...Supreme Court justices are just politicians in black robes Supreme court justices are politicians. They are politicians alongside their duties of judges of the highest court in the land. The most basic definition of a politician is, a person that achieves a position of policy making over an organized community. Judges, in theory, should be fair, unbiased, neutral, impartial and not based or linked to any political party or movement. However, decisions made by the Supreme Court judges have had huge political significance. While it’s not the standard in lower courts, the United States Supreme Court is forced to make political and judicial decisions. A judicial decision is based on the question was a law broken. However, because the Supreme Court is the highest court of the land, they also must make political decisions some of which have been more powerful that the actual laws congress had written. The Supreme Court is in charge of making sure congress and the president don’t overstep their authority, and to do this job of keeping these branches accountable it would be impossible for the justices to not be politicians yielding real power. One of the examples of the supreme courts political power the court case Griswold v. Connecticut (1965). Estelle Griswold was the executive director of Planned Parenthood in Connecticut; she and Dr. Buxton of Yale Medical School opened a clinic in Waterbury and after only serving 10 patients Griswold and Buxton were arrested and convicted...
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...Sonia Sotomayor is the first Latina Supreme Court Justice in the history of the United States and the third woman. She was nominated by President Barack Obama in May of 2009 and assumed the role in August of 2009. She was born in the Bronx during 1954 to Juan and Celina Baez Sotomayor. Sonia parents were born in Puerto Rico and later moved the United States for a better life. Her father died when she was nine and her mother assumed the role of single parent. Sonia's mother made sure to instill in her children the importance of higher education and learning English. Her mother made many sacrifices to make sure her kids would have a better life. When talking about Sotomayor's mother Antonia Felix writes " Celina's ability to forge a strong sense...
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...The issue of U.S. justices serving in the Supreme Court for life has been debated for years. While our forefathers who crafted the constitution had reasons for the lifetime service, Americans have had varying positions regarding the issue. This essay discusses the two sides of the lifetime tenure of American justices serving in the Supreme Court, seeking to gain ground on whether the term should be retained or amended. The U.S. President is constitutionally allowed to appoint justices to serve in the country’s Supreme Court. However, he or she does not do this independently, but seeks the assent and counsel of the Senate before the justices are appointed. From history, most presidents give preference to judges who appear to rhyme with them in terms of ideological views. However, this does not rule out the fact that serving justices may have opposing opinions to those shared by the president. Importantly, there are no qualifications for justices defined by the constitution, leaving room for the president to make his appointments, which are confirmed by the Senate (Patterson, 2010). Nevertheless, the confirmation process has always drawn significant attention, with lobby groups pushing for the rejection of some candidates with questionable track records. In rare cases, the president is allowed to withdraw the names of some candidates, especially when he is convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the names are likely to be rejected by the Senate. In recent years, the approval...
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...Juvenile Justice Supreme Court Cases | Project 2 | | Latisha Lipsey | 7/30/2012 | | Juveniles have been committing crimes since the beginning of time, and they were punished has needed. The problem in today’s world is the youths are starting to commit more crimes, then decades ago, and another issue is how to punish a juvenile for the crime they committed. There are several landmark juvenile cases that were decided by the U.S. Supreme Court. The first three cases, Kent v. United States (1966), In re Gault (1967), and In re Winship (1970), are considered to be three biggest cases which opened the doors for the juvenile litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court (Champion, 2010,2007,2004,2001,1998). When the Kent case was decided in 1966, it was much easier for the U.S. Supreme Court to impose its vast precedent setting powers on juvenile courts in all jurisdictions. Then there was other cases including Breed v. Jones that granted various constitutional rights to juveniles (Champion, 2010,2007,2004,2001,1998). In today’s world juvenile courts in all jurisdictions have moved away from traditional approaches to juvenile offending and punishment and onto due process commensurate with adult offenders. The presence of an attorney in juvenile courts is more of a rule then an exception (Champion, 2010,2007,2004,2001,1998) . The history of the evolution of the legal rights of juvenile offenders began in the 1960’s, the Supreme Court required juvenile courts to become...
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...Court system of California is the largest systems about 12% of the U.S population are served. Major cases California courts starts in trail courts which are present in each and every 58 counties of California State. These courts hear criminal, civil, family, juvenile, probate, mental health and traffic cases. Before courts of appeal Supreme Court review most of the cases. Supreme Court is the highest Court in the California and reviews decisions of the court of appeal in order to solve the conflicts and settle the law questions. California Supreme Court has one Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. It has 7907 fillings and about eighty five written opinions. Each Justice is appointed by Governor. The decision of Supreme Court provides guidance for the lower courts which shows effects on the residents of California. Supreme Court has decisions to decide which decisions can be review but is definitely want to review all the cases where death penalty is imposed. Supreme Court can also review the decisions of state Bar of California regarding the suspension of judges for misconduct. All the decisions of Supreme Court are in the form of written and available for public. They are made accessible through websites and official reports. Supreme Court functions for the development of law which are applied by trial and appellate courts. Supreme Courts reviews cases which will enable it to settle legal questions and to see that the law is uniformly applied throughout the state. Normally...
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...Week 1 Assignment State Court System Trial Courts Trial Courts are also called "Superior Courts." There are 58 Trial Courts--one in each county. In the Trial Courts, a judge, and sometimes a jury, hears testimony and evidence and decides a case by applying the law to the facts of the case. Superior Courts handle: * All criminal cases (felonies, misdemeanors, and traffic tickets) * All civil cases (family law, probate, juvenile, and other civil cases) * Appeals of small claims cases and other civil cases worth $25,000 or less * Appeals of misdemeanor cases Appellate Courts There are two types of Appellate Courts: * Courts of Appeal * California Supreme Court There are 6 Courts of Appeal and one California Supreme Court. Courts of Appeal The Courts of Appeal are California's intermediate courts of review. District headquarters for the Courts of Appeal are located in: * First District: San Francisco * Second District: Los Angeles * Third District:Sacramento * Fourth District: San Diego (Division One) * Fifth District: Fresno * Sixth District:San Jose People who are not satisfied with a Trial Court decision can appeal their case in an Appellate Court. When they "appeal", they ask a higher-level court to change what the Trial Court decided. The role of the Courts of Appeal is not to give new trials, but to review the Superior Court record (court files and transcripts) to decide if legal errors were made. To...
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...The issue of the jurisdiction of the Labour Court is a classic instance of the Labour Act( [chapter 28:01])is a classic instance in spite of having patently pluralist motivations still being unable to withstand the unitarist imprint of our legal system as reflected in the common law, all this in the midst of inherent class warfare. As such, any attempt to lay the blame for the problems bedevilling the jurisdiction of the Labour Court firmly on the door of poor draftsmanship are an inaccurate reading of what is, as will be discussed in the course of this essay, a much more complex problem. It is pertinent as a starting point to deal with the matter of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Labour Court in labour related matters, an aspect that suprisingly has troubled many a legal practitioner as the numerous High Court cases over the matter suggest. Section 89 of the Labour Act deals with the functions, powers and jurisdiction of the Labour Court. Section 89(6) of the Act states, 'no court, other than the Labour Court, shall have jurisdiction in the first instance to hear and determine any application, appeal or matter referred to in subsection (1)' and subsection (1) provides inter alia in the applicable paragraph that the Labour Act shall exercise the functions of, 'hearing and determining applications and appeals in terms of this Act or any other enactment.' The import of sections 89(6) and 89(1)(i) of the Act when read in toto is clear and unambiguous to the effect that all labour...
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...THE CHOICE BETWEEN PUNISHMENT AND REFORMATION:- The scope and purpose of this article is to ascertain various alternatives to punishment that contributes positively and effectively in the reformation and rehabilitation of the offender as well as the victim within the socio-economic conditions of India. The scope and purpose of this article is to ascertain various alternatives to punishment that contributes positively and effectively in the reformation and rehabilitation of the offender as well as the victim within the socio-economic conditions of India. The article further attempts to explore the possibilities of reconciliation of the punitive and reformative ideals to the common betterment of the offender, victim and the society. Introduction Punishment is a means of social control. It is given to the offenders with the aim to check them from committing crimes again. It deters not only the actual offenders but also others from doing the same kind of acts in future. On the one hand, it is some solace to the victim or to his relatives if the offender is punished and on the other hand it serves a social purpose to prevent the people from indulging in criminal acts. So that the punishment may be a reasonable means to check the crime, three things are essential for it. The first is the speedy and inescapable detection and prosecution, the second is a fair chance of “a fresh start” after the punishment and the third is that the State which claims the right to punish must...
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...present system of administration of justice, a foreign transplant, is unsuited to the genius of our people, its procedures are dilatory and cumbersome, not advancing the cause of substantial and quick justice. The situation is serious indeed and calls for careful consideration of the reasons for this delay. The system of administration of justice as obtaining in Bangladesh, both as regards the hierarchy of courts and the procedures followed by them, is the result of an evolutionary process the present system coming down from hundred years back and the people including the unlettered villagers have become used to its formalities and technicalities. Why then the people are losing confidence in the system is the question of the day. The answer is not far to seek. The procedure delay in disposal of cases, may account for much of the erosion of confidence in the system. But no particular point in Bangladesh. The administration of justice alone can be said to be the source of delay. It starts right from the beginning and endorse of the end. In decree of execution the uncertainty looms unending to the woe and worry of litigants- winners or losers. Through the agony of trial and tribulations emerge some causes which were common to the courts of all levels and which are peculiar to the court of different tiers. In every step of trial, however, there are some defects accounting for delay which are though inherent have yet become part of the system. The justice delivery system in our country...
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...formal institution such as trial courts or courts of justice, to address conflict resolution is indispensible. The establishment of this formal institutions is based on the social contract theory wherein the government is duty bound to maintain order in a community and to protect and enforce the fundamental rights of its inhabitants in exchange for the surrender of some rights of the latter. All these, follow the course of administration of justice. Administration of Justice examines the structure, function, laws, procedures, and decision-making processes of agencies that deal with crime management. Courts of justice plays a very important role in the administration of justice. Almost all countries experience problems in the administration of justice. The degree of seriousness of these problems varies depending on several factors. The most common among these problems is the increasing number of court dockets and flaws in the laws being interpreted and implemented. In the Philippines, Courts, in the administration of justice, follows a hierarchy of courts. There are four (4) levels of courts in the Philippines, wherein it is the Supreme Court that is at the apex of this four-tiered hierarchy. At the lowest level of the hierarchy are the first-level courts, consisting of the Municipal Trial Courts (MTCs), Metropolitan Trial Courts (MeTCs), and Municipal Circuit Trial Courts (MCTCs). These are basically called trial courts. These Trial Courts are the front liners in most...
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...| | |Charters and legal reforms, circa 1773 | |An examination of the systems established by the Tea Act in America, Regulating Act in India and Maria | |Theresa’s policies in Austria. | | | FOREWORD: Lord Fredrick North, the second Earl of Guilford was the Prime Minister of England from 1770 to 1782. He was the Prime Minister during the passing of the Regulatory Act, 1773 in India and most of the American Revolution. During the 1745- 1780, Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina (Maria Thereresa) ruled the Austrian throne. In India, Lord North passed the Regulatory Act, 1773 which decreased the power of the East India Company, the Tea Act of 1773 in America to give the East India Company trade monopoly over tea trade while Maria Theresa made various reforms in the administrative and legal system. There were various legal and administration systems present in and around the year 1773 and some of these are examined here: namely the Tea Act, 1773 (America), the Regulating Act, 1773 (India) and Maria Theresa’s legal and administrative reforms (from 1745 to 1780). ...
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...A Brief Description of the Hierarchy of the Courts In New Zealand, as in the United Kingdom and all other common law jurisdictions, there is a judicial hierarchy in which higher courts have superior power and status than lower courts. Lower courts in the hierarchy are bound to follow the previous decisions (precedents) of the courts above them. Generally there is a right of appeal to a higher court from a decision of a lower court. There are a number of different courts operating in New Zealand with some specializing in a particular subject area and others having a general jurisdiction or general subject area. Going from lowest to highest, the courts with a general jurisdiction are: The District Court, The High Court, The Court of Appeal and The Supreme Court. It is very expensive to have a trial in these courts and, as a practical matter, recourse to them is out of reach for most New Zealanders unless the sum of money involved is high. For most people the recommended first step for disputes involving sums of money up to $20,000 is The Disputes Tribunals. The Disputes Tribunals are attached to the District Courts, and so are found in most towns, but they themselves are not courts. These Tribunals do not involve judges, lawyers or legal jargon. They employ Referees who may (but do not necessarily need to) have formal legal qualifications. Proceedings are begun with a simple statement by the claimant saying what the dispute is about. Disputes Tribunals are intended to provide...
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...Component: Georgia Court System, April 6, 2014 | | | The state court system is the second component of the dual-court system of the American court system. With the passing of the Reorganization Act of 1801, state court systems began to follow a “three-tiered structure of trial courts of limit jurisdiction, trial courts of general jurisdiction and appellate courts” (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 206). The Georgia court system is composed of five classes of trial level courts, which include the magistrate, probate, juvenile, state and superior courts; in addition to those five trial level courts, the Georgia court system also includes about three hundred fifty municipal courts, which operate on a local basis. The Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court make up the two appellate level courts of the Georgia court system (Georgiacourts.gov, 2014). The magistrate court is a trial court of limited jurisdiction, and the magistrate court of the Georgia court system includes one hundred fifty-nine courts and chief magistrates and three hundred thirty-three magistrates (AOC, 2014). The magistrate courts “issue warrants, hear minor criminal offenses and civil claims involving amounts of $15,000 or less,” “it is the first resort for many civil disputes…in criminal matters magistrates hold preliminary hearings, issue search warrants to law enforcement and also warrants for the arrest of a particular person…or set bail for defendants” (Georgiacourts.gov, 2014). The magistrate court “does not hold...
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...immediate basis. Generally, any crime or civil dispute used to be resolved within the village itself. Either village elders or caste elders or family elders used to facilitate the process. The introduction of Lok Adalats added a new chapter to the justice dispensation system of this country and succeeded in providing a supplementary forum to the victims for satisfactory settlement of their disputes. This system is based on Gandhian principles. It is one of the components of ADR systems. It is an Indian contribution to the world jurisprudence of ADR. Lok Adalat (people’s courts), established by the government settles dispute by the principles of justice, equity and fair play, which are the guiding factors for decisions based on compromises to be arrived at before such Adalats. The camps of Lok Adalats were initially started in the state of Gujarat in 1982. The first Lok Adalat was organized on 14th March 1982 at Junagarh. Maharashtra commenced the Lok Nyayalaya in 1984. The movement has now subsequently spread to the entire country. The reason to create such camps was only the pending cases and to give relief to the litigants who were in a queue to get justice. 2. Statutory Provisions Eminent judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts have many a time emphasized the need for free legal aid to the poor. Legal Aid is a kind of human right in the context of conflicts and contradictory interests. The Central Government, taking note of the need for legal aid for the poor and the...
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...Georgia Court of Appeals Abstract This paper is about my experience at the Georgia Court of Appeals in Atlanta Georgia. It is also about the judges, its symbol and what an appeal court actually is V. other courts in the criminal justice system. The history of Georgia Court of Appeals; The Court of Appeals has statewide appellate jurisdiction of all cases except constitutional questions, land title disputes, the construction of wills, murder, election contests, habeas corpus, extraordinary remedies, divorce and alimony and cases where original appellate jurisdiction lies with the superior courts. The Court of Appeals of Georgia certifies legal questions to the Supreme Court. The first courtroom cases were held in an courtroom in the afternoon while in the morning the supreme court would hold their cases before the appeals. These were continued for a while but would be held on separate days. In 1956, a motto was created and engraved on a marble wall behind a bench. This motto stated: "Upon the integrity, wisdom and independence of the judiciary depend the sacred rights of free men." Later there was a first lady judge by the name of Dorothy Toth who changed it to "Upon the integrity, wisdom and independence of the judiciary depend the sacred rights of free men and women." At a point and time, the Chief Judge was elected by the Court and served in that capacity at the pleasure of the Court. Chief Judge is then rotated; they are rotated for about a two-year term and upon the...
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