Tuesday, April 26, 2022 | 6:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. (PST)

This class will be hosted on ZOOM

Join the LA Law Library book discussion group via Zoom as we continue to explore income inequality in America. The former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, argues in The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It that America’s political and economic system has “become tilted ever more in the direction of moneyed interests that have exerted disproportionate influence over it, while average workers have steadily lost bargaining leverage.” He urges thinking not in terms of left vs. right or Democrat vs. Republican, but instead the battle is Oligarchy vs. Democracy.  He offers a solution of a multiethnic, multiracial coalition recommitted to the work of citizenship and a more equitable reallocation of power. Do you agree with Reich’s critique of the system? Is his solution realistic or feasible? Read the book and share your thoughts!

About the Author:

• Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at U.C. Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy
• S. Secretary of Labor in Clinton administration and also served in administrations of Presidents Ford, Carter and Obama
• Author of 18 books
• Founding editor of The American Prospect magazine and founder of Inequality Media, a nonprofit digital media company featuring topics relating to inequality and power

Presented by: Katie O’Laughlin, Managing Librarian Reference & Research

Registration fee: FREE.  This discussion will be hosted via Zoom. Zoom information will be emailed to registrants prior to discussion.

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice.  LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service.  The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons.  For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Friday, Apr. 29, 2022 | 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.

This class will be hosted on ZOOM

---ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME---

In this class, learn what to consider before filing a lawsuit for libel or slander (defamation). If someone makes untrue, damaging statements about you that may be grounds for a defamation lawsuit.  But these types of lawsuits are notoriously difficult to litigate successfully, are subject to many potential defenses, and often result in unintended blowback for a plaintiff. Learn from an experienced civil litigator who has brought and defended many significant cases involving defamation claims in federal and state courts. 

 Class covers:

• How to determine if you have a viable defamation claim
• Libel vs. slander: different types of defamation
• How to assess whether the possible benefits of bringing a defamation lawsuit outweigh the costs
• Common defenses to a defamation claim
• Where and how to file, and important deadlines and time limits
• Calculating damages in a defamation lawsuit

Presented by: Michael Dore, Litigation Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher

Registration fee: FREE

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice:
LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.

Friday, Apr. 29, 2022 | 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

This class will be hosted on ZOOM

---ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME---

The U.S. Supreme Court will soon decide – or has recently decided – several controversial cases, exercising its “province and duty…to say what the law is,” in the words of its famous 1803 decision in Marbury v. Madison. These cases come as the ideological makeup of the Court has changed, with justices generally viewed as conservative-leaning now holding a 6-3 advantage. In this class, hear from a prominent Supreme Court commentator and litigator about how the Court’s new and upcoming decisions on issues like abortion, gun ownership, religion in publicly funded schools, and voting rights, among others, could affect our constitutional and other important rights.

Class covers:

• An overview of major upcoming, and recently decided, U.S. Supreme Court cases
• The issues in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the major abortion rights case, and how the Court may decide
• New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, a case that could change Second Amendment gun ownership rights
• Why the recent decision Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, applying the Voting Rights Act, is so important
• Other cases affecting our constitutional and other important rights

Earn 1.0 hour general California participatory MCLE credit

 Presented by: Amy L. Howe

Registration fee: FREE

Friday, Apr. 29, 2022  |  4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

This class will be hosted on ZOOM

---ZOOM INFORMATION WILL BE EMAILED TO REGISTRANTS PRIOR TO CLASS START TIME---

Join a live question and answer session with an experienced civil rights and constitutional law attorney. The First Amendment protects free speech, but there are important limits to this right: defamatory statements, statements that invade another’s privacy, hate speech, and other types of speech, generally are not protected. This live question and answer session addresses questions related to freedom of speech under the First Amendment and the California Constitution, hate speech and constitutional protections, and types of speech that are not protected by the Freedom of Speech.

Ask your questions about:

• What is freedom of speech, and what does it protect?
• What is hate speech? When is it illegal? Who gets to decide?
• What happens when one person’s “free speech” offends or hurts someone else?
• When does the First Amendment protect your speech from censorship or punishment?
• What can we do about hate speech on social media?
• What extent can or should the government get involved in regulating speech?
• Should there be a global standard and global enforcement of hate speech restrictions?

Although you can listen to the class from various kinds of devices, you will need video to view the speaker(s) and any presentation materials, and will need to connect through Zoom to be able to participate in the written Q&A or chat features.

Presented by: Christian Contreras, Attorney, The Christian Contreras Firm, PLC  

Registration fee: FREE

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice: 

LA Law Library does not provide legal advice. LA Law Library provides legal resources and assistance with legal research as an educational service. The information presented in this program is not legal advice and is provided solely as an educational service to our patrons. For legal advice, you should consult an attorney.