Law in 10

Five months into his first term and riding high on solid public approval numbers, President Barack Obama turned his focus to one of the nation's most seemingly intractable problems, the cost and availability of health care.  Between the President and the Congress there are almost as many reform proposals as there are elected officials in Washington.  Which mix of mandates, taxes, and spending cuts will rally enough bipartisan support to make it to the President's desk? 

Host Pam Hardy sits down with Professor Bryan Liang, the E. Donald Shapiro Professor of Law at California Western and Executive Director of the Institute of Health Law Studies, to talk about how the competing proposals would affect employers, taxpayers, and the health care community.

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The young women living in San Diego's juvenile detention facilities face a number of challenges, both leading to their incarceration and following them once they are released.  The ability to avoid and manage conflict helps minimize problems during their time there and eases the transition back into society.  Many of these young women were not taught these skills in the home, leaving them with a range of inappropriate and sometimes dangerous responses to personal and organizational conflict. 

Two California Western professors saw within this challenge an opportunity to bring problem solving and mediation skills to these women at a key time in their young lives.  The Advanced Mediation program at California Western is the only one of its kind in the country sending specially trained law students into a juvenile detention facility. 

Professor Floralynn Einesman, co-founder of the Advanced Mediation program, joins host Pam Hardy for a closer look at the project.

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The nomination of federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court presents President Barack Obama with another opportunity to make history.  If approved by the Senate, Judge Sotomayor would be the high court's third female and first Hispanic justice.  If confirmed to replace Justice David Souter, Sotomayor is not expect to change the balance of power on the court, but could significantly influence American public policy for decades to come.

Host Pam Hardy talks about Judge Sotomayor and the process of naming and seating a Supreme Court justice with Professor Michal Belknap, the Earl Warren Professor of Law at California Western and an adjunct professor of history at UCSD.

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