Good Morning Seniors!
Today:
1. Warm Up
2. Key Terms
3. Structure of the Court
System
4. Supreme Court
EQ: How does the structure
and practice of our Judicial
System support or
undermine our democratic
principal?
Warm Up Select one of the questions below and answer it.
Why do we have laws?
What is the purpose of the justice system?
Punitive or Restorative? How could you develop a
more punitive system? A more restorative system?
What is the impact on society?
Challenge:
Brainstorm 2 systems of justice different from our
own judge/jury/penal system.
Acquittal - A jury verdict that a criminal defendant is
not guilty, or the finding of a judge that the evidence
is insufficient to support a conviction.
Affidavit - A written or printed statement made under
oath.
Amicus curiae - Latin for "friend of the court." It is
advice formally offered to the court in a brief filed by
an entity interested in, but not a party to, the case.
Appeal/Appellate - A request made after a trial by a
party that has lost on one or more issues that a higher
court review the decision to determine if it was
correct. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to
take an appeal." One who appeals is called the
"appellant;" the other party is the "appellee."
Burden of proof/Standard of proof - The duty to
prove disputed facts. In civil cases, a plaintiff generally
has the burden of proving his or her case. In criminal
cases, the government has the burden of proving the
defendant's guilt. The Standard of proof also differs in
criminal and civil cases. In criminal cases, prosecutors
must prove a defendant's guilt "beyond a reasonable
doubt." The majority of civil lawsuits require proof
"by a preponderance of the evidence" (50 percent
plus), but in some the standard is higher and requires
"clear and convincing" proof.
De facto vs. De jure – What the law says (de jure) vs.
what actually happens in practice (de factor)
Double Jeopardy – Law which says you can’t be tried for the
same crime twice.
Due process - the constitutional guarantee that a defendant
will receive a fair and impartial trial. In civil law, the legal
rights of someone who confronts an adverse action
threatening liberty or property.
Habeas corpus - Latin, meaning "you have the body." A writ
of habeas corpus generally is a judicial order forcing law
enforcement authorities to produce a prisoner they are
holding, and to justify the prisoner's continued confinement.
Federal judges receive petitions for a writ of habeas corpus
from state prison inmates who say their state prosecutions
violated federally protected rights in some way.
Jurisdiction - The legal authority of a court to hear and decide
a certain type of case. It also is used as a synonym for venue,
meaning the geographic area over which the court has
territorial jurisdiction to decide cases.
Misdemeanor vs. Felony – A misdemeanor is a more
minor offense punishable by one year of imprisonment or
less . A felony is a worse crime.
Precedent - A court decision in an earlier case with facts
and legal issues similar to a dispute currently before a
court. Judges will generally "follow precedent" - meaning
that they use the principles established in earlier cases to
decide new cases that have similar facts and raise similar
legal issues. A judge will disregard precedent if a party
can show that the earlier case was wrongly decided, or
that it differed in some significant way from the current
case.
Remand – Send back - Return a case to be retried in a
lower court.
Writ of certiorari - An order issued by the U.S. Supreme
Court directing the lower court to transmit records for a
case which it will hear on appeal.
Structure of the Court System
Happy Block Day Y’all!
Today:
1. Looking at the Supreme
Court and Key Cases.
2. Statistics on Justice
3. After Innocence
EQ: What are the key roles of
the Judicial System and how
can the justice system better
support equality, freedom and
safety in society.
The Supreme Court
9 Justices (8 justices and 1 chief justice – Roberts)
Judges are nominated by the president, approved
by the Congress and sit on the bench for life.
Marbury vs. Madison – Judicial Review
Strict vs. Loose Construction - Judicial Activism
Opinions –
Majority
Dissenting
Concurring
Precedent
Criticisms of The Supreme Court
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Judicial activism – legislating from the bench
Federal vs. State power
Interference in political disputes
Failing to protect individual rights
Too much power – poor balance of power
Sit for life – Lifetime tenure
Don’t review enough cases.
Divided along politics
Major Court Cases
• Marbury vs. Madison (1803) Judicial
Review
“It is emphatically the province and
duty of the judicial department to say
what the law is. Those who apply the
rule to particular cases, must of
necessity expound and interpret that
rule. If two laws conflict with each
other, the courts must decide on the
operation of each”. — Chief Justice John
Marshall
McCulloch vs. Maryland (1819) National Supremacy
". . . Although, among the enumerated powers of government, we do not find the
word "bank" or "incorporation," we find the great powers to lay and collect taxes; to
borrow money; to regulate commerce; to declare and conduct a war; and to raise and
support armies and navies . . . But it may with great reason be contended, that a
government, entrusted with such ample powers . . . must also be entrusted with
ample means for their execution. The power being given, it is the interest of the
nation to facilitate its execution. . . . " —Chief Justice John Marshall
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) Slavery, Due Process, the Missouri
Compromise
" . . . We think they [people of African ancestry] are . . . not
included, and were not intended to be included, under the word
"citizens" in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the
rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and
secures to citizens of the United States. . . ." — Chief Justice Roger
B. Taney, speaking for the majority
Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) "Separate but Equal," Equal Protection
"The object of the [Fourteenth] Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the
absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature of things it
could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to
enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the
two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either." —Justice Henry Billings Brown,
speaking for the majority
Korematsu v. United States (1944) Japanese Internment, Equal Protection
"As long as my record stands in federal court, any American citizen can be held in
prison or concentration camps without trial or hearing. I would like to see the
government admit they were wrong and do something about it, so this will never
happen again to any American citizen of any race, creed, or color." —Fred Korematsu
(1983), on his decision to again challenge his conviction 40 years later
Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
School Segregation, Equal Protection
"We conclude that the doctrine of 'separate but equal' has no
place. Separate educational facilities are inherently
unequal." —Chief Justice Earl Warren
Gideon v. Wainwright (1963) Right to Counsel, Due Process
"If an obscure Florida convict named Clarence Earl Gideon had not sat down in his
prison cell . . . to write a letter to the Supreme Court . . . the vast machinery of
American law would have gone on functioning undisturbed. But Gideon did write that
letter, the Court did look into his case . . . and the whole course of American legal
history has been changed." —Robert F. Kennedy
Miranda v. Arizona (1966) Self-Incrimination, Due Process
". . . the prosecution may not use statements, whether exculpatory or
inculpatory, stemming from custodial interrogation of the defendant
unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards effective to
secure the privilege against self-incrimination."—Chief Justice Earl
Warren, speaking for the majorit
Statistics on Incarceration
The U.S. has the
highest incarceration
rate in the world.
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Drugs 50.7%
Public-order
35.0%,
Violent 7.9%
Property 5.8%
Other .7%
Why do you think we
have more people in
jail than any other
country?
What values make us
construct our society in
such a way?
Violent crime in the
United States has been
in decline since the
1950’s. With a minor
spike during the crack
epidemic during the
late 80’s early 1990’s.
The rate of incarceration for
men of color is significantly
higher than for whites and
women in general.
Why might this be?
While violent crime rates over-all in the United
States have been declining – incarceration rates
for drug offenses have more than quadrupled
since the start of the drug war in 1980.
In spite of dropping crime rates,
the number of juveniles in adult
facilities remains high.
What might impact of placing
juveniles in adult facilities be?
Being that most research
suggests that prison is JUST
punishment and either has
NO EFFECT or a NEGATIVE
EFFECT on recidivism
(people’s return to prison) –
what might the implications
of juvenile incarceration in
adult prisons be?
After Innocence What should the purpose of our justice system be?
TGIF!
Today:
1. Warm up: Restorative
Justice in School.
2. Criticisms of the
Justice System
3. What can we learn
from other countries?
EQ: How can we improve
our criminal justice
system?
Warm Up
Restorative Justice in Schools
1. What is the goal here?
2. What are some criticisms you have?
3. Why do you think punishment is so popular?
Criticisms of the Justice System
1. The quality of your lawyer is almost completely dependent
on your wealth.
2. Most cases don’t even go to trial – defendants are
intimidated into taking pleas.
1. Fewer than 10% of cases went to trial last year
3. The job of prosecutors is to win cases not to find the truth.
4. Police, Lawyers, Judges and Jurors don’t recognize their own
biases.
5. People just return to jail – they are unable to assimilate into
society.
6. Ironic contradictions in personal responsibility in criminal vs.
civil cases (criminals are completely responsible for their
actions, individuals can easily sue doctors, teachers,
business owners when they are unhappy with service)
What can we learn from others?
"In the 1970s, Finland had the highest incarceration rate among
the West-European countries. Costs were high, and
overcrowding caused serious problems for inmates and the
enforcement agencies. In addition nothing in our crime situation
indicated that Finland should have two-to-three times more
prisoners than our Nordic neighbors. In response, our legislators
invested in public programs that improve communities and
prevent justice involvement, and stopped choosing incarceration
when other, less-restrictive options were appropriate. Now,
Finland’s incarceration rate is just 60 people per 100,000.
Finland and the other low-imprisonment Nordic countries, stand
as an example of policies that have successfully replaced
custodial interventions by community- and social prevention
programs.”
- Tapio Lappi-Seppälä, director of the National Research
Institute of Legal Policy in Finland stated,
Suggested Changes in the criminal Justice System
Provide more treatment for more people outside
the criminal justice system:
Treatment for drug addiction should be widely
available outside the criminal justice system and
affordable for people who need it. In cases in which
the offense is related to the personal use of drugs,
treatment should be the first response rather than
incarceration.
Suggested Changes in the criminal Justice System
Scale back sentence lengths, especially for drug
offenses:
No other comparison nation has mandatory
sentencing for possession of small amounts of illegal
substances. Such broad sentencing structures are
significant contributors to the number of people in
prison in the U.S. and are not the best or most costeffective way to protect public safety.
Suggested Changes in the criminal Justice System
Improve reentry services:
Other nations successfully put into practice an
approach to reentry that includes both mental and
behavioral health, as well as sociological factors like
housing, employment, and education. Such a
holistic approach could be cost effective in terms of
keeping people from returning to prison and
improving life outcomes.
Suggested Changes in the criminal Justice System
Raise the age of criminal responsibility- end transfers to
adult court
Other nations don’t consider children as young as six to
be mature enough to be criminally responsible for their
actions; raising the U.S. age would reduce the number of
youth in secure custody in the U.S. and reinforce the
concept that youth are not developmentally the same as
adults and therefore should not be treated as such. Also,
no other comparison nation transfers as many youth
adult criminal courts as the United States at such young
ages. This has a negative impact on community and
individual well-being, as it decreases the chance a youth
will be able to avoid future justice involvement and
increases the risk of harm while in custody.
Suggested Changes in the criminal Justice System
Consider responses other than incarceration:
Germany and Finland both use a day fine system based
on the seriousness of the offense and apply proportional
punishment on all people, regardless of socio-economic
status. The fine is generally levied based on the amount
of money a person earns on a given day and is meted out
over a specified number of days.
Invest in positive institutions:
The U.S. would do well to prioritize spending on
strengthening and expanding institutions like education
and employment, especially as they have been shown to
not only decrease incarceration, but also improve public
safety.
Restorative Justice – Societal Level
What are you initial reactions to this idea?
What are some criticisms you have?
What are some questions you have?
Further Questions around punishment
1. Do you think that solitary confinement is
justice or torture?
2. Do you think that the United States should
keep the death penalty?
Final Reflection
Community vs. Individual Responsibility
We in the United States place a high value on
individual responsibility – how is this value
reflected in our justice system?