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Constitutional Due Process
Prior to entering the US Supreme Court building, one can look up and see the words, “Equal Justice Under Law.” The idea that anyone in this country is able to have their grievance heard and judged is all too important to how we continue to develop as a society. But is justice really equal? Is our criminal justice system in particular, due process of law, equally applicable to all citizens or is it a defective or deficient idea? Consider for example the case of Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) and the landmark decision that held all are entitled to a defense attorney. The Gideon case is so important in that it placed a spotlight on the injustice or unequal treatment citizens were receiving by state courts. Gideon a common man was charged by the state of Florida for breaking into a poolroom with intent to commit a misdemeanor, which by Florida law is actually a felony. He appeared before a judge and requested representation as he could not afford one on his own. His request was denied. Gideon went on to represent himself in court and subsequently was convicted and imprisoned. Following the laws of the land, he sought relief and submitted a writ of habeas corpus based on his constitutional rights being violated. He lost that argument as well. The reasoning behind the denial was due to Florida law only providing attorneys for capital offenses. His repeated attempts for equal treatment under the law continued and he sought relief from the US Supreme Court. His battle directly went against a previous court decision in Betts v. Brady (1942) which essentially had decided a state did not have to provide an attorney in some circumstances as it did not violate due process. Held in the decision of Betts ...
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...se that is defective, but realistically it allows us to adapt to changing social views.
Works Cited
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Sandefur, T. (2012). In defense of substantive due process, or the promise of lawful rule. Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy, 35(1). 283-350. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/922364239?accountid=8289
Peak, K. J. (2010). Justice Administration: Police, Courts, and Corrections Management (6th ed.), Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall
Betts v. Brady, 316 U.S. 455 (1942). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/316/455/case.html
Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335 (1963). Retrieved from https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/372/335/case.html
Adair v. U.S. and Coppage v. Kansas became two defining cases in the Lochner era, a period defined after the Supreme Court’s decision in Lochner v New York, where the court adopted a broad understanding of the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment. In these cases the court used the substantive due process principle to determine whether a state statute or state’s policing power violated an individual’s freedom of contract. To gain a better understanding of the court’s reasoning it is essential to understand what they disregarded and how the rulings relate to the rulings in Plessy v. Ferguson, Lochner v. New York and Muller v. Oregon.
Wright, J. (2012). Introduction to criminal justice. (p. 9.1). San Diego: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUCRJ201.12.1/sections/sec9.1
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Is our justice system fair to all? Although the answer to this question is an opinion, there are pieces of evidence and commentary to defend this argument. The process of the legal system itself is all an opinion because in the end, the only person whose judgments matter is the judge himself. Over time, the wrong people have been arrested for the wrong things. Living in the United States, a country where crimes are committed constantly; we count on this system to make the right decisions. It is important that each case is treated equally when carrying out justice to keep the United States a safe place, to form a nation with good education, and to teach people from judging right from wrong. However, sometimes rights are taken from the wrong people. Our legal system is creating a dangerous path for African Americans in our country because of its’ highest per capita incarceration rate, its’ favoritism towards those in power, and its failure to carry out justice to protect people from the dangerous acts of those who are defined as criminals.
Lilly, Robert J., Francis T. Cullen, and Richard A. Ball. 2011. Criminological Theory: Context And Consequences. 5th ed. California: SAGE.
Schmalleger, F. (2009), Prentice Hall, Publication. Criminal Justice Today: An introductory Text for the 21st century
Pollock, J. M. (2012). Crime & justice in America: An introduction to criminal justice (2nd ed.). Waltham, MA, USA: Anderson Publishing (Elsevier).
Morgan, R., Maguire, M. And Reiner, R. (2012). The Oxford Handbook of Criminology. 5th ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.