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Courtroom Politics

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Submitted By crlau
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According to Baumer and Van Horn’s Politics and Public Policy (2014), courtroom politics is defined as the issuance of court rulings in response to controversies (cases) involving interest groups, governments, and aggrieved individuals. (p24).” There are branches of laws one being public law and the other one being private law. Basically public law is legal disputes involving government officials, which applies a relationship between individuals and the government. An example of public law would be criminal law. Private law is disputes between private parties, which usually applies to relationship between individuals in a legal system. An example of private law would be contracts or labor laws, torts, and property damages.

An example of courtroom politics in terms of a private law is a corporation called Global Horizon and 6 farms in Hawaii are being held liable for discriminating, harassing, and retaliating against hundreds of Thai farm workers in the U.S. in violation of federal anti-discrimination laws. According to U.S. District Court Judge Kobayashi, she cited reports of physical abuse, exploitation, and barbaric security measures at Maui Pineapple Company’s historic pineapple plantations. An example is that Global Horizon forced Thai workers to live at old worker dormitories and was physically and verbally abused and was taken advantage of based on their race and stereotypical beliefs. Also Judge Kobayashi found that the Thai workers were being paid less and were made to work less desirable and more demeaning jobs and denied breaks as well. Regional Attorney Anna Y. Park also reported that the Thai workers were not only treated inhumanely during their working conditions, but also employers controlled where they live, what they could eat, and the basic right to move around freely. All of these violations falls not only under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but it also violates human trafficking, harassment, disparate pay, and job segregation.

In conclusion, Judge Kobayashi has furthered the process of bringing justice upon the unethical practices of Global Horizon. Courtroom politics often involve resolving violated laws or issues that have been violated by individuals and private parties as shown within this case. My thoughts on this case is that the awful damaged towards Thai workers has been done and hopefully they will get rewarded with a hefty sum to compensate the inhumane experience they had to go through. Also Global Horizon as a company will need to change their organization structure and will need to implement policies that will prevent such atrocity from happening again.

"Federal Judge Finds Global Horizons Liable for Discriminating, Harassing, and Retaliating Against Hundreds of Thai Farm Workers in EEOC Suit." Federal Judge Finds Global Horizons Liable for Discriminating, Harassing, and Retaliating Against Hundreds of Thai Farm Workers in EEOC Suit. N.p., 24 Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. <http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/3-24-14.cfm>.

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