Law & Public Policy Blog

Lily Austin, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2020 Your home is where you should feel safe and secure, a respite from the outside world. It should also be a place where you are properly shielded from the elements and can cook, clean, and otherwise meet your basic needs. However, finding and maintaining such a home is a difficult challenge for many Philadelphians these days. Stagnant wages and rising rents are a problem, as well as aging housing …

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Evan Garber, Law & Public Policy Scholar, J.D. Anticipated May 2021 On November 14, Philadelphia became the fifth city in the country to guarantee low-income tenants the right to legal counsel during eviction proceedings. With its unanimous passage, the legislation brought a sense of hope for tenants’ rights advocates. However, it also introduced a collection of considerable challenges. Most importantly, legal service organizations (LSOs) designated to implement this right will have to hire, and train, more attorneys to handle the …

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Gracen Eiland, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 As of November 2019, Philadelphia is the largest city (and one of only two cities) in America to create a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights. The measure is aimed at protecting low-wage workers who are expressly denied basic workplace protections and benefits under federal law. While a few states, as well as Congress, are working on their own versions of a Domestic Worker Bill of Rights, the situation in …

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Theresa Glinski, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 Pennsylvania’s Drug Delivery Resulting in Death (also known as DDRD or drug overdose homicide) statute is supposed to target drug dealers, but instead, family members, friends, and those with substance use disorders have become a target of the law. Drug overdose homicide prosecutions in Pennsylvania have risen rapidly in the last decade; from 2013 to 2017 alone, the number of individuals charged under the law rose 1,266%. Prosecutors across …

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Heather Swadley, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 On Labor Day 2019, Darrin Lee was shot multiple times on camera by Philadelphia police. Lee, a 31-year-old man with mental health and substance abuse disabilities, was holding a boxcutter. Bystanders can be heard on the video yelling “he’s just high.” Lee survived but subsequently had to undergo numerous surgeries and awaits criminal charges upon his recovery. Lee reportedly told his father: “They shot me up, now they tryin’ …

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Peter Konchak, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 In recent years, the climate change debate in the United States has focused on the divide between those who advocate for action to combat global warming and those who oppose such action by denying the basic science that proves we are living in an age of rising global temperatures and increasingly severe weather events as a result of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. The pervasiveness of this position among elected …

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Josh Niemtzow, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 When describing the changing character of our favorite cities, gentrification is often identified as the culprit. But what does gentrification actually mean? Gentrification involves developers rebuilding homes and businesses in a deteriorating area, which then attracts more affluent residents, resulting in a displacement of poorer residents. But it is not all bad: a little development in an underdeveloped area can increase amenities for existing residents. However, cities must be …

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Andria Morales, Law& Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 The changes reflected in the October 2019 Land Bank legislation represented a long-sought acknowledgement of the need for structural changes and policies that prioritize fair and transparent property distribution. Everyone can agree that the elimination of the Vacant Property Review Committee is a good thing, as is the establishment of a uniform timeline for review of expressions of interest in properties. At the very least, we can expect to receive …

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Lauren Boothe, Law & Public Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 Philadelphia City Council recently passed a bill banning single-use plastic bags in City limits. The ban comes after more than a decade of unsuccessful efforts by Councilman Mark Squilla to bring such a ban to Philadelphia, with the current iteration of the bag ban bill introduced on June 20, 2019, but amended on the floor on December 5, 2019. The December amendment was meant to remove the proposed 15-cent …

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Timothy Cordova, Law & Policy Scholar, JD Anticipated May 2021 The closure of Hahnemann University Hospital has sparked a vigorous debate about the state of our local health care system. Since Philadelphia is the largest city without a municipal hospital, residents feared that the closure of Hahnemann would have a devastating impact on vulnerable Philadelphians, prompting some commentators to propose that a new public hospital should open in Philadelphia. While the fears may be somewhat overblown, the city should take …

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