North Lake College American Justice System Essay

• Explain the origin and development of constitutional democracy in the United States.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the federal system.
• Describe separation of powers and checks and balances in both theory and practice.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the federal government.
• Evaluate the role of public opinion, interest groups, and political parties in the political system.
• Describe the rights and responsibilities of citizens
• Analyze issues and policies in U.S. politics

Read the following articles/links. The third one is also in audio if you prefer to listen. You may certainly research beyond this, but these are the required sources for the assignment. Once done, answer the following questions regarding race and the criminal justice system.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/03/us/racial-gap-d…

Read this for context about the McKleskey v. Kemp case: https://www.oyez.org/cases/1986/84-6811

https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2020/0810/Why-Black-and-white-Americans-see-the-justice-system-differently-audio

1.) The NYT article talk a lot about the decision in McKleskey v. Kemp. What happened in that case that led to certain justices being regretful in that ruling? How has this case impacted justice today?

2.) Are there any racial gaps in death penalty cases, and/or criminal sentencing as a whole? What does the article suggest about racial gaps? Are there any stats provided? What do the stats show?

3.) The CSM article/audio link explores various voices in the discussion. What does the article suggest about how the color of our skin might impact our perception of criminal justice? Of the role of police, prosecutors, jurors, etc?

4.) Are the stories compelling? Overall, what are your thoughts about the criminal justice system? Is it colorblind, as the scales of justice images might suggest? Explain.

This assignment must follow MLA guidelines, be typed in Times New Roman, 12 pt. font, and be a minimum of 500 words with a works cited page. The works cited are not included in the minimum word count. Any sources provided in the assignment prompt MUST be used within your paper and cited in your works cited. Other sources used must be cited as well.