To talk about the state of law in America is to mention some of the issues the judicial system face. In my opinion, the biggest problem that our American judicial system face at this present time is mass incarceration. Mass incarceration has increased over the past forty years in the United States, ending in more people being locked in jails and prisons than ever before. In my opinion, the number one cause of mass incarceration is the war on drugs the United States has been fighting since president Nixon’s era. The United States imprisons more people than any other nation in the world, largely due to drug laws and their mandatory sentencing requirements. It all started when in 1971 president Richard Nixon declared that the war on drugs was
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Criminal lawyers have obligations towards the law and the civil society. As we look at the American Justice System today, we often noticed that lawyers tend to work more closely with the judicial system than with the public. Lawyers have not only failed the justice system but also the institution they have swore to serve. Lawyers have failed in their everyday practice to ensure that our current criminal system functions consistently with our rights and values. Prosecutors have become more interested in accomplishing their own career goals than to serve their society. For them, justice is about putting bad people behind bars and nothing more. Alexis de Tocqueville said it best when he explained the power lawyers have in the society. He argued, “Lawyers are attached to public order beyond every other consideration, and the best security of public order is authority” (Tocqueville). In Tocqueville’s views, lawyers take possession in their own rights regarding the justice system. They are viewed as having the utmost experience when it comes to legal matters and therefore make an important impact in the lives of the public. In connection to mass incarceration, I can argue that Tocqueville explained it best when he stated “Lawyers belong to the people by birth and interest, and to the aristocracy by habit and taste; they may be looked upon as the connecting link between the two great classes of society” (Tocqueville). We notice that lawyers whether in a criminal or civil case, often tend to serve higher economical class. In their responsibility to the issue of mass incarceration, we notice that a significant amount of prisoners are being kept in an American jail every single day solely because they are too poor to make a monetary payment to secure their pretrial release.as a result, In a system that guarantees the right to trial unless
Criminal lawyers have obligations towards the law and the civil society. As we look at the American Justice System today, we often noticed that lawyers tend to work more closely with the judicial system than with the public. Lawyers have not only failed the justice system but also the institution they have swore to serve. Lawyers have failed in their everyday practice to ensure that our current criminal system functions consistently with our rights and values. Prosecutors have become more interested in accomplishing their own career goals than to serve their society. For them, justice is about putting bad people behind bars and nothing more. Alexis de Tocqueville said it best when he explained the power lawyers have in the society. He argued, “Lawyers are attached to public order beyond every other consideration, and the best security of public order is authority” (Tocqueville). In Tocqueville’s views, lawyers take possession in their own rights regarding the justice system. They are viewed as having the utmost experience when it comes to legal matters and therefore make an important impact in the lives of the public. In connection to mass incarceration, I can argue that Tocqueville explained it best when he stated “Lawyers belong to the people by birth and interest, and to the aristocracy by habit and taste; they may be looked upon as the connecting link between the two great classes of society” (Tocqueville). We notice that lawyers whether in a criminal or civil case, often tend to serve higher economical class. In their responsibility to the issue of mass incarceration, we notice that a significant amount of prisoners are being kept in an American jail every single day solely because they are too poor to make a monetary payment to secure their pretrial release.as a result, In a system that guarantees the right to trial unless