Response Paper on a Supreme Court 3 page maximum singe spaced

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There must be no grammatical errors or spelling errors!!

CHECK FOR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS THREE TIMES BEFORE SUBMTTTING IT TO ME

Your sources is the lecture slides YOU MUST LOOK AT and the article you MUST READ.

The court court essay will McClskey vs Kemp

Your task you are to write a 3 page single spaced paper on the Supreme Court decision using the reading and lecture slides notes. You are going more than just summarizing the paper, you making an argument ( must have a thesis) using the reading for the week

we will cover a substantive topic and, at the end of the week,discuss a related Supreme Court case. Your response papers should make an argument about how well the theories and ideas discussed on Monday and Wednesday relate to, explain, or inform our understanding of that case.Good response papers do more than summarize the assigned readings.You should identify the major question(s) of the week, and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of theoretical approaches to that question, in light of how well they apply to an actual decision. Some questions to think about when starting to write: Do that week’s readings and lecture help make sense of why the Court did what it did? Why or why not? Do they leave important questions unanswered? Are concepts and ideas from earlier weeks also useful for understanding the case?

Explain contextual and institutional factors that might have influenced the Court!!!!!!!

The week topic is on Court fairness and a little on race. YOU MUST CONNECT IT TO THE LECTURE SLIDES TOPIC!!

HOW DOES THIS CASE (McCleskey vs Kemp) FURTHER EXPLAIN THIS WEEK TOPIC ON CRIMINAL LAW FAIRNESS FROM THE COURT

Background: McCleskey, a black man, was convicted of murdering a police officer in Georgia and sentenced to death. In a writ of habeas corpus, McCleskey argued that a statistical study proved that the imposition of the death penalty in Georgia depended to some extent on the race of the victim and the accused. The study found that black defendants who kill white victims are the most likely to receive death sentences in the state.

The Court held that since McCleskey could not prove that purposeful discrimination which had a discriminatory effect on him existed in this particular trial, there was no constitutional violation. Justice Powell refused to apply the statistical study in this case given the unique circumstances and nature of decisions that face all juries in capital cases. He argued that the data McCleskey produced is best presented to legislative bodies and not to the courts.

Despite the presentation of empirical evidence that asserted racial disparity in application of the death penalty, aggregate evidence is insufficient to invalidate an individual defendant's death sentence.

The case you must read; http://web.utk.edu/~scheb/decisions/McCleskey.htm ( LINK TO THE CASE READING )

I also want you to look at the study guide questions when writing the paper. The study guide question is for the to address. You should have answers for those questions about the case.

I want you to analyze the court decisions and arguments. In addition, you must also analyze Baldu's evidence of racial disparities of usage of death penalty on race , specially black defendants

Chapter 11, McCleskey v. Kemp

Study Questions

These questions are designed to help you prepare for the exams.Note, however, that the questions do not cover all of the course material that you are responsible for knowing.

McCleskey’s Appeal

What was the basis of McCleskey’s appeal?

What amendments did he claim had been violated?

The Study

What group was the focus of the study?

What were the main results of the study?

When were Georgia prosecutors most likely to seek death?

Supreme Court

14th Amendment

Why did the Supreme Court reject McCleskey’s 14th Amendment argument?

What standard did the Supreme Court articulate for proving an equal protection violation?

Is it enough to demonstrate that in similar cases discrimination has occurred?

Would it be enough to show that Georgia’s legal system had discriminatory effects?

Did the Supreme Court deny that the study suggested that Georgia’s process for imposing the death penalty had discriminatory effects?

How did prosecutorial discretion affect the Court’s evaluation of McCleskey’s argument?

Why did the Court reject McCleskey’s historical argument?Did the Court do the same thing in VMI when looking at the past history of discrimination against women in VMI?

What was the “legitimate and unchallenged” explanation for McCleskey’s death sentence?

Did the Court think there was any evidence that Georgia’s legislature had acted with discriminatory purpose?Why or why not?

8th Amendment

Why did the Supreme Court reject McCleskey’s 8th Amendment argument?

How are contemporary values relevant to the interpretation of the 8th Amendment?

How are contemporary values assessed?

If a state permitted fraud to be punished by death would that violate the 8th Amendment?Why?

Why might jury nullification signal that a punishment is “cruel and unusual”?

Why is bifurcation of the guilt and penalty phases of a trial thought to make the imposition of a penalty less capricious?

What does it mean to say that a jury’s sentencing discretion is guided and objective?

Why did the Court conclude that the range of discretion that Georgia allowed to legal decision makers was constitutionally permissible?

Why did the Court think that the automatic appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court undermined McCleskey’s 8th Amendment argument?

McCleskey argued that because similarly situated defendants had not received the death penalty, it violated his 8th Amendment rights. Why did the Court disagree?

If sentencing is lenient in some cases, does that make the imposition of death arbitrary and capricious in other similar cases?

Further Issues for the Court( THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE PAPER IS THE COURT ISSUES) YOU HAVE TO TALK ABOUT THE COURT ISSUES, EXTREMELY IMPORTANT

According to the Supreme Court, which legal decision maker is best positioned to make use of the results of the Study? Why?

Why was the Supreme Court worried that if it ruled in McCleskey’s favor on the basis of the Study, the legal system could become paralyzed by appeals?

Would the Court’s holding have been any different if McCleskey had based his argument on a study that showed men were far more likely to be sentenced to death than women for committing similar crimes?

What was the Court’s vote in McCleskey (i.e., How many Justices voted in support of the Majority Opinion)?

Why might the Supreme Court refusal to admit McCleskey’s study at trial be seen as unjust?

AGAIN THINK ABUT ALL OF THESE QUESTION WHEN MAKING AN ARGUMENT. AGAIN!! YOU MUST HAVE A THESIS TO WRITE THE PAPER. WHAT ARGUMENT ARE YOU MAKING FOR COURT DECISION AND FAIRNESS IN COURT

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Criminal Law Strayhorn Criminal Law and Social Control Josh Strayhorn University of Colorado Boulder, CO joshua.strayhorn@colorado.edu Apr. 22, 2019 Criminal Law Strayhorn Today: courts and criminal justice Criminal Law Strayhorn Some housekeeping: This week—last substantive week Case memos due next Wed. 5/1 FCQs: please take care of these, we’ll leave a little time at the end Wednesday Criminal Law Strayhorn This week: criminal law Courts’ relationship with public And other institutions Criminal Law Strayhorn Recall our triad of dispute resolution Two disputants, A and B They cannot resolve their dispute alone, so they ask a judge to do it for them Criminal Law Strayhorn Appears fair ex ante, but produces sore losers Legal processes are designed to mitigate that feeling Focus on fairness/impartiality, procedure, etc. Criminal Law Strayhorn In proto-legal societies one method was allowing parties to choose their own judges Not feasible now Judge is a permanent employee Of the government Criminal Law Strayhorn Preexisting law helps appearance of fairness But who writes laws? The government Criminal Law Strayhorn Criminal law concerns behavior that the state considers so bad that it directly intervenes Rather than waiting for private party to sue Judge represents state One disputant is the state Prior laws written by state See the problem? Criminal Law Strayhorn Juries are a partial fix Judges still have tons of power over trial outcomes Juries also represent public, who may share state interests about crime Jury decisionmaking can be arbitrary or biased Not a perfect fix Criminal Law Strayhorn The point: criminal law is very problematic for the triad Coercive aspects at maximum Difficult to persuade losing defendants of impartiality There are some ‘striving for consent’ methods Such as plea bargaining, mediation (for smaller crimes) But even these can be coercive Criminal Law Strayhorn Dispute resolution an important function of courts Equally important is social control Law exists to define acceptable standards of conduct Regulate behavior, disincentivize deviations Criminal Law Strayhorn The tension in the triad isn’t an unfortunate coincidence This, too, is what courts do Exercise state power Criminal Law Strayhorn Court/police relationships are not usually antagonistic Especially at the local level Judges often give a lot of leash Criminal Law Strayhorn This may seem counterintuitive Supreme Court has done much to protect rights of accused But a huge uphill battle One of competing values State/local may favor law enforcement Criminal Law Strayhorn Courts can feel pressure to be tough on crime E.g. if judges are elected Voters’ assessments of judicial performance correlate with crime rates (Hall 2000) Even where judges are appointed, local judges are part of elite political class Criminal Law Strayhorn Higher SES cities/suburbs tend to be sensitive to any hint of higher crime In US, breaks down on racial lines Richer cities spend more on police Especially if they have high levels of what’s called racial threat Higher visibility/salience of minority population Majorities use government aggressively Criminal Law Strayhorn Racial threat perception correlated with lots of stuff Increased police spending, pressure on courts to be harsh Migration patterns (white flight) Even (lack of) support for public transit Criminal Law Strayhorn Can lead to racial biases in how courts (and juries) deal with criminal cases Court has done some work here—e.g. Furman v. Georgia (1972) Temporarily suspending death penalty But very mixed approach to this Criminal Law Strayhorn Criminal law puts courts in a difficult bind Part of their job is to impose order This can create some bad incentives But it’s also to protect rights End result is they’re all over the map Criminal Law Strayhorn One major concern, as always, is legitimacy In criminal law this is even more important Legitimacy directly affects both dispute resolution and social control functions Without it, people won’t respect the law Criminal Law Strayhorn Tom Tyler, some research on why people follow law One idea—deterrence theory—says it’s fear of punishment Tyler finds this isn’t really right Instead, people follow law because of moral values and its perceived legitimacy Procedural fairness very important in that Even for defendants Tyler (1984) finds that perceptions of fairness, not case outcomes, predict satisfaction with courts by defendants Criminal Law Strayhorn If courts are too biased, they risk losing perception of fairness Undermining their own power Courts use various means we’ve discussed to protect legitimacy Ritual, solemnity, defined procedure Criminal Law Strayhorn Also, in part, why Supreme Court worked in the ‘60s and ‘70s on criminal law issues Nudge lower courts to prevent police overreach Civil rights context is important Legal system risked completely alienating minorities A concern we see reappearing in the modern era Criminal Law Strayhorn State/local courts have same need for legitimacy But closer to the public May respond more to racial threat Criminal Law Strayhorn Also, courts are not the only players Legislatures have a lot to say about criminal law too Obviously, they write the laws Have also butted in to business of courts Feds, and most states, have issued sentencing guidelines Criminal Law Strayhorn Detailed instructions to judges about how to sentence Include baseline punishment for each crime (generally a range) Plus mitigating or aggravating factors First offense, acceptance of responsibility; vs. prior criminal history, use of firearm Results in an overall calculation Criminal Law Strayhorn The Supreme Court has pushed back on this some In Blakely v. Washington (2004) and U.S. v. Booker (2005), Court put restrictions on these Basically saying they are not mandatory in federal courts Some still are in states Criminal Law Strayhorn Even where not mandatory, tend to get followed And many judges have little discretion here Spearheaded by ‘tough on crime’ groups—has generally raised sentences Especially for drug crimes Criminal Law Strayhorn To sum up, criminal law a tricky setting Courts wield power of state Fairness, legitimacy important but not a cure all Criminal Law Strayhorn Next: why Supreme Court’s powers might be limited despite being a vertical issue, FCQs Chapter 11 Study Questions 1 Chapter 11, McCleskey v. Kemp Study Questions These questions are designed to help you prepare for the exams. Note, however, that the questions do not cover all of the course material that you are responsible for knowing. McCleskey’s Appeal What was the basis of McCleskey’s appeal? What amendments did he claim had been violated? The Study What group was the focus of the study? What were the main results of the study? What does it mean to say that the defendant’s race “interacted” with the victim’s race to produce disparities in death penalty sentencing? What is a mid-range case? “Midrange” with respect to what? Would McCleskey’s case be considered midrange or extreme? When were Georgia prosecutors most likely to seek death? Supreme Court 14th Amendment Why did the Supreme Court reject McCleskey’s 14th Amendment argument? What standard did the Supreme Court articulate for proving an equal protection violation? Is it enough to demonstrate that in similar cases discrimination has occurred? Would it be enough to show that Georgia’s legal system had discriminatory effects? Did the Supreme Court deny that the study suggested that Georgia’s process for imposing the death penalty had discriminatory effects? What is discretion? How did prosecutorial discretion affect the Court’s evaluation of McCleskey’s argument? Why did the Court reject McCleskey’s historical argument? Did the Court do the same thing in VMI when looking at the past history of discrimination against women in VMI? What was the “legitimate and unchallenged” explanation for McCleskey’s death sentence? Did the Court think there was any evidence that Georgia’s legislature had acted with discriminatory purpose? Why or why not? Chapter 11 Study Questions 2 8th Amendment Why did the Supreme Court reject McCleskey’s 8th Amendment argument? How are contemporary values relevant to the interpretation of the 8th Amendment? How are contemporary values assessed? If a state permitted fraud to be punished by death would that violate the 8th Amendment? Why? Why might jury nullification signal that a punishment is “cruel and unusual”? Why is bifurcation of the guilt and penalty phases of a trial thought to make the imposition of a penalty less capricious? What does it mean to say that a jury’s sentencing discretion is guided and objective? Why did the Court conclude that the range of discretion that Georgia allowed to legal decision makers was constitutionally permissible? Why did the Court think that the automatic appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court undermined McCleskey’s 8th Amendment argument? McCleskey argued that because similarly situated defendants had not received the death penalty, it violated his 8th Amendment rights. Why did the Court disagree? If sentencing is lenient in some cases, does that make the imposition of death arbitrary and capricious in other similar cases? Further Issues for the Court According to the Supreme Court, which legal decision maker is best positioned to make use of the results of the Study? Why? Why was the Supreme Court worried that if it ruled in McCleskey’s favor on the basis of the Study, the legal system could become paralyzed by appeals? Would the Court’s holding have been any different if McCleskey had based his argument on a study that showed men were far more likely to be sentenced to death than women for committing similar crimes? What was the Court’s vote in McCleskey (i.e., How many Justices voted in support of the Majority Opinion)? Social Science What is a multiple regression analysis? According to Baldus et al. (1990), what was the main reason for disparity in capital sentencing for defendants whose victims were White as opposed to Black? Chapter 11 Study Questions 3 According to the Department of Justice (2000), why do minorities make up a greater percentage of those for whom capital punishment is sought than their percentage of the general population would suggest is appropriate? Why was the DOJ survey criticized? What did its subsequent survey find? In understanding racial disparities in capital sentencing, what is the more important factor: the defendant’s race or how the defendant’s race interacts with the victim’s race? Are racial disparities found in the non-capital sentencing of minorities? According the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (2000), how many times more likely is it for a Black youth to go to jail for a drug crime than a White youth? What is the similarity-leniency effect? How does gender affect sentencing? What is the chivalry theory? What is the evil woman theory? Chapter’s Lesson Why might attorneys offer information to a court that would be ruled irrelevant? Why might a court admit evidence to trial that it subsequently holds is irrelevant to the legal issue? Why might the Supreme Court refusal to admit McCleskey’s study at trial be seen as unjust?
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Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Outline
1. Evaluating the case of McClskey vs Kemp; The court had censured Warren
McCleskey a death penalty for prepared theft and murder. In any case, the case was
named as a standout amongst the most exceedingly terrible Supreme Court decisions
anytime made since the Second World War by the survey coordinated among
genuine specialists.
2. Supreme Court 14th Amendment; The administration zone court removed his allure.
A differential result isn't huge except for if a severe reason joins it. The fourteenth
Amendment is not slighted except for if a state sentences respondents to death in a
manner that is abstract and weak an idea.
3. Arguments; The Outstanding Court's choice in McCleskey ensured criminal esteem
laws and blueprints from being attempted subject to the racially dissimilar force. At
last, the McCleskey choice set the phase for over 20 years of on a fundamental level
expanding racial differentiations inside the criminal esteem structure.
4. McCleskey's inheritance will undoubtedly be felt for an exceptionally lengthy
timespan to come. As Anthony Amsterdam once commented, McCleskey is the Dred
Scott choice inside late memory.


Running Head: CASE REACTION

1

McCleskey versus Kemp Case
Student’s Name
University Name
Course Name
Date

CASE REACTION

2

Response to McCleskey versus Kemp Case
McCleskey versus Kemp Case was an Exceptional Court case in the US in the year
nineteen eighty-seven. The court had censured Warren McCleskey a death penalty for prepared
theft and murder. In any case, the case was named as a standout amongst the most exceedingly
terrible Supreme Court decisions anytime made since the Second World War by the survey
coordinated among genuine specialists. Does the question still remain for what reason did the
court settled on such a decision of not sentencing Warren to death? The purpose of McCleskey
advance came after specific components which lead to the court to decide on a choice on not
sentencing Warren to death. Studies showing that the death penalty has a racially lopsided
impact in a state do not infer that capital punishment mishandles the fourteenth Amendment
aside from if a racially harsh reason can be illustrated.
The substances of this case are that An African-American man named McCleskey was
sentenced to death after he was condemned for submitting murder during a robbery. After the
conviction and sentence were declared, McCleskey conveyed real confirmation supporting his
conflict that death penalty was associated with disproportionate repeat when an AfricanAmerican individual killed a white person. He battled that death penalty thus ...


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