Premium Essay

Is There Really Celebrity Justice?

In:

Submitted By stephwagsz
Words 2578
Pages 11
Is There Really Celebrity Justice?
Under the United States Constitution it states, that all men are created equal. Numerous, people believe that all are not equal, and all are not treated the same in today’s so-called “equal” justice system. “There can be no equal justice where the kind of trial a man gets depends on the amount of money he has” (Cole 3) In one source, many people argue that our criminal justice system is based on the premise and promise of equality before the law, but at times predicate on the exploitation of inequality (Cole 5) Some feel no matter the crime, the rich and famous will find a way to settle out of court, pay off witnesses or just erase some or all charges against them. Celebrities get the best lawyers and the best chance at justice that money can buy”. (“Times”)
There are many court cases that lead people to believe the justice system is unfair. Celebrities, in the eyes of the public, receive less time than the average American citizen for the same crime. Furthermore, celebrities also receive more publicity than the average American citizen. Why do celebrities receive more camera time and less punishment time? However, our judicial system claims that all men are equal in the court of law. For example, in the court case of Marcus Dixon, a high school football player at Pepperell High School in Floyd County, Georgia, the state Supreme Court sentenced Dixon to ten years in prison. He was a black athlete accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old white girl in a small Georgia town.
In addition, many believe that the justice system is not equal because of the outcomes of celebrity court cases. Some may disagree with the fact that celebrities get special treatment in the courtroom, but their court cases seem to prove contrary. Celebrities in America are able to get any and everything that money can buy. Hence, wherever they go they get

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Celebrities and Crime

...Celebrities: Unfairly Getting Away with Murder Celebrities all over the world can do the same crimes as middle and lower class Americans yet their punishments are much less. As stated in an article from Entertainment News, we see each and every day in newspapers and on TV where a celebrity is caught breaking the law (Celebrity Law Breakers). Loretta Martinez says this is a huge problem and that we hardly ever see any celebrities doing more than a day or two in jail, or paying a fine that is so small it doesn’t make a dent in their wallets (Martinez). Entertainment News also says this is leading to chaos and much dispute about what is going on with our government and law enforcement these days (Celebrity Law Breakers). This is why celebrities breaking the law and not being punished the way they should be is causing disputes about how our law enforcement and judicial system is unfair. Recently in a news article by Loretta Martinez, it is stated that Paris Hilton, Brittany Spears, Jesse McCartney, Marc Anthony, Nicole Richie and many other celebrities have been seen breaking the law and being punished with minimal charges or getting away with no charges at all (Martinez). There are many celebrities who were let go for doing the same crimes that middle and lower class Americans are serving jail time for. Entertainment News asks, how can our government say that “laws apply to everyone,” when everyone knows that many celebrities are clearly above the law (Celebrity Law Breakers)...

Words: 1967 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Breaking Commandments 1&2

...-Compare and Contrast essay- Topic: An average person, and the life of a celebrity. Breaking the first, and second Commandment While celebrities are just people, they eat, sleep, and operate the same as everyone else, their charm drew them in the spotlight, then on into the limelight for public scrutiny. When we compare two aspects of the same realm, who generally operate under the same conditions, but two different lifestyles. We assume they are held to the same standards, given equal treatment, respect, and privacy. Instead someone decides off the record, that a person who's become a celebrity, an interest to the public eye, for making their intimate relationships public knowledge, and ultimately objectify them to exposing ever secret, in return, they receive leniency for injustices, and destructive behavior. Such as public intoxication, driving under the influence, public indecency, possession of controlled substances, etc... Continuously wiping ones slate clean, leaving little to wonder why celebrities don’t learn from run-ins with the law. Do we see what is happening? Their private rights are revoked, in return, they get to unabide by the law. What should of landed them in prison for 5 years, was reduced to a slap on the wrist, meanwhile paparazzi invade their personal lives, and their complaints go unheard. What has really become of our views, and our wholesome standards? To what strength are we willing...

Words: 1164 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Fair Trade vs Free Trade

...GEO 3106 Producing Africa: Take – Home Exam 1) The ‘real Africa’ is presumed to be filthy and miserable (Wainaina, 2005). Discuss. Representations of Africa in a global context have been largely negative, often presumed to be one country the continent is stigmatised as backwards, disease ridden, violent and in need of Western assistance. Although some positive imagery does emerge from Africa including that associated with Comic Relief, corporate campaigns such as Guinness’s stylish philosophy and in music videos like ‘Am I wrong’ by Nico and Vinz, Africa is subject to the use and re-use of negative imagery resulting in prominent stereotypes shaping our geographical imaginations of the continent. This is a similar concept to that of orientalism explored by Edward Said (1987). This essay will argue that presumptions of the ‘real Africa’ are largely negative, discussing how ‘Africanism’ and stereotypes of the continent are heavily influenced by colonial representations of people and place arguing that these assumptions are highly compatible with Western domination and power rooted in imperial attitudes. Jan Pieterse (1992:75) recognises that Africa has been depicted as the ‘Dark Continent’ plagued by stereotypes ‘which colonialism would build on and elaborate’. Imaginaries of childlike, savage, inhumane distant others who are dependent upon Western help dominate the way in which Africa is perceived. Campbell and Power (2010) suggest that a dominant scopic regime shapes...

Words: 3627 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

What Does It Mean To Be A Hero?

..." You are the hero of your own story," Joseph Campbell. A hero does not have to be "super" to be a hero. One may ask, what is a hero and we all may answer the question differently. whether our hero is our parents, doctor, teacher, celebrity or even a athlete. Some believe heros have to have supernatural powers. As stated in "Superheros and philosophy," author Tom Morris, "some people think that the concept of a superhero is problematic." The belief that heros have to be someone that goes to the extremes and risk their life and have "superpowers". An athlete or celebrity may be your ideal hero due to the publicity that the obtain. The true heros are those who go out of thier way to help those around them. These heros are not as noticed because they do not expect your acknowledgement. Nor are these heros publisized. We may idolize these celebrities and atheletes do to the lifestyle they have. They are the "heros" because they have something we want when really they have done no true justice....

Words: 612 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Whut

...in modern internet. Monica Lewinsky gave a TED talk suggesting that the internet has created a culture of public shaming, it is true as the world have taken racism and other issues more seriously, often a simple Tweet on Twitter or a short comment posted on Facebook, could lead to devastating outcomes to their lives in terms of career and life. An important issue to note, why is public shaming still a thing and on the rise in this modern society? One reason is because of the rise of activist groups around the world, where they would bring awareness to serious issues happening and high profile celebrities backing them up by giving speeches in widely televised shows. This raises the awareness and a whole new level of exposure to issues that are serious such as endangered species or inhumane yet legal practices around the world especially in the rural regions such as slavery. Celebrities with many fans plays a huge impact in the rise of social awareness. Another reason is that because of the relative anonymity the cyberspace provides, shaming people on social media have become more common as it has allowed more people to find out about something stupid or offensive somebody has posted and for it to become viral in the world, Online, behind the screen, individuals can join with many others to foster a mob mentality which means they have a directed hate on an individual and could say things they normally wouldn’t say in person but would with the help of the anonymity the internet...

Words: 1391 - Pages: 6

Free Essay

Schadenfreude

...certain people whom we do not like. This may be someone we personally know or even a celebrity; someone we are exposed to through the media constantly. They may have a quality we wish to possess or an object we wish we could have but either way we feel cheated and think “why them, why not me?” Now suppose this person loses that quality or that object you wanted. Would you admit to feeling satisfied about? Probably not. But the reality is that it is common to feel this way. This phenomenon has a name, Schadenfreude and has ties to envy. So what does Schadenfreude consist of? Schadenfreude according to Joseph Epstein is “the emotion [that leads to] delight in another’s failure or defeat (Epstein, 2003). Often times we secretly or in some cases, openly, revel in the demise of someone who is famous. We question why that person was blessed with talent, good looks, money, etc. Once that person loses one of the qualities or aspects that placed them in a higher position than you, you feel a sense of satisfaction. It may feel as if that person gets a dose of reality, of what it is like to be normal and not have everything. This feeling of Schadenfreude can be driven by envy because we have to call it what it really is… we are happy because all along we were envious and angry at that person for our injustice. Schadenfreude may be confused with the feeling of being satisfied when someone is served justice. Although we tend to have reason to exhibit envy towards those in higher positions...

Words: 600 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Essay On Corruption In Business

...or anyone that does not provide anything related to the subject at hand. The worst part is if she does defeat the harasser or harassers in the court she can gets bullied by the workers in her job that do did like the person you won against. Women get so use to this because they see it all the time, they are discouraged and depressed from this. This type of corruption is has kept been repeating in cycles because of the media, etc. Other un justifications are different types of race and color are punished differently and do not have the same equal standards. Cops shooting or basically anyone  can shoot the race that they dislike for reasons. The justice system can change the emotions of the community. People will go and can go to full lengths to stop for anything for racism, sexism, harassment, etc. Since so many voices from big celebrities are being heard, surprisingly one accusation and statements that this one typical category (harassment for now) is false it would shut down everything like the corruptionist blowing sand from their hands. Since that is a fail the only thing that CAN MAYBE help you is social media. This whole problem has been driven by power, for dominance. Men (Certain types) mostly do not care what they say to a lady. But different factors can play if a women does not like a certain type of person she thinks that...

Words: 959 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Attorney Johnny Cochran

...passed the California bar examination. He soon began taking highly publicized police brutality cases. In May of 1966, a young black man named Leonard Deadwyler was shot dead by police as he tried to rush his pregnant wife to the hospital. Cochran represented Deadwyler's family, who accused the police of needless brutality in their son's murder. The Los Angeles Police Department argued that the officers had acted in self-defense. "To me, this was clearly a bad shooting," Cochran maintained in The American Lawyer. "But the [district attorney] did not file charges, and when our firm filed a civil suit we lost. Those were extremely difficult cases to win in those days. But what Deadwyler confirmed for me was that this issue of police abuse really galvanized the...

Words: 1544 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Cj Justice

...Community Corrections or Incarceration Are community corrections a better solution than incarceration? Michelle Brooks ITT Technical Institute Community Corrections or Incarceration Abstract In this research paper will read about different subjects and topics that pertain to incarceration and community corrections. The incarceration rate is going up in the United States while at the same time community corrections is slowly fading away because of limited support from the local communities and government officials within each state. In this research I hope to find out those community corrections has more to offer than incarceration. In conclusion incarceration is not the right way but community corrections will be. Community Corrections or Incarceration Table of Contents Abstract Introduction Background on Community Corrections Background on Incarceration Effectives of Community Corrections Effectives of Incarceration Programs dealing with Community Corrections Programs while Incarcerated Theory Interview with Mr. Sharron Wilson Result Reference Page Community Corrections or Incarceration Introduction Community Corrections is a better solution than incarceration because it offers many different alternative programs for several different types of offenders. Incarceration also offers similar programs...

Words: 6548 - Pages: 27

Premium Essay

Personalities Are Made Not Naturally

...Introduction Traits, personalities, behaviors or characteristics are all a part of life. There are things in life that we naturally gain without notice and attributes that are gained just by observing. It is kind of like the natural order of things. We learn, we adapt and we apply the things that we pick up in our everyday lives. (Personality: what makes you the way you are, 2007) However, not all the traits, behaviors and characteristics are there to begin with. Personalities are learned by those around us, those we admire and those we tend to observe on a daily basis. Literature Review Every time that you go anywhere there are always people who are always watching you. Some people are more aware of it than others and some people tend to keep silent. According to Kendra Cherry personalities are base of the nature around us and those who we get along with. In recent times people tend to say that personalities are just a part of life and that people are born with certain personalities. (Cherry, 2012) Studies have shown that these critics are just nothing more than reviews unless even proper studies are done. Many studies have shown that people’s personalities are not born and that they are developed by those around us that would influence us that most. There are so many reasons why people are not born with their own personal traits. The first is said to be heredity. (Cherry, 2012) There are studies that show that people tend to have their personalities and behaviors from...

Words: 1390 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

The Effectiveness Of The Protest Movement

...Many other protests were created to enforce justice and give people a voice when society thought they didn’t have one. One example of an important protest that had created a change was The Salt March in 1930. This was a protest over British rule in India over the salt policies that were placed by the British. Mohandas Gandhi led thousands of Indian people to the Arabian Sea Coast to make their own salt from the sea water, which soon led to 60,000 arrests including Gandhi and in 1947 India received their independence. This was an important event that...

Words: 714 - Pages: 3

Free Essay

Group Case -Business Ethics

...mix’, ethical issues in product policy, marketing communications, pricing and marketing strategy. Ethical Issues in marketing management – Product Policy At the most basic level, manufacturers should exercise due care in establishing that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure that their products are free from defects and safe to use as well as effective and fit for the purpose. Cigarette may be effective as they claim it to be. It works as stress reliever and give one some attitude, the purpose may be fulfilled, but it is not a safe product in any measure. And though consumers’ right to a safe product is not an unlimited right, but here they targeted children as young as 11 found buying and consuming single cigarettes. They are really vulnerable and unlimited right is not applicable for them. Ethical...

Words: 2996 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Jessica Lal - Journalistic Opinion

... St. Andrews College TY BMM. 4259 Introduction Media is regarded as one of the pillars of democracy. Media has wide ranging roles in the society. Media plays a vital role in molding the opinion of the society and it is capable of changing the whole viewpoint through which people perceive various events. The media can be commended for starting a trend where the media plays an active role in bringing the accused to hook. There are different reasons why the media attention is particularly intense surrounding a legal case: the first is that the crime itself is in some way sensational, by being horrific the second is that it involves a celebrity either as victim or accused. The concept of trial by media is not a new concept. There have been many occurrences in the past where the media has been accused of conducting a trial on its own and passing a verdict even before the court does. There is a conception that the Jessica Lal murder case is was also a media trial. Case Study On 29 April 1999, Manu Sharma had shot Jessica Lal in front of 200 witnesses at a Delhi restaurant, Tamarind Court, where she was a barmaid and refused to serve alcohol to him after 2 a.m. In February 2006, witness after witness went back on their original testimonies in court. This same case did not get enough coverage and within no time and Manu Sharma was acquitted. Noam Chomsky’s propaganda model tells...

Words: 1931 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Criminology Domestic Violence

...Research Project Criminal Justice Justin Robinson November 8, 2015 Domestic Violence is a major problem all around the world not just the United States, when people think of domestic violence many think it is 100% men against women physically, but there are many different types of domestic violence, and it’s not always men physically abusing women. This source gives mainly statistics which is helpful to create a baseline of how much violence goes on against spouses along with children and gives substantial information regarding the subject. http://domesticviolencestatistics.org/domestic-violence-statistics/ Like I mentioned above when people think about domestic violence many people think it is always men abusing women, it’s not always the case however. Men get abused almost just as much as women, sometimes physical and more than likely emotional. Many men are sometimes mentally overpowered by women who are controlling ie:money, what the man can do, demanding monetary objects etc., which is mainly what I believe this source touches on pretty heavily. Bhandari, S.. (2010). UNDERSTANDING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: A Primer. In F. S. Danis, L. L. Lockhart, & F. S. Danis (Eds.), Domestic Violence: Intersectionality and Culturally Competent Practice (pp. 29–66). Columbia University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/lock14026.7 Domestic violence can be a touchy subject, on a personal note, my unit just completed a class on domestic violence...

Words: 992 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Free Paper

...There Should be Limits to Abortion I do not believe there should be limitations on abortions. In my personally beliefs the government should not tell a woman what she can and can not do with their bodies. If a female decides to have a baby the choice whether to keep it or not should be up to her and her alone. Who is the government to tell a female she can not have an abortion, or put restrictions on having abortions? What is next are they going to limit the amount of children a female can have like they do in China? Why stop at females what kind of laws they going to be put against men. With the Patriotic law and our government spying on us is that not enough why tell females about abortions. Did the Women’s movement of the 1970s mean nothing at all if men still are going to tell females what to do? I wonder what is next are they going to turn over the 19th Amendment that allows women to vote. The government has entirely to much power over our lives. The Supreme Court decision in Roe V. Wade made it possible for a woman to have an abortion. Prior to the decision many women were dying performing illegal abortions all because they could not have a legal one. Studies show that prior to Roe V. Wade they were many unwanted pregnancies in America. According to The New York Daily News article entitled “Do People agree with Abortion” a staggering 89% of people agree that the government should not put limits on abortions. Another poll shows that 1% of all abortions occur because of...

Words: 1957 - Pages: 8