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Blog Post: Political Issue and the Courts

1. Judicial Review is very important because it keeps the executive and legislative branches in check. Congress and the president are representatives of the people and can get involved or invested in popular politics. Judicial review allows the judicial branch to determine the constitutionality of laws and relate everything back the the Constitution.

2. a. An unmarried pregnant woman wanted an abortion, but Texas law only allowed it in cases when the mother’s life was at risk. “Jane Roe” then filed against Henry Wade, who was Dallas County's District Attorney.

    b. Precedent was Griswold v. Connecticut and Eisenstadt v. Baird, which ruled that laws banning abortion are unconstitutional and violate individuals’ privacy rights.

c. Plaintiff: Norma McCorvey (Legal Psuedonym: Jane Roe) Defendant:  county District Attorney Wade (D)

3. A Writ of certiorari is a legal document issued by the Supreme Court that requests the court transcripts for the case. Usually indicates that the Supreme Court will hear the case. 

4. An Amicus curiae is a letter from a “friend of the court” that states their opinion.

5. Preparation: Attorneys from both sides prepare briefs

Oral Argument: Attorneys for both sides appear before the Court, present their positions, and answer any questions that the jury has.

Conference: Chief Justice assigns one member of the majority to write the opinion. After the majority opinion is written, in some cases a concurrence is written.

Dissent: A dissenting opinion is written, where a justice who voted for the minority opinion fully explains their reasoning for the vote.

6.  Chief Justice Warren Burger

7. Justices William Rehnquist and Byron White

8.  The majority opinion in Roe v. Wade was that a woman’s choice to abort a baby is protected by her right to privacy, and that a fetus is not a “person” with constitutional rights until it reaches viability (around 7 months). There was no concurring opinion, but the dissenting opinion stated that stare decisis should have applied, and the court should have gone with their original ruling for the sake of the law. It also argues that the Constitution never explicitly gives citizens a right to privacy, so it is too difficult to make a decision on abortion based on that right. 

-Monica

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My Political Opinion: How Should Colleges Deal with On-Campus Rape Cases?

Colleges deal with rape cases that happen on campus themselves, unless the victim reports to the police rather than the school. The schools choose three students or teachers as a "jury", and they decide what happens. In my opinion, the current system is not working for many reasons. For one thing, most of the rapists who get convicted by the school wouldn't have gotten convicted in a real court because of lack of evidence. This system is also flawed because the only punishment that the rapists receive is suspension or expulsion. For such an offensive crime, this is a small price to pay. And finally, colleges are unfit to deal with rape cases because the only defense the accused get in the "court" is a teacher or other employee of the school that they think can defend them. The employee has no criminal justice training, obviously, and the court is almost a joke. The victims are often asked humiliating questions in order to defend themselves and a combination of three students and teachers decide the fate of someone who may have traumatized a fellow student for life. However, proponents of the current system say that it's working because the student who messes up in college doesn't have their reputation ruined for the rest of their life. They also say that for victims, it is their best option since only a fourth of reported rape cases end in an arrest, and even less than that result in prosecution and/or felony convictions. Finally, proponents of college's handling rape the way that they do say that colleges can respond to a survivor's needs and protection more quickly and effectively than our criminal justice system can.

Sources:

"How Colleges Deal With Rape Claims." The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Nov. 2014. Web. 26 Feb. 2015."Know Your IX." Know Your IX. Web. 26 Feb. 2015."What Colleges Can Do | Rape Treatment Center." What Colleges Can Do | Rape Treatment Center. Web. 25 Feb. 2015.

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5 Principles of Politics - Rape Culture

Reauthorize the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program

Kirsten Gillibrand, an American senator from New York, is one of  55 senators looking to pass the Military Justice Improvement Act, which moves the decision to prosecute any crime punishable by one year or more in confinement to independent, trained, professional military prosecutors, with the exception of crimes that are uniquely military in nature, such as disobeying orders or going Absent Without Leave. One of the crimes that will hopefully become punishable by one year or more in confinement is rape. 

Rationality:

I think Kirsten Gillibrand may support this act because either she or someone she cares about has been a victim to a crime while serving in our military, so this topic itself is close to her heart. She may also support this act because it's becoming more and more apparent in our military.

Institution: this issue is dealt with by the Department of Defense

The Military Justice Improvement Act can be related to the Sixth Amendment, which describes how all criminal prosecutions should be handled. Currently, the military is allowed to punish those who serve in any way that they wish, which usually leads to them brushing it under the rug. In the Sixth Amendment, it is made clear that every crime should have a speedy and public trial with an impartial jury.

This issue is a federal issue because it deals with the United States Military.

The legislative branch is the branch that deals with this issue.

Collective Action: 

Rape and abortion often go hand in hand when discussing these controversies. Many politicians believe that rape is a verifiable crime and should be handled in a better way. However, some politicians have made statements that have had large consequences. For example,  Republican U.S. Senate candidate Representative Todd Akin of Missouri stated that pregnancy rarely occurs as a result of what he called "legitimate rape." Akin's statement was immediately shot down by many medical professionals and many women's rights groups were infuriated by the phrase "legitimate rape", as opposed to "fake" rape.

Policy:

The Military Justice Improvement Act is just one policy being put forth on this issue. Other policies include protecting the funding that supports victims of sexual violence and reauthorizing the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program.

History:

In the US, rape was often a crime that was hard to punish. If a black man raped a white woman, he would often be lynched, but if a white man raped a white woman, it was her fault for not keeping her knees crossed, and black women were often sold as sex slaves. We may have come a long way since then, but there still isn't justice for many, many victims of sexual violence.

Sources:

Begley, Sarah. The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2015."Comprehensive Resource Center for the Military Justice Improvement Act." Kirsten Gillibrand. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Feb. 2015."Top Priorities in Congress | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network." Top Priorities in Congress | RAINN | Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2015.