The Dred Scott Decision & History Dred Scott was a African American born in 1795 (1800) to a slave family, in Southampton County, Virginia. Dred Scott was owned by Peter Blow and his family who later moved to Alabama then to Missouri. In the year 1832 Peter passed away Scott was then bought by an army surgeon Dr. John Emerson. In 1836 Scott fell in love with Harriet Robinson, Dr. Emerson bought her and they soon were wed. Soon after Emerson took both slaves and his family with him to the states of Illinois and Wisconsin both of which were free states at the time. John Emerson most likely didn't see this to be an issue since he did not consider himself to live in the state, only to be stationed there.
In McClesky v. Kemp the Supreme Court held that a study showing the death penalty in Georgia was imposed on black defendants disproportionately to white defendants failed to establish that any of the decision makers involved in the process acted with a discriminatory purpose. McClesky is a notable case in several respects. First, it highlighted the integrated nature of the criminal justice system and how each component functions to reach a certain result. Second, it emphasized the debate on which actors in the justice system have the most power and what role that power plays in reaching the result. Third, the case also underscored the importance on prosecutors keeping records of their decisions at varying stages of the criminal justice process.
After a year in office as Secretary of State, John Marshall became the fourth, and the longest serving, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the United States. Between 1801 and 1835, Chief Justice John Marshall dominated in the refinement of the nation’s legal structure. In his 34 year term as Chief Justice, Marshall most significantly bolstered the vision that the judicial branch of government had supremacy over all federal courts; however, before Marshall carried out this idea, the judiciary was not its own branch of government. Along with creating a separate branch of government, Marshall very heavily defined the roles of the Supreme Court and Congress through various decision papers. He also provided opinions which helped lay the constitutional
The Supreme Court is a part of the judicial branch of the United States government. They decide criminal and civil appeal cases that involve federal law. They also make sure that a law that congress or the president proposed is constitutional. There are nine Supreme Court judges. They have made decisions on racial segregation issues all the way to woman’s rights, including voting laws.
Gerrymandering restrictions is likely to be a key topic of debate for the Supreme Court as partisan lines have tested the constitutionality of the act. While this process of redrawing boundary lines has been around for a long time, it is not the same that it once was. The act of gerrymandering and redrawing boundaries has become more of a drastic partisan act in the modern election world than ever before because of technology. The 1986 Supreme Court ruling in Davis v. Bandemer declared partisan gerrymandering for electoral advantage justiciable under the United States Constitution. The asymmetry standard in testing for gerrymandering states that the act needs to exhibit intentions that partisan gerrymandering would be recognized for its given distribution of popular votes, if parties switch who holds the popular vote and if the number of seats in a district would change unequally based on Supreme Court cases Vieth v. Jubelirer and LULAC v. Perry.
As time has progressed, the United States has continuously changed to meet the needs of its people. With each passing day, the country has slowly shifted away from what it had been initially as created by our forefathers. One reason for this transformation has been the nation’s judicial branch which has influenced the course of social and reform movements, as well as our ideologies and beliefs. The court rulings under Earl Warren are evidence that the judicial branch is a powerful force that can be a catalyst for change.
Civil Rights Helps Americans The 13th and 14th amendments abolished, "Slavery and declared all persons born in the United States to be citizens of the United States". Supreme Court had make many important decisions have impact civil rights. Those decisions had change the laws and rights of people. Therefore, many decisions Supreme Court made have impact in civil rights: the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford, Plessy v. Ferguson, Loving v. Virginia.
The United States of America between the time period of 1800-1835 were creating the first modern democracy. They had a separation of powers by creating a Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary Branch. The Legislative branch being the the Senate and House of Representatives, the Executive branch being the President and his advisors, and the Judiciary branch being the Supreme court. The Supreme Court informed and validated all the laws. In the end, the Supreme Court in many of their cases like Gibbons v. Ogden, McCulloch v. Maryland, Marbury v. Madison, and Cohens v Virginia made decisions that sought to assert federal power over state laws and the primacy of the judiciary in determining the meaning of the constitution.
In the case of the United States v. John Bass, the defendant John Bass was charged with the international killings with a firearm of two individuals. The defendant John Bass alleged that the government was seeking the death penalty against him because of his race. Mr. Bass brought forth evidence from a national statistic showing that African Americans were charged with a death eligible offenses more than twice as often as whites. Due to this evidence the Sixth Circuit Court granted Mr. Bass a motion for discovery regarding the government 's capital charging practices. However, the Supreme Court reversed the Sixth Circuit Courts decision to grant the defendant John Bass a discovery motion based on selective prosecution.
Harper Lee’s reenactment of the 1930 culture was completely accurate. She portrays an environment where blacks are completely disregarded as humans. Lee also shows how the time period permits for behavioral cruelty. For example during the trial, Dill is upset when Tom Robinson is convicted guilty. Scout comforts him saying not to worry, that Robinson is just a negro.
Racism and Segregation in the South During the 1930’s, the Great Depression caused poverty throughout the United States. People all over the country went to extreme measures to earn money and survive. Several people hopped on trains illegally to travel and try to start new lives for themselves. Some women resorted to prostitution around these hobo camps to earn their living. Two such women were Ruby Bates and Victoria Price.
In order to achieve the goals of the American criminal justice system, two different models present the basics of how cases are to be handled. The first model, called the crime control model, was developed by Herbert Packer in the 1960s. Its emphasis lies with priority being placed on aggressive arrest, prosecution, and conviction of criminals while adhering to the strictest interpretations of the law (Perron, n.d.). The other model, the due process model, is basically the opposite in that it is more concerned about protecting individual rights of the accused. The cases of Mapp, Miranda, Gideon, and Escobedo are all examples of the due process model.