Society, Law & Politics

The seven undergraduate students in Professor Jeffrey Zax’s Applied Economic Analysis and Public Policy class didn’t stop at analyzing the economic impact of bills considered during the recently concluded legislative session. They even showed up to testify. The students also created a legislative scorecard, evaluating all bills considered by legislators this session and giving the Colorado General Assembly mixed reviews in terms of proposed bills’ impact on the state’s economy.

Organized by CU-Boulder’s Community Engagement Design and Research Center (CEDaR), CU-Boulder and the city of Boulder together have joined the MetroLab Network , a nationwide collection of 35 city-university partnerships focused on bringing data, analytics and innovation to local government.

Private donations to political candidates neither alter the candidates’ voting patterns once they’re in office nor make them more ideologically intractable, found a study co-authored by a University of Colorado Boulder political science professor. Yet that underlying belief has led to a range of political reforms including the controversial approach of using taxpayer dollars to pay for political campaigns. These were the central findings of the study, recently published in "Legislative Studies Quarterly."

CU-Boulder Provost Russell L. Moore today announced the appointment of James (Jim) Anaya, a Regents’ Professor and James J. Lenoir Professor of Human Rights Law and Policy at the University of Arizona, as dean of the law school. Anaya will begin his duties on Aug. 8, 2016. Anaya’s teaching and writing focus on international human rights and issues concerning indigenous peoples.

The Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV) at the University of Colorado Boulder today released an independent fact-finding report examining the events and circumstances leading to the 2013 fatal shooting at Arapahoe High School and offering recommendations for improvements in school safety.

Humans haven’t learned much in 2,000 years when it comes to religion and politics. Religion has led to social tension and conflict, not just in today’s society, but dating back to 700 B.C., according to a new study published today in Current Anthropology .

A man exonerated in a high-profile case in which five New York City teenagers were wrongly convicted has pledged $190,000 to support the Innocence Project at the University of Colorado Law School. The Korey Wise Innocence Project at Colorado Law, now named for the donor, is a student-led volunteer program that investigates claims of wrongful convictions after traditional methods of appealing a conviction have failed.

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper will outline his vision for Colorado’s energy future at this year’s Schultz Lecture Thursday at the University of Colorado Law School.

Business accelerators -- entities that give money, guidance and space for a set amount of time to startups -- heavily rely on volunteer mentors to promote innovation, according to a new University of Colorado Boulder study.

The 23rd annual Rothgerber Conference Oct. 15 and 16 will celebrate the career of Professor Hal Bruff, who served as Colorado Law’s dean from 1996 until 2003. Conversations will focus on the questions raised in Bruff’s most recent book, Untrodden Ground: How Presidents Interpret the Constitution , in which he explores how all 44 presidents have responded to pressing matters by setting new legal precedents, which often developed into standard practices.