Battle for the Constitution: Week of June 29th, 2020 Roundup

Below is a round-up of the latest from the Battle for the Constitution: a special project on the constitutional debates in American life, in partnership with The Atlantic.

The Senate Filibuster Is Another Monument to White Supremacy

By David Litt, Author, Democracy In One Book or Less

David Litt explains the history of the filibuster, how it was used to uphold segregation and thwart civil rights legislation, and argues that it should be removed.

The Separation of Church and State Is Breaking Down Under Trump

By Micah Schwartzman, Hardy Cross Dillard Professor of Law and Director of the Karsh Center for Law and Democracy, University of Virginia School of Law; Richard Schragger, Perre Bowen Professor of Law, University of Virginia School of Law; Nelson Tebbe, Jane M.G. Foster Professor of Law, Cornell Law School

Micah Schwartzman, Richard Schragger, and Nelson Tebbe contend that the Small Business Administration’s handling of the Paycheck Protection Program loans has impermissibly favored religion by carving out exemptions for religious organizations not given to similarly situated secular non-profits, and that the wall between church and state is diminishing in the Trump administration.

Social Conservatives Are Learning All the Wrong Lessons From Trump

By Mary Ziegler, Stearns Weaver Miller Professor, Florida State University College of Law

Mary Ziegler writes that Chief Justice John Roberts may be willing to put further restrictions on access to abortion, but that he is not willing to overturn Roe—yet.