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2015 in Review: Looking back on a year of landmark law with the Legal Roundtable

s_falkow | Flickr

The past year was a landmark one for many legal issues—both nationally and locally. On Thursday’s “St. Louis on the Air,” our monthly Legal Roundtable convened to discuss the legal decisions (or lack thereof) which had the most impact on 2015. They also looked ahead to 2016.

Joining the show:

  • Jared Boyd, J.D. , Chief of Staff and Counsel at City of St. Louis Treasurer's Office; President, Mound City Bar Association
  • William Freivogel, J.D. , Professor, School of Journalism, Southern Illinois University -Carbondale
  • Mark Smith, J.D. , Associate Vice Chancellor of Students, Washington University
Credit Kelly Moffitt | St. Louis Public Radio
Jared Boyd, William Freivogel and Mark Smith.

Boyd said that the most important legal topic of discussion this year was police reform following a string of incidents that inspired protest across the country. Freivogel and Smith said the the U.S. Supreme Court decision last summer to make same-sex marriage legal in all 50 states was a landmark.

"That's a once-every-decade case," Smith said. "That will be something that when you're a first-year law student, you'll read an excerpt form that case 10 years from now, 20 years from now."

Locally, the passage of Missouri Senate Bill 5 made a big impact for municipal court reform, said Smith. 

Some of the topics that were discussed:

  • Uber
  • Red-light cameras
  • Same-sex marriage
  • Affordable Care Act
  • Planned Parenthood
  • Abortion
  • Local police reform
  • Senate Bill No. 5 and municipal court reform
  • Firearms
  • Immigration, refugees

As for 2016? In addition to predictions about a decision in the Texas abortion law, another look at celebrity entrapment, more discussion about reducing incarceration and questions about affirmative action, Boyd wished for one other thing:

"Peace on earth."

"St. Louis on the Air" discusses issues and concerns facing the St. Louis area. The show is produced by Mary EdwardsAlex Heuer and Kelly Moffitt and hosted by veteran journalist Don Marsh. Follow us on Twitter and join the conversation at @STLonAir.

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Kelly Moffitt joined St. Louis Public Radio in 2015 as an online producer for St. Louis Public Radio's talk shows St. Louis on the Air.