Alan Jenkins

My Fellow Americans:

A panel of federal judges has ruled that conditions in California’s overcrowded prisons violate the constitution. Quoting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s words from 2006, the court found that "immediate action is necessary to prevent death and harm.” The state must formulate a plan by mid-September to reduce the prison population by nearly 43,000 inmates over the next two years.

Only two people know what actually went down between Professor Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant James Crowley last week, and even they disagree—apparently in good faith—about what transpired. So as the two prepare to have a beer with President Obama later this week, let’s move on to a more productive conversation about race and law enforcement.

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the New Haven firefighters case. While the Court’s decision was disappointing in many respects, it preserved employers’ ability, and obligation, to ensure freedom from discrimination in the workplace.

I learned last week that my friend and law school classmate Luke Cole had died in a car accident while vacationing with his wife in Uganda. Luke was an incredible guy with an infectious positive energy about him and the belief that he could change the world for the better.

This week, thousands of community leaders and hundreds of local organizations are holding events in 40 cities to kick off the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America.

During the presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama spoke eloquently about race in America and its continuing relevance to our national progress.

Article 1 of the International Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provides, in simple terms, that “torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession….” The Convention reaffirms th

My Fellow Americans:

A panel of federal judges has ruled that conditions in California’s overcrowded prisons violate the constitution. Quoting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s words from 2006, the court found that "immediate action is necessary to prevent death and harm.” The state must formulate a plan by mid-September to reduce the prison population by nearly 43,000 inmates over the next two years.

Only two people know what actually went down between Professor Henry Louis Gates and Sergeant James Crowley last week, and even they disagree—apparently in good faith—about what transpired. So as the two prepare to have a beer with President Obama later this week, let’s move on to a more productive conversation about race and law enforcement.

Yesterday the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated decision in Ricci v. DeStefano, the New Haven firefighters case. While the Court’s decision was disappointing in many respects, it preserved employers’ ability, and obligation, to ensure freedom from discrimination in the workplace.

I learned last week that my friend and law school classmate Luke Cole had died in a car accident while vacationing with his wife in Uganda. Luke was an incredible guy with an infectious positive energy about him and the belief that he could change the world for the better.

This week, thousands of community leaders and hundreds of local organizations are holding events in 40 cities to kick off the Campaign to Reform Immigration for America.

During the presidential campaign, candidate Barack Obama spoke eloquently about race in America and its continuing relevance to our national progress.

Article 1 of the International Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment provides, in simple terms, that “torture means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession….” The Convention reaffirms th