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 Nicholas Williams
Nicholas Williams is a sophomore in the College of Arts & Sciences from Los Angeles, California who is majoring in History. Although unknown to many Americans, the filibuster is an important aspect of the United States Senate and the entire legislative process in the United States. In its current form, the filibuster is a Senate procedural tool by which 41 senators can indefinitely delay a vote on most legislation [1]. In practice, the filibuster requires that most legislation has the support of at least 60 senators to pass. Recently, there have been calls by many Democrats in the Senate to abolish the filibuster [2]. However, to abolish or not to abolish is not a simple binary; there are many ways that the filibuster can remain intact but still be reformed and possibly weakened.
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 By Ally Margolis Ally Margolis is a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences studying Political Science and History. On Wednesday, Mississippi Senator Hyde-Smith raised some eyebrows during a Senate Rules and Administration Committee meeting on the proposed For the People Act, a Democrat-sponsored voting rights bill. When Majority Leader Schumer criticized proposed legislation in the Georgia legislature that would ban voting on Sundays, Hyde-Smith responded with a quote from Exodus: “Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy” [1]. Hyde-Smith’s reasoning to ban voting on Sundays, an action that would severely limit the political activity of Black churches, fell flat with many, especially since Exodus is a book in the Old Testament, and the Jewish sabbath is not on Sunday. Hyde-Smith’s inaccuracies compliment her blatant disregard for the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion.” While Georgia’s state legislature has stepped away from that specific proposal, “Republicans have introduced more than 250 bills to restrict voting in 43 states” [2].
 By Isabela Baghdady
Isabela Baghdady is a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania with plans to study Political Science and History. On May 25, 2020 the death of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, sparked protests across the nation. After released footage showed Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, a White man, kneeled on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes while he was in police custody, thousands of Americans took to the streets to demand racial justice and police reform [1]. Floyd’s now immortalized plea—”I can’t breathe”—has since become a symbol for African American repression under the structural racism embedded in the United States legal system.  By Sophie Lovering
Sophie Lovering is a junior 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. Since Pfizer and Moderna introduced their COVID-19 vaccines, Americans have asked each other the question: “will you be getting vaccinated?” For many, the answer seems obvious. Vaccines are one of the greatest success stories of modern medicine; according to the CDC, vaccines have functionally eradicated smallpox and polio, and keep the levels of diseases such as measles, diphtheria, and whooping cough at an all-time low today [1].  By Sophie Lovering
Sophie Lovering is a junior 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. On March 9, 2021, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law an extremely restrictive abortion ban, only allowing abortion in cases where “it’s necessary to save the life or preserve the health of the fetus or mother” [1]. Unlike other restrictive abortion laws commonly supported by anti-choice advocates, Senate Bill 6 does not allow any exceptions in situations of rape and incest [1]. Governor Hutchinson himself said he would have preferred the legislation include the exceptions for rape and incest, but stated that the goal of this strict authorship is to bring the fight over abortion back to the Supreme Court [1].  By Sophie Lovering In an article published by The Roundtable on November 22, 2020, I wrote that “[the] passage of Measure 110 demonstrates the public’s growing resistance to the American war on drugs” [1]. Just last month, Oregon passed Measure 110 with 55.8% of the popular vote and decriminalized the possession of small amounts of hard drugs such as cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin [1]. This “war on the war on drugs” is spreading; on Friday, December 4, the House of Representatives passed legislation that would decriminalize marijuana and expunge nonviolent offenders with marijuana-related convictions [2].
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