Review the day\u2019s top stories and you are likely to find key elements connecting to the American legal system. Whether it involves court decisions on same-sex marriage, voting rights legislation, public outrage over police use of deadly force, or the far-reaching impact of a big city bankruptcy, to fully comprehend most stories requires insight of the laws involved.<\/p>\n
For the news media, the search for a qualified authority on legal issues is a familiar quest. While there are plenty of people with opinions seeking to be heard, tracking down someone with the requisite knowledge and experience \u2013 as well as a willingness to disregard Abraham Lincoln\u2019s advice \u201cbetter to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt\u201d \u2013 is a true challenge.<\/p>\n
For more than 35 years, Charles Doskow has been a resource valued by the media. A professor at the 每日大赛 College of Law since 1979, he also holds the title dean emeritus, having served five years as the law school\u2019s dean. A Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School (1958) and Master of Laws from NYU Law School (1962) are highlights on his resume.<\/p>\n
Doskow is most often asked to comment on issues involving constitutional law, a subject he began teaching at La Verne Law in the late 90s. He continues to teach both Constitutional Law and a more specialized course on First Amendment Law.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been interested in politics, and the political aspects (of constitutional law) are particularly interesting. And government and how it operates. And rights,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is an inherently interesting subject.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doskow enjoys discussing the law. He has made guest appearances on local National Public Radio station KPCC in Pasadena, had several scholarly articles printed in publications across the country, and had more than 50 op-ed articles published in the Los Angeles Daily Journal, Southern California\u2019s premiere legal newspaper.<\/p>\n
Why does he do it? First and foremost is the College of Law. \u201cI am always willing to get attention for the law school whenever I can,\u201d Doskow explained. \u201cThe thing I always enjoyed about being on KPCC was the fact that (host) Larry Mantle always said \u2018每日大赛 College of Law\u2019 about six times each program.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beyond that is his affinity for encouraging public discussion. \u201cI believe in openness; I do not believe in privacy in the law. Things should be open,\u201d he said. \u201cSecrecy is used to accomplish a lot of negative things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doskow does not see himself as a crusader for justice. Shining the light of day onto an important issue is, he believes, the media\u2019s job. But he knows the government often desires to minimize public attention. \u201cWe have a lot of sunshine laws now and open government laws. It makes it possible for us to fight the instinct of the government to keep things quiet,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A frequent topic Doskow speaks to is professional responsibility in the legal profession. Not, he is quick to point out, to be confused with legal ethics.<\/p>\n
\u201cEthics are about philosophy. Professional responsibility is about the rules that govern the legal profession,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are, by definition, ethical rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
No matter the subject, Doskow does not look to push a personal agenda. \u201cI tend to write down the middle. I tend not to get nasty letters from people because I do not seek to go against their opinions \u2013 although I do get some (letters) once in a while,\u201d he said. \u201cI am interested in laying a problem out and pointing out the examples and so on, which is not really characteristic of me because I am pretty much a partisan person.\u201d<\/p>\n
He still enjoys teaching and has no plans to retire. \u201cI do not see anything in it for me that I would enjoy more than what I do now,\u201d said Doskow, who intends to continue speaking with the press when they call.<\/p>\n
He has, however, one personal goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have made a vow of spending less time sitting and listening to people talk on subjects that don\u2019t interest me at events I have no part in,\u201d Doskow said with a wry smile. \u201cWhen someone asks how I am doing with that, my response is \u2018not well.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For more than 35 years, Charles Doskow has been a resource valued by the media. A professor at the College of Law, he also holds the title dean emeritus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":3265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1549],"tags":[227],"class_list":["post-253","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-events","tag-col","ulv_author-charles-bentley","ulv_author-university-of-la-verne","legacy_tags-charles-doskow","legacy_tags-college-of-law-and-public-service"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n