News

Professor Lisa Pruitt appeared on the May 8 episode of KDVS’ Office Hour podcast hosted by UC Davis Professor of Religious Studies and Undergraduate Faculty Advisor Naomi Janowitz.

Professor David Horton spoke before the California Senate Judiciary Committee on April 22 in support of Senate Bill 82, which bans “infinite” arbitration clauses.

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to the BBC for a May 5 report on President Donald Trump’s claims that he is directing his administration to reopen Alcatraz, the notorious Bay Area prison turned successful tourist destination.

Chin said it would be prohibitively expensive to return the federal prison to functioning order, and noted that Trump does not need the space, since the prison system is down 25% from its peak population.

Professor Kevin R. Johnson appeared on the first episode of Radio Pacific – a new monthly show from Bay Area public radio station KALW.

Johnson spoke to host Eli Benton Cohen about President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and helped put the first months of Trump’s second term into perspective.

In a May 3 explainer piece in The Conversation, Professor Chimène Keitner answered key questions about Kilmar Abrego Garcia and others who had been deported to El Salvador by President Donald Trump’s  administration.

Professor Karrigan Börk has been appointed director of the UC Davis Center for Watershed Sciences. Börk had served as the center’s interim director since 2024.

Professor and Immigration Law Clinic Co-director Holly Cooper appeared on PBS NewsHour in April as part of a segment sparked by a federal judge’s accusation that President Donald Trump’s administration had tried to obstruct the truth about the wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Sal

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court regarding Trump v. CASA, Trump v. Washington and Trump v. New Jersey, through which the Trump administration seeks to lift nationwide injunctions against his executive order ending birthright citizenship.

Professor Gabriel “Jack” Chin spoke to the New York Post on May 14, the eve of Supreme Court oral arguments regarding the Trump administration's attempts to invalidate lower-court injunctions against the president's executive order ending birthright citizenship.

“This is a funny test case, because the underlying law is so clear and because it’s sort of the same exact issue all across the country,” Chin told the Post. 

Professor Kevin R.

Professor Brian Soucek took part in the 2025 Second Circuit Judicial Conference, held June 2-4 at the historic Sagamore Resort in Bolton Landing, N.Y.

Assistant Dean for Academic Success Christopher Ide-Don has been appointed chair of the State Bar of California’s Law School Council for 2025.

Ide-Don has served since November 2020 on the Law School Council, which meets several times a year to advise the State Bar on issues of interest and consequence to American Bar Association-approved law schools in California.

Professor Courtney Joslin co-authored a chapter in the new book Seminal: On Sperm, Health and Politics (NYU Press).

Co-authored with Professors Douglas NeJaime (Yale Law School) and Katherine Kraschel (Northeastern Law School), the chapter is titled “The High Stakes of Gamete Regulation in a Post-Dobbs World.”

Congratulations to environmental law students Adriana Chavez ’26 and Rachel Kennard ’27 on receiving 2025-26 scholarships from The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law.

Chavez was awarded a $7,500 Francis Hartogh Diversity Outreach Scholarship and Kennard received a $6,750 Foundation Scholarship.

The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law is an educational nonprofit dedicated to the study of all aspects of natural resources and energy law.

Professor Courtney Joslin  testified before two Illinois General Assembly subcommittees on behalf of the Equality for Every Family Act. Joslin also helped draft the bill, which would update Illinois’ parentage statutes to ensure that all children and families are protected.

CBS Sacramento interviewed Professor Albert Lin for a May 22 report on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s and Attorney General Rob Bonta’s vows to sue the federal government after the U.S. Senate voted to block California’s mandate to phase out new sales of gas-powered vehicles in favor of electric vehicles.

On May 23, Professor Courtney Joslin presented her article “Sperm Rules” at the Law and Society Association Annual Meeting in Chicago.

The article is forthcoming in the Boston University Law Review.

Professor Darien Shanske spoke at a May 30 forum held by Congressional Representatives Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena) and Doris Matsui (D-Sacramento) to discuss the potential impact of congressional Republicans’ so-called “Big Beautiful” budget bill on the Sacramento region and surrounding areas.

The Illinois Appellate Court cited Professor Shayak Sarkar’s 2024 UC Davis Law Review article “Capital Migration” in PepsiCo, Inc. v. Department of Revenue.

Professor Nila Bala was awarded the 2025 Ian Kerr Best Paper Award at the Privacy Law Scholars Conference, held May 29-30 at UCLA School of Law.

(Story updated, December 2025)

By Carla Meyer

Nolan Gerlach ’23 took an unusual route to practicing law in his home state.

A recent clerk for Alaska Supreme Court Associate Justice Jennifer Henderson, Gerlach was born in Anchorage but moved around with his father’s Air Force posts before settling in Dixon, California for high school.

The Cruz Reynoso Bar Association awarded Professor Amagda Pérez its 2025 Defensor de Justicia Award at a May 2 ceremony in Sacramento.

On May 17, Professors Kevin R. Johnson and Amagda Pérez  discussed “Hot Topics in Immigration Law” at Unity Bar Summit 2025 at McGeorge School of Law. Johnson and Pérez focused on the evolving landscape of immigration policy and the vital role advocates play in protecting the rights of immigrant communities.

Professor Raquel Aldana and Jordan Porterfield ’25 spoke as part of the Chicana/o/x Studies Department’s spring symposium “Humanizing a Dehumanized Experience: The Voices of Resistance at UC Davis” on May 12. The event was co-sponsored by the Undocumented Student Resource Center and the Cross Cultural Center.

Professor Raquel Aldana delivered the keynote address at the César Chávez Youth Leadership Conference and Celebration on May 10 at the University Credit Union Center.

Presented by UC Davis’ Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the conference included opening remarks by Chancellor Gary S. May. KCRA Channel 3 news anchor Andrea Flores served as the event’s emcee.