BASTIAN'S PUBLISHED WRITINGS AS OF JANUARY 1, 2022
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Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Facts remain stubborn things,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 29, 2021. [“The law and modern lawyering’s role in setting forensic standards and rhetorical tone necessary for democracy should not be underestimated.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Olympic reflections: the rules, the judges, the organization,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 6, 2021 [“If the most potent existential threats to the Olympic Games are war and terrorism, pandemic also makes the podium. This year the most important numbers are not the likes of 9.8 seconds, 2.37 meters or 280 pounds, but the number of hospital beds available for residents of Toyko.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Qualified immunity reform: do not forget about state courts,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 1, 2021 [“While struggle over reform or repeal of the shield on police and prison guard abuse and misconduct continues in Congress and federal courts, attention should not be diverted from state courts, such as California, that might otherwise replicate this grandly scaled jurisprudential error by incorporating, rather than repudiating, or at least, fencing off the federal doctrine.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Abolish qualified immunity, otherwise we get the policing the Supreme Court thinks we deserve,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 20, 2021 [“So much interpretation, nuance, indeed, duende, embedded in the U.S. Supreme Court opinions regarding constitutional and civil rights in the 150 years since Congress granted persons abused by those in authority actionable rights, is only so much class- and race-based bias, flawed gifts that keep giving and giving.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “A gift no one should reject,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 5, 2021 [Comments on immunization during a pandemic.]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “One cheer for the courts that held the line in 2020,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 22, 2020 ["A Trump-appointed jurist said it most resonantly. Rejecting one of 60 or so Republican lawsuits challenging the 2020 election, Judge Stephanos Bilbos of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals stated simply, 'charges require specific allegations then proof,' `ballots not briefs decide elections'.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “An unexpected majority opinion,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 18, 2020 [“The Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, Georgia, handed down on Monday is a thrilling victory for proponents of equality and LGBTQ rights. But not because the court’s rational is or should be that controversial.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Facts are stubborn things,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 12, 2020 [“In reviewing uses of force, what law departments consider as facts relevant to determining whether force used is reasonable significantly diverge from Fourth Amendment doctrine. Indeed, there is plain cognitive dissonance between federal doctrine and these departments’ new policies.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Qualified immunity: Are we there yet?”, Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 15, 2020 [“Are we there yet? Some jurisprudential road trips wind longer than others. But the history in federal courts of Qualified Immunity takes the prize.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Guarding against a common enemy,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 16, 2020 [“A worthwhile image from past catastrophe to help guide us through the current coronal version is a conversation John Maynard Keynes had with Friederick Hayek on dark nights of German bombing during WWII.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “28th Amendment to the US Constitution: a proposal,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 20, 2018 [Addressing problems with presidential pardons].
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Qualified immunity has gone too far,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 11, 2018
[“A recent ruling is only the latest accretion in the U.S. Supreme Court’s application of legal doctrine entirely unhinged from constitutional and statutory moorings.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “After Nasser, what is to be done,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 26, 2018.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Kozinski and the number 6,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 14 , 2017.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Courts clearing up police liability, immunity,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 18, 2017.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Eight,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 18, 2017 [addressing the problems regarding non-disclosure agreements in the context of allegations against Harvey Weinstein]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Justice lost in a thicket of doctrine,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 3, 2017.
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Qualified Immunity and Neil Gorsuch,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 17, 2017.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “The`very apex’ of presidential powers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 8, 2017.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Reasons for political action must be based in reality,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 9, 2017 [“Federal review of political action like the travel ban must occur in an environment of elevated respect for empirical fact.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “A more compelling vision for civil discourse,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 26, 2017.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Trump and the art of the ‘Taiwan call’,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 8, 2016.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Time to revisit vehicular pursuit laws,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 12, 2016.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “The agendas of Atticus and Antonin,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 24, 2016.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Jail in LA County: kind of like love,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 13, 2016 [“Like love, being LA County Jail means never having to say you’re sorry.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Moral clarity infected by age,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 18, 2015 [“If the moral clarity of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ is slightly too perfect, then ‘To Set a Watchman’ provides a young adult sobriety.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Right ruling; wrong reasoning,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 24, 2015 [“The high court upheld the state of Texas’ right to refuse to issue a specialty license plate featuring an image of the Confederate flag.”]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “The NFL’s desperate need for moral clarity,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 25 , 2014.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Federal courts must check abuse,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 22, 2014.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “When officers wear a ‘heavy badge’,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 20, 2014.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Summer heat reveals NFL shortcomings,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 1, 2014.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Capitalism and law in the 21st Century,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 31, 2014.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Denial, it seems, is a river running through Los Angeles,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 1, 2014 [Commenting on Donald Sterling and racism in Los Angeles.]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Criminal courts can do better in cases of mistaken arrests,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 19, 2014.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,“Where the truth lies: the Monty Hall Problem,” June 6, 2013, Los Angeles Daily Journal [regarding game theory and the law]
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,“New panel decision illustrates why facts are for juries,” March 13, 2013, Los Angeles Daily Journal, [criticizing a Ninth Circuit opinion upholding summary judgment in a police shooting case]
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,“Subjectivity in Olympic Judging,” Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, August 3, 2012.
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “NCAA missed the mark with Penn State sanctions,” Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journal, July 31, 2012.
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Police pursuits: apprehension versus public safety,” Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals , July 11, 2012.
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “A Disorted System of Constitutional Remedies [Part 1I], Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, April 25, 2011.
• “Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,A Disorted System of Constitutional Remedies [Part 1], Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals, April 21, 2011.
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “The Markets Demand Reform,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 11, 2010 (On the structural need for tighter banking regulation)
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “How litigious are Shakespeare’s Sonnets?”, Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 16, 2010 (Answer:
“Very.”)
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr. , “A Courageous Putt?,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 7, 2010 (Regarding the misuse of corporate image in the Tiger Woods scandal).
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Not So Black and White,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 30, 2009 (criticizing California’s police pursuit immunity).
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Law`s Prince of Darkness,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 7, 2009 [more on Shakespeare, law and language].
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “The Language of Law,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 14, 2009 [on Shakespeare, law and language].
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Adult Supervision,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 3, 2009 [on the economy, law and economic regulation].
• Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “A Perverse Version of Justice,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 1, 2009 [urging the California Supreme Court to find that Proposition 8, prohibiting single-sex marriage, violates equal protection].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “It’s a Small World,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 23, 2008 [relationship between holidays, art, perspective and the law].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Crossing Out Rights,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 20, 2008 [against Proposition 8].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Reversal of Fortune,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 4, 2008 [regarding how changing notions of “conservative” and “liberal” in the political sphere have impact on courts].
● "Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,“Questioning Rhetoric,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, October 15, 2008 [regarding rhetoric in the presidential campaign].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Lawyers Were Never the Problem,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 25, 2008 [regarding the crisis in credit markets].
● “Robert L. Bastian, Jr., The Vice Contest: Pick Your Poison, In law the party who doesn’t want the evidence examined has something to hide,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 5, 2008.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “Judging By the Numbers,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 28, 2008 [regarding judging in the 2008 Olympics].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “All the Law is a Stage,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 12, 2008.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “McCain’s Bench Press,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 22, 2008.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Tolstoy's `Ivan Ilyich' Foreshadowed Our Own Incarceration Frenzy,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 11, 2008.
● "Robert L. Bastian, Jr., Straight Talk About Gay Marriage: Baxter's Dissent, At Best, Is an Unsupported Slippery Slope Argument," Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 20, 2008.
●Robert L. Bastian, Jr. , "The Elephant in the Room," Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 1, 2008 [regarding Sean Bell verdict].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Individuals, Not Governments Deserve Protection," Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 2, 2008.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Stylish Shortcuts," Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 25, 2008 [regarding the passing of William F. Buckley, Jr.].
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "The Tao of Atticus Finch," Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 22, 2008.
●Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Deprived of Truth, Democracy Turns Hollow," Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 20, 2007.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"From Prison Policy, Gangs Come Home to Roost," Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 31, 2007.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Analyzing and Understanding Federal Civil Rights Law to Yield Better Supervision and Management of Police and Prisons," Law Enforcement Executive Forum Journal, Fall 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Mounting Data Point to Prisons' Gross Failure to Correct Anything, Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 10, 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "A Good Legal Education Lies in Truth, Not Blind Adherence to Authority," Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 25, 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Federal Courts Must Order Prisons to Care," Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 30, 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Protecting Police at the Expense of the Public Good," Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 21, 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Civic Faith Erodes Without a Foundation in Fact," Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 17, 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Strict Constructionism bends in Alito Hearings," Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 19, 2006.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"`Strict Construction' Criterion Doesn't Hold Water," Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 11, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Mascots Meant to Unite, Not Divide," Wisconsin State Journal, August 13, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Katrina, Tradition of Injustice Combine, Make Perfect Storm," Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 7, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Rare These Days, District Court Stands for Justice in Prison Case," Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 20, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Problem With Originalism Lies in the Favoring of Logic Over Experience," Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 27, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Chase deaths are no trivial pursuit," Daily Breeze, May 20, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Kristie's Law would control cop chases, Latest bizarre pursuit shows need for changes in California policy," Los Angeles Daily News, April 11, 2005.
●Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Dark Tales May Lie Beneath `Outrageous' Prisoner Claims, Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 30, 2005
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"State Law Must Reflect Fatal Dangers of Police Car Chases," Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 16, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Lack of Federal Court Review Enables Prison Mismanagement," Los Angeles Daily Journal, March 4, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "There Are Federal Judges Who Won't Compromise Inmates' Rights," Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 14, 2005.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Diverse Solutions to Admissions Would Provide Better Social Outcome," Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 28, 2004.
●Robert L. Bastian, Jr., “'Callas Forever’ Teaches Lessons that Apply to Practice of Law,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, November 30, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Judging at the Games," Los Angeles Lawyer, November 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Death Sentences Always Must Include Reasonable Doubt," Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 23, 2004 (arguing against the death penalty).
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Federal Judges Must Make Prisons Meet Minimum Standards for Inmates," Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 3, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Courts Treat State's Less Fortunate with Blind Indifference," Los Angles Daily Journal, July 12, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Bush Shouldn't Steer Country with Leadership Based on Faith," Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 22, 2004.
•Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Treating War Prisoners With Respect is a Useful Policy Tool," Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 7, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Courts Show Deliberate Indifference to Jailhouse Violence," Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 1, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"U.S. Must Open All Its Military Prisons to Reform, Watchdogs," Los Angeles Daily Journal, May 18, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,"Exporting America's Shame, Allegations in Iraq reflect the violent, abusive prisons that have arisen in U.S.," Los Angeles Times, May 6, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Officers Must Be Accountable for Innocent Victims of Pursuits," Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 29, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "State High Court Supports Victims Abuse by Police," Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 21, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "`Smith' Bars Police-Brutality Victims from Vindicating Wrongs," Los Angeles Daily Journal, April 2, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Fighting Words, American-Style Free Speech May Pose Danger for Sectarian Iraq," Los Angeles Daily Journal, January 14, 2004.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "`Mean Justice' Agenda Leads to Ethical, Fiscal Dead End," Los Angeles Daily Journal, August 11, 2003.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,“Despite Iraq Victory, Bush’s Policies Lead America Astray,” Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 9, 2003.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Idea Diversity, Considering Race in Admissions Encourages Academic Freedom," Los Angeles Daily Journal, December 12, 2002.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Toppling Rights, Justice Requires that Juries, Not Judges, Should Decide Issues of Fact," Los Angeles Daily Journal, September 5, 2002.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "On Factoring Race in Admissions Decisions," Los Angeles Daily Journal, June 2, 2002.
● "Robert L. Bastian, Jr.,Guard Rail, Now-Defunct Prison Policies Are Morally Indefensible," Los Angeles Daily Journal, July 27, 1998.
● Robert L. Bastian, Jr., "Corrections Tries to Evade Financial Responsibility," Los Angeles Daily Journal, February 5, 2001.
