...of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendment, states still continued to implement laws that inhibited equal opportunities for African Americans along with other social injustices blacks faced from other people due to the racist mentality of the time. Homer Plessy, a resident of Louisiana, decided he was going to stand up for his rights by defying these laws to bring forth the idea that states legislatures do not abide by the constitution and the 13th,14th, and 15th amendment in these newly developed laws to demonstrate the inequalities African Americans still faced....
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...revival of conservative activism? Judicial Activism: An approach to the law where the judiciary feel less constrained by precedents and interpret the law with the aim of pursuing social change. Evidence would be if the court overturned past decisions, legislation or executive actions in order to promote conservative or liberal objectives. | In the 1950s the Warren Court were seen to follow a liberal agenda and be judicially active. With a liberal and activist majority on the court the Warren Court expanded civil rights, civil liberties, judicial power, and the federal power in dramatic ways. Warren Court Cases | 1954 Brown vs the Board | Based on 14th Amendment- ended segregation and overturned Plessey vs Fergusson | Baker v. Carr and Reynolds v. Sims 1962-4 | Based on the 14th Amendment- asserted the right of all votes to be of equal value- and lead to reapportionment across the USA. | Gideon v. Wainwright,1963 Miranda v. Arizona, 1966 | Right to legal representation and to be informed of rights. The ‘Miranda warning’ | Engel v. Vitale 1962 | Outlawed school prayer. Based on First Amendment. | Griswold vs Connecticut | Found a ‘right of privacy ‘in the 14th Amendment | Warren’s successor Warren Burger 1969-1986 appointed by Nixon as a conservative, extended some of Warren’s precedents most famously Roe vs Wade used the precedent set by the Griswold case. In Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education (1971) the court upheld the policy of ‘bussing’...
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...not have to appoint counsel to defendants unless a person is charged with a capital offense. Petitioner protest that he had a right to counsel, but was force to put on his case and lost. Petitioner filed a habeas corpus petition to the Florida Supreme Court and challenge his conviction claiming the refusal to appoint counsel in his trial encroached on his 6th Amendment right of the U.S. Constitution. The Florida Supreme Court denied the petitioner relief citing case law from the Betts v. Brady case which held the...
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...The next method is striking down or ignoring precedents. Precedents are theories or rules that have already been established in past cases and in turn, may be applied to a new case with similar interests. If the Court chooses to not disregard the precedent, public policy will be changed. When the precedent is overturned, judicial activism has occurred. The final method of using judicial activism involves creatively reevaluating what the Constitution is saying in a way where laws are practically created. This method extends a law and seeks to adapt and further develop what the Constitution is truly saying. In opposition to these methods are those of judicial review. The first one deals with upholding laws that Congress, states, and local governments have already accepted. This involves respecting the 3 separate branches so as to not interfere with previously supported laws. The next method is stare decisis which honors similar Court rulings. Through this application, the precedent is applied. The final method for judicial review is using the Constitution as strict evidence in order to not strike down a law unless it is unconstitutional. This relies strictly on the texts of the Constitution and thus believes that...
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...newly found freedom. To Plessy it seemed as if even though the Declaration of Independence had affirmed that “all men are created equal,” Americans didn’t see it that way. There was still prejudice in America and so black’s were forced to sit separately from whites or drink from different fountains. Little pointless details were made into a big deal. Plessy being ⅛ black, but still looking like an American, was never told to move to use the colored facilities until one day he was asked if he was part African American, and Plessy admitted to it. However, that didn’t stop Plessy from sitting at the front of the railcar, and because of his refusal he was arrested and brought to the United States Supreme Court, claiming the fourteenth amendment. Custom, Precedent, and Federalism the three systems of ruling were embodied into the discussion and the outcome of the case. Each...
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...the equal protection of the laws guaranteed by the 14th Amendment? b. Provide background information: Black children were unable to attend the same schools that white children attend because of segregation laws. One person in particular, Linda Brown, was denied admittance to an all white school, and Thurgood Marshall decided to challenge the protection guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. c. Provide a summary of the opinion of the Court in this case: The Court ruled that all people deserve equal protection. Although black and white areas were built equally, segregation...
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...The Supreme Court V. The 14th Amendment I. Introduction A. The Supreme court presided over three cases in the span of ten years that grossly affected the country. B. The 1873 ruling of the Slaughter House Cases, the Civil Rights Cases of 1883, and the 1896 case of Plessy V. Ferguson. II. Body A. The 1873 ruling of the Slaughter House Cases. 1. A Louisiana law of 1869 created a state corporation for the slaughtering of livestock. The corporation was given exclusive power to slaughter livestock, and all other private slaughterhouses were required to close. Independent butchers could use the corporation’s facilities for a charge, but could not conduct independent operations. 2. The butchers not included in the monopoly claimed that the law deprived them of their right to "exercise their trade" and challenged it under the 13th and 14th amendments. The highest state court sustained the law. 3. The states have the proper police power to limit slaughter house operations for the health and safety of their residents. The meaning of the 13th and 14th amendments must be derived from the historical context of the problems they were designed to remedy, namely African slavery. The Congress, after the end of the Civil War, sought to strengthen the freedom of the former slaves by passing these amendments. 4. Specifically, they only were meant to guarantee federal privileges, not state privileges, whatever they may be. The "privileges and immunities" clause did not...
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...owner, violated a provision of the act that held that bakers could not work more than ten hours in one day or sixty hours in one week. When faced with the consequences for violating this provision, Lochner challenged the law by claiming it was a violation of the due process clause under the 14th Amendment. He claimed that this was a violation of his liberty of contract and that he had the right to enter into contracts of this nature with his employees. The Supreme Court...
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...When asked what document set slaves free and gave them rights, one might be inclined to say the Emancipation Proclamation did so. However, this document was only an attempt to get the southern states to return to the union. It was the 14th amendment that ended slavery, but it did not give freedmen rights and liberties similar to everyone else. After the Civil War when this amendment was passed, the southern states were still big advocators for states rights. Because of this, the federal government did not want to upset them and cause another civil war by having too much authority over them. Over the years, the Supreme Court interpreted the 14th amendment differently because circumstances had changed in the South. With...
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...Instructor: Ronald Kemper September 17, 2013 Week v. United States What is the main issue or question involved in the case? Weeks v. United States was a Supreme Court case that the Court unanimously held that the warrantless seizure of items from a private residence constitutes a violation of the Fourth Amendment. On December 21, 1911 Mr. Weeks was arrested by police without a warrant, at the Union Station in K.C. Missouri, where he was employed by an express company. While he was detained other officers entered his residency without a warrant and took several possessions that were turned over to U.S Marshalls. Later that same day The U.S Marshalls returned and took additional evidence to try and convict Mr. Weeks also without a warrant. What precedent or laws did the court use in order to come to its ultimate conclusion? The case raised a question about the Fourth Amendment. What kind of protection does the 4th Amendment provide for U.S citizens? How can the evidence gained by an illegal search be used? What kind of penalty will be issued to officers who gain evidence through illegal search? Mr. Week’s lawyers argued the 4th Amendment will be meaningless unless it provides some real protection. To say that people are safe from unreasonable search and seizures have no value unless it is clear that evidence from such searches cannot be used in federal court. Federal officials should not be able to break the law in order to force the law. Drawing on...
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...American author, Deborah Wiles once said, “This is how it works. Everything is connected. Every choice matters. Every person is vital, and valuable, and worthy of respect.” It is for this reason that the Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case in 1954 does not deserve to be considered the start of the Civil Rights Movement. The event that truly set off this famous movement was the decision in the Mendez v. Westminster case in 1947, because this case acted as a precedent for all other court cases regarding equal rights in education and provided hope for change. In the early and mid-twentieth century, America was operating based off of the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson ruling that “separate but equal” was perfectly legal. This...
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...goal that the government wants to achieve. The precedent left from the Grutter v. Bollinger case makes the Bruin Diversity plan constitutional. The reason being is because UCLA’s Affirmative Action plan and the University of Michigan’s Law school plan share similar case facts. For example, the Bruin Diversity plan compelling interest is similar to the Law school’s compelling interest. Both schools are interested in promoting “diversity” within the school. Also, both cases have affirmative action plans that are narrowly tailored. In Grutter v. Bollinger, Grutter a white female with a 3.8 GPA and an LSAT score of 161 applied to the University of Michigan’s Law School. She was denied admission even with her high GPA and LSAT score. Grutter believes that the reason she was denied admission was because of her race. Unhappy with the decision, she decided to pursue legal action claiming that the University’s affirmative action program violated her rights under the EPC of the 14th Amendment. Grutter argues that the racial preference minority applicants received should not play a role in the Law School’s admission process. The Supreme Court of the United States upheld the Appellate Courts decision and stated that the Law’s school admission process was narrowly tailored and held that diversity served as a compelling interest. According to the Gratz v. Bollinger case the Bruin Diversity plan would be unconstitutional due to the precedent of the case. The admission process would be unconstitutional...
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...Presented: Does denying a man entry to an all-women’s school constitute sexual discrimination and violate the fourteenth amendment? Brief Answer In the case of Tru G. Rit’s rejection into Hilltop College For Women’s School of Nursing on the basis of his gender and whether or not it violates the fourteenth amendment, there is a substantial amount of conflicting precedent to consider. Reed v. Reed established that “mandatory preference to members of either sex over members of the other'' was unconstitutional as it denied equal protections, and Frontiero v. Richardson held that legal differences in the treatment of gender must hold up under strict scrutiny in order to be constitutional....
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...Bill of Rights and Amendments Bill of Rights and Amendments The United States Constitution was recognized to Americans as a vague statement in clarifying the privileges and the rights of individuals and centralizing the power within the government itself. With the passing of the Bill of Rights and the first ten amendments, it grants the people to what is said to be their “natural rights” following additional rights that have significantly changed our society. Amendments and Constitution According to the Constitution, an amendment may be proposed and be presented, where it is put to a two thirds majority vote in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. The original article is then forwarded for processing and publication to NARA's Office of the Federal Register (OFR) (U.S. Constitution, 2011). The OFR maintains the document until it is either adopted or a failed amendment, then it is transferred for protection to the National Archives. Soon after a proposed amendment is ratified by three-fourths of the states, it becomes a part of the Constitution. (U.S. Constitution, 2011) Not all proposed amendments are accepted and must meet certain constitutional purpose to be passed, for example: after the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and stating that “all men are created equal” the institutionalized system of servitude was a reason to pass to what is now the 13th Amendment of the Constitution and the abolition of slavery. This amendment provided that neither...
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...Many states, including Virginia, ignored legislation such as the Equal Protection clause and instituted laws that denied African Americans their Constitutional rights as citizens. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was previously upheld in a precedent set in 1879 by the Strauder v. West Virginia case (100 U.S. 303), where the Supreme Court established that it went explicitly against the Equal Protection rights that were guaranteed to blacks, specifically black men to deny them the right to serve on juries. The decision made by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1883 involved five consolidated cases, which were all brought before separate lower courts where Black Americans had sued theaters, hotels and transit companies for refusing them admittance or otherwise excluding them from institutions that had been deemed as “white...
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