Preview

Research Paper

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
3851 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Research Paper
Research Paper

Paulina Gutierrez 3B

January 6, 2013

Due Process vs. Justice “Should the courts freed convicted felons for violations to due process?”

Prisoners' Rights
The hands-off doctrine dominated thinking about correctional law in America during the 19th century. American courts regarded inmates as “slaves of the state.” Judges believed prisoners had no rights because they had forfeited them as a result of their crimes, and judges didn't interfere with the administration of correctional institutions because they didn't want to violate the principle of separation of power (in other words, the courts didn't want to interfere with the authority of the executive branch to administer prisons). *
During the 1960s and 1970s, the courts moved away from the hands-off doctrine and acknowledged that courts have a duty to resolve constitutional claims of prisoners. The assertiveness of Black Muslim prisoners in making claims upon the courts and the activist Warren Court's commitment to protecting the rights of minorities, including persons accused of crimes and persons convicted of crimes, caused this shift. In addition, several legal developments also led to the temporary demise of the hands-off doctrine.
In Monroe v. Pape (1961), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that citizens could bring Section 1983 suits against state officials in federal courts without first exhausting all state judicial remedies. Section 1983 of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, which imposes civil liability on any person who deprives another of constitutional rights, became a vehicle inmates could use to challenge the constitutionality of the conditions of prison life. In another significant case, Robinson v. California (1962), the Court extended the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment to the states.
Today, the Court recognizes that prisoners do have certain rights. At the same time, however, the Court holds that prisoners do have fewer rights than

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Research Paper

    • 3695 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Part B includes five steps to complete, which will become your main post in Unit 4:…

    • 3695 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Our legal system grants important rights to all of us. The reason criminal defendants have these protections is because every citizen deserves to be innocent until proven guilty. I believe that basic rights would be protected for individuals facing criminal charges; however, those who violate laws should face proper punishment for their…

    • 272 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Ap Nsl

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages

    7. Summarize the Supreme Court’s changing interpretations of how to protect both the due process rights of accused criminals and to preserve the safety of the community.…

    • 433 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Wolff V. Mcdonnell

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The criminal justice system realizes that inmates do have some rights, however it is also recognized that those inmates do have less rights than free citizens. Taking away some rights of the inmates is a valid punishment and by restricting these rights it helps in maintaining security in prisons. The title of the case that I chose was Wolff v. McDonnell. This case was very important because it uniformed certain rights and freedoms within correctional facilities. “Although inmates received some procedural safe-guards to protect them against the notorious abuses of disciplinary meetings, they did not receive all the due- process rights of a criminal trial” (Clemens, 2002). Nor did the Court question the right of correctional officials to revoke the good time of inmates. In this case, “Robert O. McDonnell, a prisoner, had filed a class- action suit against the state of Nebraska, claiming that its disciplinary procedures, especially those pertaining to the loss of good time were unconstitutional” (Clemens, 2002). McDonnell also complained, along with other inmates, about the limitations on their access to the law library, legal services, and visitation with the inmate legal assistant and that the regulations regarding prisoners ' mail violated the attorney-client privilege” (Keenan, 2005). This case was argued on Argued April 22, 1974 and a decision was made on decided June 26, 1974.…

    • 893 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Warren Court left an unprecedented legacy of judicial activism in the area of civil rights law as well as in the area of civil liberties—specifically, the rights of the accused as addressed in Amendments 4 through 8. In the period from 1961 to 1969, the Warren Court examined almost every aspect of the criminal justice system in the United States, using the 14th Amendment to extend constitutional protections to all courts in every State. This process became known as the “nationalization” of the Bill of Rights. During those years, cases concerning the right to legal counsel, confessions, searches, and the treatment of juvenile criminals all appeared on the Court's docket.…

    • 926 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Crime and Process Model

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages

    “Court reform is a topic of constant conversation in legal circles. Do a search on the topic by going to Yahoo: http://www.yahoo.com. Then, under Search, type the phrase court reform. Is court reform needed to protect the values of the crime control model or the values of the due process model?”…

    • 900 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Prisoners Rights

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Having the civil rights litigation gave rights to prisoners, section 1983 this allowed for prisoners to be their own…

    • 851 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    These people were essentially being held against their will and discriminated against which violated their Fifth Amendment right, which basically says that this right protects against abuse, being deprived of life, liberty, and property. This landmark case provided for protection of citizens and influenced law in this country by stating that no person or persons shall be deprived of their rights.…

    • 358 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Do you remember where you were on September 11, 2001? I was working as a Personal Care Provider in a Senior Home at Newport, NJ. Do you remember the feeling you felt when you saw the planes crashing on the Twin Towers in New York? I remember feeling powerless. I wanted to do something to help out the people trapped in those towers. It was a horrible feeling not to be able to help them. Right after that, President Bush declared the War on Terror and many of our troop members were sent overseas to defend our country and to try to catch those involved on this act of terror. Many people were detained and sent to Guantanamo bay. They were accused of being enemy combatants. Some of them were guilty, some of them were not. I personally do not care for those are guilty, guilty people should pay for what they do. People make choices and they are consequences for those choices. How about those who are innocents? How about those who were victims of this hatred towards those who really hurt our country and its citizens? Is it fair for them to be paying for something they didn’t do? If the people held in Guantanamo bay are not enemy combatants, would Habeas Corpus apply to them? If Habeas Corpus could be applied to them, how easy would be for them to be released? In this paper, I will be giving a brief history of the Habeas Corpus including its purpose and its application to the present; along with that, I will be discussing about the mode of proceedings at Guantanamo bay, how difficult it is for an innocent person to prove their innocence and how easy could be for any American citizens to be caught in the same situation without a trial.…

    • 2173 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    When it comes to the criminal process, it typically ends when a defendant is found not guilty. However, in retrospect, it does not end whenever a defendant is found guilty, and that is for three primary reasons: 1) the accused must be sentenced; 2) the accused can and often does appeal their conviction; and 3) in the event that the accused’s appeal fails to succeed, the U.S. Constitution provides for them the right to habeas corpus, which is a method of challenging the constitutionality of one’s confinement (Worrall, 2010). However, for the basis of this article, the focus will be placed on issues relating to generalized sentencing as well as the impact of the controversial subject of sentencing guidelines.…

    • 1416 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In my opinion, the courts have gone a too far with defending the rights of prisoners. People who go to prison are there for a reason; they broke the law and now it is time for them to serve their time. Although prisoners do have rights and are still subject to the Constitution, being in prison those rights are pretty much null and void. Under The Fourth Amendment, it states that a person has the right to feel safe in their persons, houses, papers and effects. Being in a correctional facility corrections officers are required to keep the balance between the inmates rights and keeping the prison safe for themselves and other inmates and if I were a corrections officer, I would undoubtedly want my coworkers to be safe even if that means “violating”…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hence, in 1963, the case was repealed by Lovings stating that the judgment was in violation of the fourteenth amendment, but the state trail and the courts denied it signifying that the statues were constitutional. The state failing in their efforts the case was brought to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Warren proceeding over the case re-opened in 1967 gave the final verdict that previous sentencing by the state was in violation of principal of equality. Then ordered that under the constitution the freedom to marry or not another person of a different race was an individual choice and was not for the states to decide. Accordingly, the limitation on admitting racial minorities placed by the Brown University a state funded university was also in violation of equal protection clause, which paved the way for Affirmative action in 1961 that requires equal access to education for underrepresented factions, such as women and…

    • 454 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The first major historical development of the U.S. courts was would be the Penitentiary Era (1790-1825) The Walnut Street Jail was America’s first real prison in Philadelphia. The prison was ran by the Quakers who thought that prison should be a place where offenders should may make amends with society and accept responsibility for their misdeeds. (Schmalleger, 2009) The Quakers elements of philosophy included rehabilitation and deterrence which is still used to this day. Penance was the primary methods of rehabilitation because of this all of the offenders were put into solitary confinement, so they would be left to think of their crimes. The Quakers even had high walls put up to let the offenders go out to get exercise daily, eventually…

    • 837 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    The foundation of the government of the United States is based on fair and equal treatment of individuals by the court system. An inmate loses many rights and privileges as an inmate, but the constitutional protections afforded by the Fifth and Eighth Amendments’ rights of due process and equal protection are not forfeited (Carlton & Garrett, 2008). Without access to the court system an inmate would be left no options to contest any sanction or punishment while incarcerated. The rights of inmates have been expanded by court decisions over the last 75 years, but without access to the court system, inmates would have to way to have grievances about their rights heard. Without being to petition the court system for relief, inmates would effectively…

    • 394 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    They started in 1871 and they served to end the doctrine by proving that inmates should not entirely be derived from the constitution.…

    • 574 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays