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 Filzah Belal
Filzah Belal is a final year undergraduate law student at National Law University and Judicial Academy, Assam. Tort law stands on three basic components – a wrongful act or omission, damage to someone else, and a remedy for the damage that occurred. When applied to the tort of negligence, these components point towards the importance of identifying who is at fault. In other words, tort law aims to establish ‘fault-based liability’ wherein the party at fault for damage to another due to wrongful act or omission pays damage. However, tort law also includes a concept of no-fault liability, especially through strict liability and absolute liability. This means that even if one had not committed the wrongful act or omission themselves, they could be held liable.
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 By Ally Margolis
Ally Margolis is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Political Science. While Philadelphia is reeling from the coronavirus, we have seen both the best and the worst of humanity. Unfortunately, amidst this pandemic, the owner of Hahnemann Hospital refuses to be a team player as city officials try to expand resources to handle the unprecedented surges in hospital visits [1]. When Philly officials inquired about Hahnemann, a closed hospital with room for 500 beds, the building’s owner, Joel Freedman, proposed the city pay one million dollars a month to rent the space [2]. Mayor Jim Kenney characterized this offer as coming from a “multi-millionaire who wanted to maximize his profits,” and argued that a man “with great means” should help during this “terrible crisis” [3]. The city has moved on from Freedman’s offer and was aided by Temple University without charge. However, some Philadelphia residents and politicians are not letting Freedman off so easily.  By Hailie Goldsmith
Hailie Goldsmith is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. As the novel coronavirus sweeps across the world, essential medical resources like N95 respirators, surgical masks, and ventilators are in incredibly high demand—and in dwindling supply—in the United States. With the federal government and state governments scrambling to determine ways to mass-produce the necessary materials to manage the pandemic, some public health and policy experts have pointed to the Defense Production Act (DPA) as a solution to spur the production of masks and ventilators and address the urgent needs of the U.S. population.  By Hailie Goldsmith Hailie Goldsmith is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania. With a presidential election on the horizon in November, each state’s current voting laws and what those laws mean for who can vote become increasingly important.
As of 2016, 6.1 million people could not vote due to a felony conviction and accompanying voting restrictions on released felons; however advocacy groups such as the Sentencing Project hope to reduce this number. Voting restrictions on released felons disproportionately impact black voters, since systemic injustices within the prison system contribute to a higher likelihood of black Americans facing incarceration and felony convictions [1].  By Emma Davies Emma Davies is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Philosophy. On February 24, 2020, the Supreme Court added Fulton v. City of Philadelphia to its docket. This case, which was brought by Catholic Social Services (CSS), challenges the City Of Philadelphia’s decision to stop referring foster children to CSS for placement on the grounds that the agency does not certify same-sex couples as foster parents. The agency had lost in lower courts, but appealed their case to the Supreme Court. The ruling of this case may lay out further explanation to the types of religious discrimination claims that warrant legal remedy, alter the decision in Employment Division v. Smith, and address whether the government violates the First Amendment by making participation in the foster-care system contingent on whether an agency conducts themselves in a way that goes against their religious beliefs [1].
 By Rachel Gu Rachel Gu is a sophomore in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying Bioengineering. On March 11th, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. Since then, the number of confirmed cases has risen tenfold from 118,000 cases to over 1.8 million cases worldwide [1]. Of these, the U.S. houses over half a million cases with over 20,000 deaths and counting [2]. However, these numbers only showcase the beginning. Experts predict deaths will increase over threefold to about 70,000 by August when the projected infection curve finally begins to flatten [3]. Not to mention, experts predict a second wave of mass infection as society gradually returns to normalcy [4]. As a result, vaccine development is paramount in combating this global pandemic. However, due to the pressure of rising fatalities and plummeting economies, typical rules and regulations are being bypassed by researchers and regulators. In this race to develop vaccines, safety, liability and patent contention must be considered.
 By Sophie Lovering
Sophie Lovering is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania majoring in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) and minoring in American Sign Language and Deaf Studies. In 2019, 567,715 Americans experienced homelessness on a single night, an increase of 14,885 people from the previous year [1]. Between the same two years, the estimated number of people experiencing chronic homelessness increased by 8.5% [1]. There are notable racial disparities in this population. African Americans make up only 12.5% of Americans, but represent over 40% of the homeless population [2]. Other populations that account for a disproportionately large amount of the homeless population include military veterans, survivors of domestic violence, and the LGBTQ community [2]. If you visit any city or urban center, it is evident that homelessness is an American crisis. To make this crisis worse, many cities within the United States have criminalized homelessness.  By Alya Abbassian
Alya Abbassian is a sophomore at Penn’s College of Arts and Sciences studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. On March 23rd, the attorney general of Texas, Ken Paxton, issued a directive banning “any type of abortion that is not medically necessary to preserve the life or health of the mother” [1]. Paxton followed the lead of the Ohio attorney general, who ordered state abortion clinics to halt surgical abortions. Ohio and Texas explained that this is a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in order to ensure that the maximum number of hospital beds and personal protective equipment are available and not being used for “elective” and “nonessential” procedures [1]. Paxton also stated that anyone in violation of this order would be met “with the full force of the law” with the possibility of potential criminal prosecution and jail time [2].  By Kaitlyn Rentala Kaitlyn Rentala is a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). On March 24, 2020, the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., a pivotal copyright infringement case that could alter the way in which software companies intrinsically operate. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Supreme Court announced that the March argument session and its 11 cases would be postponed until an undetermined time. In Google LLC v. Oracle America, Inc., the Supreme Court will finally decide if Google will have to pay Oracle billions of dollars for the copyright that runs hundreds of millions of phones around the world, and their decision will mark the end of almost eight years of numerous federal court cases and appeals launched from both sides.
Potential Universal Do-Not-Resuscitate Policy Is As Legally Unprecedented As It Is Horrifying4/7/2020  By Lyndsey Reeve Lyndsey Reeve is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania studying International Relations. The COVID-19 pandemic is an undeniable threat to the public, especially medically vulnerable individuals including elderly patients, the immune compromised, and individuals with preexisting respiratory conditions such as asthma. This disaster has sparked a host of shadow crises, from the economic burden on local businesses and individuals unable to perform their jobs remotely due to educational closures and travel restrictions that cripple global interaction. This pandemic is more than a mere inconvenience—it is an international health emergency that will take, at a minimum, months to recover from.
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