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The influence of religion on society
The role the Supreme Court plays in policymaking
The role the Supreme Court plays in policymaking
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In the United States of America the constitution is the highest law of the land. This constitution is final and absolute, neither state nor federal law can go against it. Oklahoma and many other states from the Bible belt, however have a history of passing unconstitutional laws only for them to be struck down in court at a later date. This is a problem because it ties up the courts and costs the taxpayers money for no reason other than sheer incompetence. The Oklahoma state government continuing to pass several unconstitutional laws knowing that they are wrong gives reason to question the competence of our state electives. There have been multiple cases within Oklahoma's history where unconstitutional laws have been passed by the state legislature. The states deep-rooted religious influence has led to several unconstitutional laws being passed and then justified by the moral values of our legislature. The Supreme Court is the law of the land and it is wrong for the state government to go against it. Oklahoma has gone as far as passing a direct ban on Sharia Law. Sharia Law is a fundamental part of Islamic culture. On January 10th, 2012, the ban on Sharia Law was declared unconstitutional by the tenth circuit court of appeals (Keyes). Any law that directly discriminates against a religion is unconstitutional as the entire purpose of the first amendment is to protect your religious freedoms. This law in particular directly violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment (Scott). Any state government that would directly and knowingly go against the very foundation of our constitution is either dangerously out of touch with reality or incompetent on a wide scale level. Furthermore, Oklahoma has a long-standing... ... middle of paper ... ...logic to govern their decisions the only option will be to impeach and appoint new electives. Works Cited Hoberock, Barbara. "Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling Declaring Another Oklahoma Abortion Law Unconstitutional." Tulsa World (OK) 12 Nov. 2013: Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. Keyes, Scott. "BREAKING: 10th Circuit Court Of Appeals Declares Oklahoma’s Sharia Ban Unconstitutional." ThinkProgress RSS. Think Progress, 10 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. Associated, Press. "US Court Says Abortion Laws Unconstitutional." AP English Worldstream - English (2012): Newspaper Source Plus. Web. 16 Jan. 2014. Peralta, Eyder. "Federal Judge Strikes Down Oklahoma Ban On Gay Marriage." NPR. NPR, 14 Jan. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2014. M. Scott, Carter. "Oklahoma's High Court Strikes Down Civil Justice Law." Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City, OK) (n.d.):
This example of a Supreme Court case shows that the court is not above politics. Even though most Americans, including government officials, practiced some form of Christianity, the judges were not willing to compromise the information in the Constitution for the popular beliefs of individuals. I agree with the Supreme Court in its decision to ban the practice of prayer in public schools. Not only does it violate the Constitution, but it encroaches on our freedom of thought and action. Being excluded from a public classroom because of personal beliefs does not sound just.
The Civil War set the precedents for Oklahoma’s rush. In 1866, the U.S. government signed treaties with Five Civilized tribes. These five tribes supported the Confederacy in the Civil War, so as punishment, the U.S. Congress
The opinion of the court was held by Justice Kennedy, in that the Colorado amendment was held unconstitutional on the basis that it violated the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment on the United States Constitution. Kennedy argued the amendment singles out a specific group in which, it would make it so only homosexuals cannot receive the protective rights that are available to anyone else. This idea makes homosexuals unequal to everyone else because they are not guaranteed the same protection that anyone else could get if they needed it. Furthermore, the amendment burdens the homosexual community by not allowing them to seek protection against discrimination though the use of legislation. Additionally, Kennedy claims “In and ordinary case, a law will be sustained if it can be said to advance a legitimate government interest…” (632) By this he means that a law will be considered valid as long as it has a ...
Allowing students to object to reciting the prayer did not make it constitutional. The court decided that the nondenominational aspect of the prayer did not make it Constitutional either. The law was in fact in violation of the 1st Amendment of the Constitution.
In the case Lawrence v. Texas (539 U.S. 558, 2003) which was the United States Supreme Court case the criminal prohibition of the homosexual pederasty was invalidated in Texas. The same issue has been already addressed in 1989 in the case Bowers v. Hardwick, however, the constitutional protection of sexual privacy was not found at that time. Lawrence overruled Bowers and held that sexual conduct was the right protected by the due process under the Fourteenth Amendment. The effects of the ruling were quite widespread and led to invalidation of the similar laws throughout the United States that tried to criminalize the homosexual activity of adults which were acting in privacy. The case attracted much of the public attention and quite a large number of briefs were filed in the cases.
Overall, the ruling in this case was a perfect interpretation of the Constitution. Despite opposition claiming that it is not addressed in the Constitution, too few rights are ever addressed in the Constitution of the United States. That is why there is a thing called Judicial Review. By utilizing judicial review, the interpreters of the law –Supreme Court, may make changes to policies and laws. Abortion, medicinal marijuana, and marriage fall under the umbrella of Equal Protection since they correspond to the rights and liberties of US citizens.
In the article “Abortion Restrictions In Texas Upheld By Appeals Court”, author Tasneem Nashrulla writes about the decision that the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals made on the House Bill 2 law that forces strict regulations on about all Texan abortion clinics. As well, listing the opponents of the law views on the danger it creates for millions of Texan women's. Abortion has always been a difficult issue because there are good arguments for both side. Taking into account both arguments, I am siding with the opponents of the law. I support the oppositions view because it does put a burden to Texan women who are seeking for medical assistance. Also, I would say that a woman has the right to make decisions regarding her pregnancy without Texan
The Tenth Circuit “has routinely disagreed with this Court’s [Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals] reasoning on this issue, and ask the court to reconsider its position.” In response the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals responded, “While always mindful of the respect due to other courts, the Tenth Circuit's interpretation of this issue is not binding on this Court. We decline the invitation to reconsider our consistent position on this issue.” This is a case of clear and willful ignorance as to the Supreme Court precedent. The state of Oklahoma is intentionally violating constitutional law in order to sway more juries to sentence defendants to death. The Tenth Circuit has stated, “While there is no direct action we can take to halt this contumacious behavior,” there is “one federal court that can directly correct the OCCA’s unreasonable interpretation: the United States Supreme Court.” For this reason, the Court must act. Oklahoma refuses to adhere to the precedent laid out in Booth and Payne, even after repeated scolding from the Tenth Circuit. Petitioner has argued, “The OCCA has signaled that it will continue to act in an unconstitutional manner on this issue until told otherwise by this Court.” Therefore this court must act, so as to correct the actions of a rouge state refusing to follow constitutional
McDermott, L. B. (2014, April 11). Arkansas to appeal ruling on abortion restriction law. Reuters. Texarkana, Arkansas. Retrieved April 25, 2014, from http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/11/us-usa-abortion-arkansas-idUSBREA3A1ZL20140411
Nagourney, Adam. "Court Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage in California." New York Times. N.p., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
Remy, Richard C., Gary E. Clayton, and John J. Patrick. "Supreme Court Cases." Civics Today. Columbus, Ohio: Glencoe, 2008. 796. Print.
Levy, Pema. "The Abortion Case the Supreme Court May Find Hard to Refuse." MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Hall, Kermit L, eds. The Oxford guide to United States Supreme Court decisions New York: Oxford University Press, 1999.
The ruling of Baehr vs. Lewin was a victory for gay rights activists, hope for other states searching for the same freedom, and disappointment for opponents of same-sex marriage. Yet this victory was short lived (until complete legalization in November 13, 2013) since the state appealed the lower court’s decis...
In 1971 Linda Coffee and Sarah Wellington sued on Norma McCorvey behalf, arguing that the state of Texas abortion law was unconstitutional. Defending the state of Texas was Henry Wade, district attorney of Dallas. The state of Texas only allowed abortions in cases where the mother’s life was at risk or the women was sexually assaulted. After two years of hearing evidence, the US Supreme Court affirms legality, a women’s right to abort, and that a right to privacy being implied by the Ninth and Fourteenth amendments in a 7-2 decision in 1973. It had encompassed a woman’s decision whether or not to stop her pregnancy. No states could restrict abortion during first three months or trimester of a pregnancy.