In Virginia on April 7th 2003 a divided United States Supreme Court opened the possibility of constitutionally restricting certain types of hate speech. The court was to hear a case that spoke to one specific Virginia state statute that prohibited cross burning with the intent to intimidate, and also rendered that any such burning shall be prima facie evidence of an intent to intimidate a person or group. This court would see this statute being used between two separate cases. The first case was against Barry Black; in August of 1998 Black led a Ku Klux Klan rally at which the conclusion resulted in the burning of a cross on private property with the permission of the owner. Black was charged under the state statute, “Burning a cross with the intent to intimidate.” [347] The jury was instructed in accordance with the Model Jury Instruction that the burning of the cross by itself is sufficient evidence from which you may infer the required intent. [364] In May 1998 Richard Elliot and Jonathan O’Mara attempted to burn a cross on the lawn of Elliot’s neighbor and were charged in accordance under the cross-burning statute. After all of the respondents were convicted, they appealed to the Supreme Court of Virginia arguing that the cross-burning statute is unconstitutional. The Virginia Supreme court reversed all the convictions holding that the Virginia cross-burning statute is analytically indistinguishable from the ordinance found…
•any free man who was brought to trial for a crime had the right to be judged by his equals, rather than the king or his officials; this is what we know as a jury…
The law’s primary objective is to provide justice for all parties involved in legal disputes; however, as demonstrated through the Gordon Wood case it is evident that the law has been ineffective in balancing the rights of those concerns and deliver just outcomes. This is illustrated by the factors of delivery of just outcomes, time and complexity which when applied to the Gordon Wood case demonstrate the law’s failure to protect the rights of the victims, offenders and society.…
Personally as a Supreme Court judge and after taking a fairly through look at the cases, I’d have to rule in favor of Frederick. While the banner that Mr. Frederick had up during the school event does make a reference to drugs, the message is pretty vague as even I can’t really interpret the true absolute definition of the banner. Judge Steven even states “Justice John Paul Stevens took the position that the school 's interest in protecting students from speech that can be reasonably regarded as promoting drug use does not justify Frederick 's punishment for his attempt to make an ambiguous statement simply because it refers to drugs.” ( n/a, 2012). Another important reason why I am following this ruling is because while yes Mr. Frederick had a 14 foot banner held high it didn’t exactly disrupt the school event itself and it was the principals own interpretation of the message that caused a disruption that escalated into Frederick’s unjustified punishment. This statement from the ACLU even states that Fredericks actions were done off school campus, “As the ACLU and Mertz noted, the sign caused no disruption, was displayed at the Olympic Torch Relay - a public event on public streets - and Frederick had not yet arrived at school for the day.” (N/a, 2007 ). Just by this alone I believe that the principal had no justification in asking to take the banner down because of the cryptic message let alone punish Mr. Frederick just because of her own intrepertation.…
“In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial…
The Australian constitution amongst its express rights also contains implied rights, and the adequacy of these implied rights is rather debatable, as it becomes increasingly apparent that the extraction of our individual rights and freedoms from constitutional implications is an inconsistent and primitive way of dealing with rights, as the essence is lost somewhere down the track, and we find our freedoms being questioned and removed at the hands of the judicial system.…
Tysee, J.E. (2005) Note: The Right to an "Imperfect" Trial -- Amnesia, Malingering, and Competency to Stand Trial, William Mitchell Law Review, 32 (1). Retrieved March 14, 2012, from http://www.wmitchell.edu/lawreview/Volume32/Issue1/10Tysse.pdf.…
On December 10, 2013 the Information Technology manager asked me to do some research on the best web conferencing programs for our weekly status meetings. After completing my research I have decided that Adobe Connect would be the best choice for our video conferencing needs.…
All too often the Human Rights Act is associated with only large technical legal arguments or perceived to be limited to certain types of issues. However this case study illustrates how groups of ordinary people themselves are able to use the human rights law to challenge poor treatment and negotiate improvements to the services being…
Chester, Burke. Individual rights, not human rights. (Letters)(Letter to the editor). Florida Bar News (Oct. 15, 2008) p.2(1) General OneFile Retrieved from Gale Apollo Library on Nov.14, 2008. http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.apollolibray.com/ips/retrieve.do?…
The aim of this case is to present a contemporary criminal case. The case must have occurred in the last ten years. It must be an indictable offence, a more serious criminal charge where the defendant has the right to trial by jury and has been found guilty. The analysis of the case will be carried out through the extent which the law balances the rights of victims and offenders.…
The judgments of the U.S. Supreme Court also indicates that the Right to Counsel be provided to any individual who is insolvent or penniless and that the individual is guaranteed the right to the attendance of a court-appointed counsel at a crucial point in the criminal trial (2011). The crucial points of these proceedings are composed of custodial questioning, pre-charge lineups, preliminary examinations, arraignment, trial, punishment, and the first appeal of guilty verdict (2011). The Right to Counsel was initiated as a response to the English custom of refusing the aid of counsel in severe criminal proceedings that forces individuals to be present in court and represent his or herself in his or her own words (2011). An example of the strictness of the practice to deny counsel is evident in the trial of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots in 1568 (2011). Queen Mary was indicted for…
It isn’t arduous to see why some may question the efficiency of trial by jury and whether it should, and is able to, continue to discover innocence or guilt. Regarding the trial of Vicky Pryce, the failure of the jury within the hearing conjured ridicule and disdain from the judge and the media. The case deeply unsettled the trust of many in the system. The eight women and four men were dismissed after illustrating “fundamental deficits of understanding” (Jacobson, Hunter & Kirby, 2015, p. 55). Their profuse questions for the judge were deemed as unintelligent and unnecessary and so a costly re-trial was required. Consequently, this ordeal provoked a stronger desire for the abolition of trial by jury, to be replaced by a single judge as a more…
Legal rights during a trial can be very important to the defendant in a case. These rights provide a lot of different options so that they can have their own choices about the case. All of these rights are in the 6th amendment to help the defendant in trial. I am going to discuss to you 4 of 8 different right for a defendant. The four I am going to be discussing are as follows, the right to confront witnesses, the right to counsel at trial, the right to a speedy trial, and the right to a public trial.…
Nonetheless, in the case of In re Gault, he was not afforded due process. The justice system failed to give him and his parents notice of the charges against him, failed to advise him that he could be represented by counsel, confront his accuser and witnesses or was protected against self-incrimination…