Erwin Chemerinsky is the founding dean of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. He has authored eight books, most recently The Case Against the Supreme Court (2014), and more than 200 law-review articles. He has argued several cases before the Supreme Court and various circuits of the United States Court of Appeals.

Jim Newton is a veteran journalist, author and teacher. In 25 years at the Los Angeles Times, Newton worked as a reporter, editor, bureau chief, columnist and, from 2007 through 2010, editor of the editorial pages. Newton currently serves as the editor-in-chief of Blueprint, a new UCLA magazine addressing the policy challenges facing California and Los Angeles in particular. He also teaches in the Communication Studies and Public Policy department at UCLA. Newton is currently at work on this fourth book entitled Jerry Brown and the Creation of Modern California.