to co-authoring leading textbooks on constitutional law, federal practice and procedure, and civil procedure, he has published more than 60 articles in leading law reviews and frequently comments for the media. He served as Dean and Iwan Foundation Professor of Law at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign College of Law for eight years. Before that, he was a King Hall professor and Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. He clerked for Judge William A. Norris of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and for Justice Harry A. Blackmun of the United States Supreme Court.

Lunch provided. Sponsored by the UC Davis Labor and Community Center and the Aoki Center on Race and Nation Studies.

Critical Perspectives on 1L Courses

Professor John Hunt, Contracts

Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1002 | Streaming Link

Lunch provided.

Racial Justice Speaker Series

Defending the Mentally Ill: Litigating Competency, Intent, and Insanity in the Case of People v. Carlos Reales Dominguez

Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1301 | MCLE Credits Available | No Registration Fee | Streaming Link

In 2023, the Davis community was horrified by a series of tragic stabbings that left two men dead and a woman in critical condition. Police arrested 21-year-old Carlos Reales Dominguez, recently dismissed as a UC Davis undergrad and experiencing undiagnosed schizophrenia.

Yolo County Deputy Public Defender Dan Hutchinson ’04 will discuss his three years defending Reales Dominguez through all the complexities of litigating competency, intent, and insanity. Hutchinson has conducted more than 60 jury trials, including four murder trials. He was named 2026 California Public Defender’s Association (CPDA) Defender of the Year for his office’s representation of Reales Dominguez during the initial criminal trial.

Hutchinson graduated Order of the Coif from UC Davis Law in 2004. In law school, he interned with the Yolo County Public Defender’s Office. After graduating, he clerked for United States District Judge Margaret M. Morrow. He returned to Yolo County in 2006 after eight months at the Riverside County Public Defender’s Office. He currently supervises the misdemeanor unit, training and supervising new attorneys and law student interns.

Lunch provided.

Critical Perspectives on 1L Courses

Professor Stacy-Ann Elvy, Civil Procedure

Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026 | 12 – 1 p.m. | King Hall, Room 1002 | Streaming Link

Lunch provided.