Liberal and Conservative Beliefs of Justices

.....controversy of establishing a court system at the creation of the U.S. Constitution centered on the power struggle between states and the creation of a federal, central government with its own court and ability to overrule state court decisions. The Constitution pitted Federalists against Anti-Federalists. The former wanted a central government that acted as the top force over all the states; the latter wanted no central government -- because, after all, the Revolutionaries had just fought a war against a king -- why should they turn around and elect a new one? The idea of sovereign states was such that each state was its own master and local citizens could have more say in their government at a localized, grassroots level. The passing of the Constitution essentially tipped the scales towards the centralized federal government having power over all the states (Brutus No. 1, 1787).

UNIT 1 DISCUSSION (2)

Feld's (1994) "Honest Politician's Guide to Juvenile Justice in the Twenty-First Century" argues that social welfare should be separated from social control in juvenile courts so as to allow courts to try all offenders in a more consistent manner that allows therapy to be delivered in a separate sphere (social welfare) and justice to be delivered in the courts (with the caveat being that youth offenders should receive smaller sentences on account of their youth). The argument is persuasive because it takes into consideration the idea that courts are there to pass judgment not to provide therapeutic intervention. Courts that try to do more than they are meant to simply make themselves unable to do the justice part and then they are completely ineffective.

ASHFORD 3: - WEEK 2 (SEP 06 - SEP 12)

Plea bargaining can occur in many criminal cases are usually occurs before trial. The ethics of plea bargaining should be constrained by a guard against "freewheeling" use of the practice, which can reinforce an unethical notion that if a defendant just cops to a crime, the sentence will be lighter. It saves everyone time and work. Yet, sometimes a plea deal should not be accepted because it would mean that justice is not served (white collar crimes especially take advantage of this). What would happen in a criminal justice system without plea bargaining is that courts would become so backed up that cases would never be heard in the lifetime of the persons involved/charged. Alternatives to the plea bargaining process to enhance justice and efficiency could include diversion programs that remove less serious charges from the process (American Bar Association, 2015).

ASHFORD 4: - WEEK 3 - DISCUSSION 1

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in 1933 in Brooklyn to Jewish parents. She attended Cornell, Columbia Law and was a professor at Rutgers and Columbia. She worked in the Women's Rights Movement with the ACLU and was that organization's General Counsel for much of the 1970s as well as on the organization's Board of Directors. She was appointed judge of U.S. Court of Appeals in DC in 1980. Clinton nominated her to the Supreme Court which she joined in 1993 at 60 years of age. She is identified as politically liberal, based on her work in the Women's Movement and with the ACLU. Her recent public attacks on the Trump campaign confirm a liberal bias and were somewhat scandalous considering that Justices are not supposed to air political sentiment in public that way. Thus the liberal/leftist label is most likely correct. Her philosophy on the constitutional issues ranges, however, from federalist to anti-federalist positions, so the label is only effective to a certain degree (Supreme Court Biographies, 2015).

ASHFORD 4: - WEEK 3 - DISCUSSION 2

One right for the accused is the right to obtain counsel and this is the most significant safeguard for criminal defendants because it allows them the opportunity to get help with their case and be properly represented. Gideon v. Wainwright and Argersinger v. Hamlin are two cases that ruled on this right. The former said that the right was extended to the 5th and 6th Amendments. This is relevant today because of the need for all persons to be able to defend themselves against accusations (Cohen, 2013).

ASHFORD 5: - WEEK 4 - DISCUSSION 1

Liberal refers to ideas that side with the left of the political spectrum -- social welfare, decriminalization, more government, social justice rights, political correctness; while conservative refers to the right of the political spectrum -- fiscal responsibility, smaller government, regulation, fewer handouts. Today, most ideas are neo-conservative or neo-liberal and are basically only shadows of the former ideologies: both parties seem to be pro-war, pro-totalitarian, and pro-fascist. They shape Court opinions in that the Justices are influenced by these views and they interpret the law and how it should be applied -- everything from Obamacare to NSA spying (Conservative vs. Liberal, 2005).

ASHFORD 5: - WEEK 4 - DISCUSSION 2

In Clark v. Arizona (2006) the Supreme Court upheld the decision by the state of Arizona regarding the degree to which insanity can be used as a defense. The defense argued that the actor had lacked the mental health to know right from wrong at the time; the state argued it had no laws admitting mental health evidence to the case, only laws regarding insanity. The Court upheld the state's conviction of the defendant because the defendant knew right from wrong and thus was not legally insane -- he was just schizophrenic and could not understand the nature of his actions. The Chief Justice was Roberts. The majority opinion included Souter, Scalia, Thomas, Alito, and Breyer (who also dissented on certain parts). Dissenters included Kennedy, Stevens and Ginsburg. The case did not set precedent but did apply U.S. Const. Amend XIV as decided in Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-502(A).

References

American Bar Association. (2015). How Courts Work. Retrieved from http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/resources/law_related_education_network/how_courts_work/pleabargaining.html

Brutus No. 1. (1787). Retrieved from http://www.constitution.org/afp/brutus01.htm

Clark v. Arizona. (2006). Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/05pdf/05-5966.pdf

Cohen, A. (2013). How Americans lost the right to counsel. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/03/how-americans-lost-the-right-to-counsel-50-years-after-gideon/273433/

Conservative vs. Liberal. (2005). Student News Daily. Retrieved from https://www.studentnewsdaily.com/conservative-vs.-liberal-beliefs/

Feld, B. (1994). The honest politician's guide to juvenile justice in the twenty-first century. Annals of American Academy of Political and Social Science, 564(1): 10-27.

Supreme Court Biographies. (2015). Supreme Court. Retrieved from https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx