Law & Criminal justice
Response Instructions (Minimum 275 words / EACH)
As a follow up, read those 2 postings of your classmates. You can do follow-up question, discussion, remark, argument, or agreement about what was stated. Remember to stay professional in your postings. You are free to disagree or agree with something that someone has said, but you must clearly show why. Discuss how you feel their postings relate or are different from your own. Feel free to debate points and hold a discussion! References MUST.
MY INITIAL POST
Law entails the reflection of the wish and will of society. According to Cummings (2018), if one needs to study any society, they have to learn about laws enacted by that specific society and identify if the society is the wild or developed universe. Law may serve societies to bring social change in two various ways: by offering solidity in society and maintaining an organized life within the society. Law can bring social change by altering itself to adjust to the needs and demands of society and its people. In the 1954 U.S. Supreme court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court ruled that separating kids in public schools based on race was not constitutional (TerBeek, 2021). The Supreme Court decision marked the end of lawful ethnic segregation in American schools, overruling the “separate but equal” norm that was set in the case of Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896. The decision of the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education contributed to the difficulties in determining the effectiveness of law as an agent of social change.
Apart from the disapproving segregationists, some constitutional doyens developed a feeling that the choice went against lawful tradition by heavily depending on information supplied by social scientists instead of established law. Judicial restraint supporters trusted the court had disregarded its statutory authorities by basically drafting new law (Cummings, 2018). In the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, teachers are only mentioned once. Cummings (2018) proceeds to argue that people are still paying the price for that stark exclusion since schools lost several great African-American educators. Approximately, there were about eighty-two thousand African-American tutors across the South during the Brown v. Board decision. As schools were combined, those that served African-Americans were closed, and the tutors were fired. Almost half of them had been fired over the next decade. This disregarded the duty of the law to act as an agent of social change because the decision was not reconsidered, despite the damage caused to African Americans.
Striking down segregation in the country’s public institutions offered a key catalyst for the civil rights movement, making potential advances in desegregating public accommodations, housing, and higher education institutions. The choice restored hope to several Americans by permanently discrediting the lawful rationale underpinning the ethnic caste system that had been accepted or endorsed by administrations at every level from the end of the 19th era (Akers, 2017). One factor in the Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board is the amount of information that was available about the ruling or decision. When there is not enough information transmission about the decision, the law will fail to produce its envisioned impact. Law ignorance is, however, not said to be an excuse to disobey, but ignorance permanently restricts the effectiveness of the law.
In a similar manner, the effectiveness of law to implement social change can be limited if rules are not precisely stated, and not just because an individual is uncertain about the meaning of the rules. Vague rules allow several interpretations and perceptions. For example, what does the “all deliberate speed” expression applied by the Supreme Court in Brown v. Board of Education desegregation of school decision mean? As a result, the law language must not portray ambiguity, and care must be practiced to avoid many loopholes and interpretations. Furthermore, the required individual behavior and lawful regulations must be stated clearly, and the noncompliance sanctions need to be articulated precisely.
References
Akers, R. L. (2017). Rational choice, deterrence, and social learning theory in criminology: The path not taken. In Crime Opportunity Theories (pp. 299-322). Routledge.
Cummings, S. L. (2018). Law and social movements: Reimagining the progressive canon. Wis. L. Rev., 441.
TerBeek, C. (2021). “Clocks Must Always Be Turned Back”: Brown v. Board of Education and the racial origins of constitutional originalism. American Political Science Review, 115(3), 821-834.
POST 1
The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education illustrates the difficulties in determining the effectiveness of law an agent of social change and this ruling illustrates the conditions of the racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional. When it comes to seeing the effectiveness of law an agent of social change, we can see how this ruling was very unequal and it cause a lot of commotion due to all the divided society and the confrontation of being racially split. The Brown V. Board of Education was the foundation of a democratic society and it was important to make sure that everyone was treated equally regardless of the social class because that would a great foundation to be set. In its 1954 decision, the Supreme Court overturned Plessy and held that segregated schools violated black students’ Fourteen Amendment right to equal protection of the law (Sutton, 2001). With this decision there was definitely more order in regards to putting more order towards there being any type of unequalness at schools. Even though there was order as the years past we can see how there was still decisions being made and that affected the way school districts were handling the equal protection of the law.
After Brown, this pattern continued with racism disguised as “freedom of choice”- justifying building new schools in outlying areas as merely a response to the population shift to new subdivisions rapidly being built in the western areas of the city (Delinder, n.d.). Therefore, till this day we can still see this racial division going on and there will always exist some sort of racial concern occurrence. Brown also caused Americans to revisit the role of the national government in regulating local issues (Delinder, n.d.). Many funding for segregated schools were lacking many resources and could see the difference of amenities provided. Now, we can definitely see how Brown V. Board of Education has come along way towards providing the same type of amenities and resources to schools but there is still a lot of educational opportunities that can be given in order to sustain a great school system. For example, with the case of George Floyd, we saw a lot of depths of racism, and we got to see how the system does need to change in some conducts in order to have a constructive advancing in the state. This case is just one of many that there is in regards to talking to about racism. In my opinion, there has been a lot of changes being made but more level of justice needs to be implied and it was great to see what impact we can do when we all come together and stand for what we believe that needs to be changed.
In conclusion, the Brown V. Board of Education did make a huge impact when it comes to establishing separate public schools for students of different races and the decisions being made did create a lot of laws that assisted in creating a better setting in this public schools.
Resources:
Delinder, J. V. (n.d.). Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2004/spring/brown-v-board-1.html
Sutton, J.R. (2001). Law/Society: Origins, Interactions, and Change. PINE FORGE PRESS.
Response (Minimum 275 words):
POST 2
The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. The Board of Education determined that state laws permitting the separation of schools for black children and white children was unconstitutional (Laws, 2016). This verdict not only established the first steps of equality for African Americans in the United States but it also portrayed a voice within the court system representing African Americans. Unfortunately, the aftermath of this ruling caused divergence within the community since segregation was essentially a norm up until this determination. Brown v. The Board of education represents a legal impact that affected the United States as a whole.
William E. Evan implies that the extent to which law is effective for social change will vary according to conditions present in the particular situation (Evan, 1965). Evan’s theory can be supported by the Brown v. Board of Education ruling because it came at a time that was crucial to the civil rights movement. African Americans had been yearning for representation within the courtroom for decades prior to the outcome. This law was an indicator for a positive step forward in the country. While racism still yonders throughout the country, we are able to identify racist and address them head on.
Social change is easily influenced by the law. What society sees as a norm is largely because of how the law shaped it. Unfortunately, we see now more than ever how much laws need to be revised due to the injustice going on. From racist individuals to cops abusing authority, laws need to be enhanced to accommodate the state we are living in. As Evan implies, law is supposed to help societies change for the better (Evan, 1965). We see this implemented when we look at the reconstruction rights. The 13th, 14th and 15th amendments were written to help create equality for all, especially for African Americans and women during a time of segregation.
Brown v. The Board of Education signifies a needed verdict to raise attention to the inequality African Americans faced. Without cases like this, our country would be at a stand still and negative factors would be a norm when they shouldn’t be. Law and social change coincide together and can be beneficial to the betterment of our nation.
Resources:
W.M. Evan, ‘Law as an Instrument of Social Change’, in A.W. Gouldner and S.M. Miller (eds.), Applied Sociology: Opportunities and Problems (1965) 285, at 286.
Brown v. Board of Education (2020).
Response (Minimum 275 words):
