Reasonable Doubts The Criminal Justice System and the...

Book Summary The New York Times bestseller book titled Reasonable Doubts: The Criminal Justice System and the O.J. Simpson Case examines the O.J. Simpson criminal trial of the mid-1990s. The author, Alan M. Dershowitz, relates the Simpson case to the broad functions and perspectives of the American criminal justice system as a whole. A Harvard law school teacher at the time and one of the most renowned legal minds in the country, Dershowitz served as one of O.J. Simpson’s twelve defense lawyers during the trial. Dershowitz utilizes the Simpson case to illustrate how today’s criminal justice system operates and relates it to the misperceptions of the public. Many outside spectators of the case firmly believed that Simpson committed the†¦show more content†¦Dershowitz explains that two very different Simpson trials were carried out: the trial before the jury and the trial before the public (Dershowitz 140). Dershowitz also supplies the strong assertion that telev ision coverage of a trial brings â€Å"greater accuracy, less bias, and more direct observation of the trial† (Dershowitz 147). Many people believe that the aspect of money can determine how a case is carried out (Dershowitz 149). In any given case, the prosecution has more resources than the defense. The defense team in the Simpson case included twelve lawyers while the prosecution used nearly fifty (Dershowitz 150). In addition, the prosecution had unrestricted access to a vast amount of federal officers. They also had the judge on their side and the majority of the public supporting them. Due to his careers in professional football and acting, Simpson was a rare defendant that had enough money to legitimately compete with the prosecution (Dershowitz 151). Dershowitz claims the American legal system is never on a relatively level playing field between the prosecution and the defense, often leading to police and prosecutors to slack due to their used to winning (Dershowitz 152). Within the book, Dershowitz poses the question of whether prosecutors and defense attorneys are advocates for justice, or only for their clients. The reason for lawyers choosing a client canShow MoreRelatedResearch Paper On Oj Simpson968 Words   |  4 PagesThe O.J. Simpson Case The O.J. Simpson murder case is a fascinating murder case due to the popularity of the defendant and the circumstances surrounding it. In the following paragraphs, I will discuss the victims and the evidence stacked up against O.J. Simpson. I will also discuss the pivotal points in the trial and the verdict. The victims On the late evening of June 12th, 1994, a fellow Brentwood neighbor went to investigate why a nearby dog was constantly howling when they discovered the grislyRead MoreSimpsons Murder Trial1578 Words   |  7 Pagesconducts research on Orenthal James ‘O.J.’ Simpson’s 1994 murder trial of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson-Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, in which Simpson was acquitted.This trial is one of the most televised court cases in history. Once a well-rounded guy, Simpson born in San Francisco, had a successful college football career at USC, winning the Heisman Trophy. Simpson then went onto the NFL playing for the Buffalo Bills as a star running back. The O.J. Simpson trial was majorly sensationalized dueRead More Miscarriage of Justice Essay1824 Words   |  8 Pagesthree of the most sensational criminal trials in American history are the Commonwealth vs. Borden, California vs. Simpson and Los Angeles vs. Rodney King. All three of these cases received unp recedented amounts of media attention and verdicts from the jury that shocked the country. In my opinion justice, especially social and moral justice, was not achieved in these trials. Social class, race and gender all had a huge impact on the jury’s decisions in each of these cases. High priced defense attorneysRead MoreCriminal Justice: Racial Disparity and Discrimination and O.J. Simpson768 Words   |  4 PagesCriminal law is based on the principle of actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea. The principle is to the extent that a man is not guilty of his acts, actus in the absence of a guilty conscience, mens rea (Gardner, 2009). To this end, criminal law justice provides that the person alleging the commission of a crime must proof beyond reasonable doubt that the accused person(s) possessed mens rea, if the court is to hold a criminal liability against the accused. In the case of People of the State ofRead MoreThe OJ Simpson Murder Trial and the Criminal Justice System16 91 Words   |  7 PagesThe OJ Simpson Murder Trial and the Criminal Justice System A crime being committed is the first event to initiate our criminal justice system. On June 12th 1994 a double murder was reported at the residence of Nicole Brown Simpson the ex-wife of the then beloved Orenthal James (OJ) Simpson. It was discovered that Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman had been brutally murdered and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) began their investigation, this being the second step in our criminalRead More Capital Punishment: The Correct Alternative Essay1497 Words   |  6 Pagescontroversy over capital punishment whether or not it works or if it is morally right. Before I go on capital punishment, in America, is only used in felony cases such as murder or a felony buglary, where there was a unintended murder because of a robbery. People who favor the death penalty say that the criminals deserve it and is the only way for justice to be served. People who are against it, the death penalty, say that it is immoral, that no person should be senten ced to death, it has no place in aRead More Capital Punishment Essay1703 Words   |  7 Pagesfuture murders. Let us begin by first dealing with the issue of the death penalty as being a form of cruel and unusual punishment. Are there terrible murders being committed in this country today? Absolutely. And should these murderers be brought to justice? Here again, I would say without hesitation, of course. However, I do not know how you can execute a person for committing murder, thereby committing the same act that he is condemned for. In other words, murder is murder, whether it be by an individualRead More The Implications of DNA Profiling Essay3166 Words   |  13 PagesThe Implications of DNA Profiling Former attorney General Janet Reno described our system of justice as a search for the truth.(1) Increasingly, the forensic use of DNA technology is an important ally in that search. DNA fingerprinting, better known in the scientific realm as DNA profiling, has given police and the courts a means of identifying the perpetrators of rapes and murders with a very high degree of confidence. However, nine years after its introduction, forensic DNA typing is stillRead MoreA Historical Journey through the American Conscience: The Public and its Courts 1564 Words   |  7 Pagesand their criminal justice system. Each era of American history shows the mindset of its time through the courts. From the extreme Puritans, and their deeply spiritual, irrational cases, to the politically charged events of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and forward into the hodgepodge of contemporary justice, one can read the American conscience by examining the criminal cases at its forefront. Reflecting o n American history, the public’s tumultuous relationship with justice forms an accurateRead MoreSimpson s Success Story Essay1929 Words   |  8 PagesOrenthal James Simpson, or O.J., or â€Å"The Juice,† as some people knew him by, was a case of â€Å"from rags to riches.† Simpson grew up in the projects of San Francisco and in his early teenage years, joined a gang and was incarcerated. He attended City College of San Francisco from 1965-66 where he played football and was named to the Junior College All-American Team as a running back. From there, he was awarded an athletic scholarship to the University of Southern California—the place where O.J. Simpson’s

Black Masculinity And The Black Of A Black Boy s Life

Throughout the matriculation of a black boy s’ life, there are many, (labeled natural, yet are culturally, socially and institutionally based) factors, that govern the holistic views and beliefs entailed to the child. From that moment on, challenging the social structures that these norms entail suggest a sense of sensitivity, homosexuality or weakness, ultimately emasculating the highly regarded social stigmas attached with being a man. Despite being indoctrinated into the minds of black boys from an early age, there are many long lasting effects of masculinity that are in turn reciprocated in the role of black fathers, husbands, brothers and friends. Black masculinity is the self-deteriorating idealisms that attack the identity and social positions black men ascribe to. The identity of the black man is the most crucial element attacked by black masculinity. Stemming from a limited variety of acceptable self expression, black masculinity emphasizes the need for an overly tough outer appearance while internally suppressing emotions of fear and sadness. These notions are particularly vivid in mainstream hip hop culture. In Byron Hurt’s Hip hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes, Hurt sits down with some of the industries most respected artist who attest that â€Å"anything nonhood will dilute [their] toughness.† Nonhood suggesting outwardly signs of affection, comfortability in the uprise of woman, and the dialogue and communication between Black brothers both verbal and nonverbal. TheseShow MoreRelatedIntroduction . The Aim Of This Dissertation Is To Explore1393 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The aim of this dissertation is to explore how masculinity moreover the portrayal of black masculinitys portrayed within African American literature with a focus on the work of Richard Wright. Richard Wright s narrative introduces complex ideas of masculinity, sexuality and the desire for freedom both economically and personal, therefore by analysing his works we can create answers as to which the condition of the black male was within mid 19th century America were and how that affectedRead MoreBlack Lit By Richard Wright1072 Words   |  5 PagesNative Son/Fruitvale Station Essay Black Lit Period 1 Ever since the beginning of slavery in America, the existence of the black male population has been compromised and they had to live their lives under the power of white supremacy. Society’s institutions use systematic oppression to create the identity of black males. This â€Å"monstrous† identity is created to excuse the unlawful acts of the privileged. From the murder of Laquan McDonald and Michael Brown, black males often face harsh racial prejudicesRead MoreGen 205 Fall 2015 Final Exam Essay Questions1422 Words   |  6 Pagesdescribe how one s perspective or standpoint shapes knowledge production and provide examples from the readings. How do you think your standpoint shapes the knowledge you produced for your final paper? I do not understand. What perspective? Question 2 Identify 3 cultural symbols of gender privilege and describe how interactional and structural levels of society reinforce this gender privilege. How is this privilege shaped by intersectionality? 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Global Warming and Government Policy Measures- MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theGlobal Warming and Government Policy Measures. Answer: Introduction Global warming is an environmental problem in economics that is caused by the emission of harmful carbon dioxide gases in the air. This is mostly from production of coal and the use of unleaded oil. Unlike other types of pollutions that face the polluting economy, greenhouse gas emissions is a global issue as the impacts are evenly dispersed across the globe (World-nuclear.org, 2017). This is the reason why the policy implementation requires international agreements and collaborations. The paper shall consider to know why some economies may not be willing to collaborate using clean power plan. A country like Alabama depends on coal for most of its energy production and thus contribute to great emissions (Lewis, Bryant, and Hansen, 2017). The use of petroleum has increased in the modern period and has greatly contributed to global warming (Hansen and Sato, 2012). This paper will identify the several causes of this issue and identify the various policy actions that the government have implemented in lowering the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Thus this paper will confirm that there is a great importance for the global warming issue to be resolved by every means possible. The paper will analyze the possible negative impacts that have occurred and those that many occur in future if the policy actions were not to be put in place. The change in global temperature has been argued to be close to 1oC. This has been argued to be as a result of global industrialization which has resulted in increased emission of greenhouse gases. The paper shall consider how the carbon dioxide gas has changed in concentration on the air and how the global temperature has changes. This analysis will be done on a time frame of more than 100 years. Since several policies will be analyzed, conclusion on the best policies between the market-based program and regulation will be drawn. The paper will thus be important for the formulation of future policies. Economics of Global Warming The earths temperature has gone up to high levels as compared to 100 years ago. Initially the increases in temperature were believed and actually were only from natural causes. The current period is a period where the human actions are argued to be responsible for increased temperatures (whatsyourimpact.org, 2017). Increment in temperatures initially could be resolved without any intervention, but currently, actions has to be taken since the adjustment sometimes take place at a slow rate. This has distorted the climate system such that rainfall seasons that occurred at a specific time of the year have shifted or rain could fall heavily at a period when its not expected and little when its expected. This has had great impacts on agricultural activities since it has become difficult to time the planting period. According to MacMillan (2016), the transportation sector is a major source of carbon gases emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. The problems of sufficient sources of ener gy is responsible for increased carbon emissions. A country such as Alabama that depends on energy as its major source of energy is not willing to collaborate on the use of clean power plan. It is worried that this would in turn create an energy shortage. Human activities such as burning of fossil fuel and deforestation have been noted to be the major factors behind global warming (Ichoku, 2017). Biologically, plants use carbon dioxide to make their food. This explains why there is more rainfall in forested areas than in areas with less plants. In forested areas, the impacts of carbon dioxide is lowered since plants use it and release oxygen. However, when the plant population is small, most of the greenhouse gases emitted goes to the air and forms a cloud above the earths surface that acts as a blanket such that the earth retains some of the heat received from the sun (Denchak, 2016). The major recorded impacts of global warming is rising sea levels resulting from melting of ice, glaciers and permafrost. Major researches has provided information that people have cleared and burnt many forests to create land for farming; this has been mainly to the increased food demand since the world population is growing at a fast rate. If global warming is not to be controlled, weather patterns would change and this may create permanent deserts in some areas whereas other areas may be made wetter and constituted by flooding. This may not be good for the drier economies or rather even the flooding economies. This would create a food shortage problem that may need a high government spending in an attempt of ensuring that there is sufficient food supply. The research by Whatsyourimpact.org (2017) noted that global warming has affected both the human society as well as nature and more negative impacts will be experienced in future is the global temperatures continue rising. According to Denchak (2016), come 2100 century, the global temperature will be very high. Graph: Changes in carbon dioxide concentration on the air over the century Source: Bbc.co.uk (2017) Graph: Changes in global warming over the century Source: Bbc.co.uk (2017) As it can be observed from the two graphs above, there is a similar trend in the change in the concentration of co2 in the air and the change in global temperatures. The increase in co2 can thus be deducted to be responsible for global warming. This is an explanation as to why most economists focuses on the policies of lowering the co2 concentration in the air when attempting to lower the global temperatures (Randers, 2017). Public Policies Towards the Reduction of Global Warming Global warming may not be solved through public policies alone. According to Ball (2010), if everyone was to become responsible such that everyone reduces his/her carbon emissions, and helping the poor to fight global warming, this in addition to public policies would help in reducing greenhouse gas accumulations. There are many public policies put in place to help in solving the global warming problem. Pigouvias Tax One of such policy is encouraging the imposition of carbon tax. This is an extra cost to the production process and it discourages high production level that results in massive carbon emissions. This tax is meant to make the producers responsible for the externalities they cause to the environment. Without the imposition of this tax, producers will produce output at their profit maximization level by ignoring the impacts on the environment resulting from their overproduction. Graph: Pigouvias Tax Source: Gallego (2017) If the firms are allowed to operate freely without governments intervention, they would produce a high quantity level QA which would involve a lot of emissions. This is at the point where their marginal benefit (MB) equates the Marginal Private Cost (MPC); the price and cost level is PA. an imposition of a Pigouvias tax forces the firms to produce at the point where the MB equates the Marginal Social Cost (MSC) and the new marginal private cost rises to MPC; the new price and cost level is at PS and the quantity produced is QS. Subsidy The government may take another action that may work similar to the tax. It may pay a subsidy equal to the green area labelled s in the diagram above. It does this with an agreement that the firm will produce quantity QS and thus avoid emissions. Auction Pollution Permits This has similar effects to the Pigouvias tax scheme. This involves the selling of permits to the emitting firms. This requires the government to know who the emitting firms are and also their production quantities. The government then makes an announcement that its selling permits for emission but specifies the output level associated with that emission level. This just like the Pigouvias tax scheme achieves an efficient emission level. Firms after receiving the announcement bids for these emission rights and they are sold to the highest bid. With a tax scheme, the government is required to have information on the marginal benefits and marginal private costs. The absence of this information creates uncertainty of the extent at which the emission level is going to fall when an emission tax is imposed. This make the auction pollution permit superior to the Pigouvias tax scheme as it lowers future uncertainty of the ultimate emission level will be. The Difference between Pigouvias Tax and Auction Pollution Permits When a Pigouvias tax is imposed, the government is not aware of the pollution that the firms will generate, but the firms are aware of the prices they will pay. On the other hand when an auction pollution permit is sold, the government knows the emission amount but the firms do not know the price they will have to pay. This explains why Pigouvias tax is not commonly used but some economies apply the auction pollution permits policies. Regulation Another policy is the creation of a green economy. Climate scientists argue thatcarbon dioxide and every other greenhouse gases emissions are harmful to the environment and it is thus a high time for policies to be implemented that will help in preventing the global climate from further damage. If business are to continue being operated as usual, the global temperatures are projected to continue rising which is posing threat to the world falling into an apocalyptic situation. In order to avoid this apocalypse, our economy has to be discourage from fossil fuels use and coal above all (Krugman, 2010). The solution towards the changing climate as agreed by many environmental economists is to use market-based programs that involve putting a price on carbon emissions to limit their level of emissions. Modest results can be observed if these programs were implemented as argued by Krugman (2010). However, he noted that there is an issue of determining the rate at which the programs should b e implemented; either immediately or gradually. Under regulation legal sanction threats are used to ensure that when the government orders the polluters to cut their emission level; they cut their emissions as ordered. There are two classes of regulations used in controlling pollution. One is the direct regulation that involves the setting of a critical level of pollution. This is followed by continuous monitoring to ensure that the emitting companies observes the set standards and if not they get prosecuted. The other category is input regulation where the government regulates the production process. Since its difficult and most expensive to monitor whether firms are observing the emission standards, governments usually use the input regulation method. This is because its easier for the government to monitor inputs. It is argued that firms are in a better position to identify the best means to lower their emissions than the government could. Thus, if the government regulates their input, it would also be regulating their output l evel at the desired level. The scope for creativity and flexibility is absent when direct regulation is used. Even though it may be effective in some cases, it may have no positive results in some other cases. Conclusion The greenhouse effect is a useful part of the environment since the gases traps heat from the sun and radiate it back to the earth when the sun is gone and thus provide warmth necessary for supporting life on earth. Otherwise the earth would be so cold and would not support life. However, when an accumulation of the greenhouse gases in very intensive, it prevents harmful radiation rays from the sun from reflecting back. This results in exposing the earth to harmful diseases such as cancers and many others. The change is weather patterns has also affected food productions since it has resulted in some places becoming more dry and others to experience floods. There is high importance for implementation of policies that could help in lowering the level of greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent a further global temperature rise in the future. The study has covered both the market-based policies and those for regulations. The argument by many economists most importantly as argued by Krugman were that the best results on the reduction of greenhouse emissions would be obtained by the implementation of market-based programs rather than the use of regulations. The market-based programs are used for ensuring that the emitters pay or rather suffer additional costs from their behaviors of carbon emissions. This would make them become more cautious and may avoid some production practices that results in huge emissions. The other possible action they would take is to lower their production level so as to emit less carbon and thus pay less carbon tax. In the case of regulation we have seen that there is the absence of the scope for creativity and flexibility when direct regulation is implemented. The outcome delivered by the free market operations is not always fairs and thus government intervention is important. Negative externalit ies are some of the problems experienced from free market operations. References Ball, J., and Evangelical Environmental Network. (2010). Global warming and the risen Lord: Christian discipleship and climate change. Washington, D.C: Evangelical Environmental Network. Bbc.co.uk. (2017). BBC Bitesize - GCSE Biology - Acid rain and global warming - Revision 4. [Online] Bbc.co.uk. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/education/guides/znsk7ty/revision/4[Accessed 21 May 2017]. Denchak, M. (2016). Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad? [Online] NRDC. Available at: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-effects-global-warming-really-bad [Accessed 21 May 2017]. Gallego, L. (2017). Externality. [Online] Policonomics.com. Available at: https://policonomics.com/externality/ [Accessed 21 May 2017]. Hansen, J., and Sato, M. (2012). Paleoclimate Implications for Human-Made Climate Change. In: Climate change inferences from paleoclimate and regional aspects. Wien: Springer. Ichoku, C. (2017). Global Warming: Feature Articles. [Online] Earthobservatory.nasa.gov. Available at: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page2.php [Accessed 21 May 2017]. Krugman, P. (2010). Building a Green Economy. [Online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/11/magazine/11Economy-t.html [Accessed 21 May 2017]. Lewis, H., Bryant, K., and Hansen, M. (2017). Climate Change Clean Energy. [Online] Gaspgroup.org. Available at: https://gaspgroup.org/climate-energy/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw9YTJBRD0vKClruOsuOwBEiQAGkQjP_brcOWdq85S6cY31DxYR6mf_yXPYHDUxfN9psXwgkIaAqjL8P8HAQ [Accessed 21 May 2017]. MacMillan, A. (2016). Global Warming 101. [Online] Nrdc.org. Available at: https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101 [Accessed 21 May 2017]. Randers, J. (2017). 8 Ways The World Will Change By 2052. [Online] Fast Company. Available at: https://www.fastcompany.com/1680127/8-ways-the-world-will-change-by-2052 [Accessed 21 May 2017]. Whatsyourimpact.org. (2017). What is global warming? [Online] Whatsyourimpact.com Available at: https://whatsyourimpact.org/global-warming [Accessed 21 May 2017]. World-nuclear.org. (2017). Policy Responses to Climate Change. World-nuclear.org. Available at: https://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/energy-and-the-environment/policy-responses-to-climate-change.aspx [Accessed 21 May 2017].