The Roundtable
Welcome to the Roundtable, a forum for incisive commentary and analysis
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.
on cases and developments in law and the legal system.
 By Cary Holley
Cary Holley is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science. The proliferation of cell phone use has translated into more access to what is going on in the world around us, which also has important implications for social justice issues. The ability to gather visual evidence of misconduct using cell phones on the part of governmental officials, especially police officers, can expose injustice as well as increase accountability. However, the Founding Fathers understandably did not foresee the advent of such technology and consequently did not delineate constitutional limitations of its usage. Luckily, recent legal developments have converged toward establishing a set doctrine for this important constitutional issue.
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 By Cary Holley
Cary Holley is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science. While public education has experienced growth in the United States, it has been accompanied by increasingly grave disparities in both the access to and quality of public education for children across the country. The failure of state legislatures to provide satisfactory reform has initiated a wave of lawsuits nationwide. The hope for a judicial remedy to the serious education problem in our country is becoming a national phenomenon, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is no exception. A multi-year lawsuit, first filed in 2015, by Pennsylvania schools against the Pennsylvania Department of Education and other parties has recently progressed with unclear implications about the possibility of true reform.  By Cary Holley
Holley is a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science. The practice of civil forfeiture practice has sparked controversy nationwide due to a series of documented abuses, and such policies have led to important legal battles and legislative changes here in Pennsylvania. This past summer, however, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called for a reinstatement of an old civil asset forfeiture policy. Under the DOJ’s new agenda, the future of local civil forfeiture is anything but certain. To thoroughly consider the local implications of such policy change, it is important to first examine the state of civil forfeiture rules today. Civil forfeiture is the practice of governments seizing the property and assets of individuals suspected of or associated with criminal activity. In such proceedings, the property is actually what is charged. [1] Theoretically, the concept of taking the spoils of illegal activity to inhibit lawbreakers from further operation makes perfect sense. Another rationale for civil forfeiture was the idea that the confiscated goods could then be used to obstruct other criminal enterprises. [2]  By Cary Holley
Cary Holley is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science. The Sixth Amendment of our Constitution guarantees a right that is essential for justice: an impartial jury. [1] However, this principle is still not guaranteed to all. The legal precedents that appear to protect this right leave loopholes in which discrimination can persist. As a result, some Americans today are not truly granted a jury of their peers.  By Cary Holley
Cary Holley is a freshman at the University of Pennsylvania studying Political Science. Mandatory minimums, rules that apply an inflexible minimum sentence requirement to certain crimes, have been a part of our penal law since the late 18th century. Despite their long-established existence, questions remain on how to properly implement them in the court of law. A series of Supreme Court cases have deliberated the issue and those decisions have had implications for lower courts. The precedent set by Alleyne v. United States, for example, has led to confusion about mandatory minimums here in Pennsylvania. |
