Examining the Disconnect: The Gap Between America's Lawmakers, Enforcers, the Courts, and the People
Open Access
- Author:
- Russoniello, Gina Maria
- Area of Honors:
- Elective Area of Honors - Business Law
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Daniel Robert Cahoy, Thesis Supervisor
Daniel Robert Cahoy, Thesis Honors Advisor
Paul Vincent Whitehead, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- Disconnect
government
legislature
courts
police
rap
EPA
racial profiling
welfare
Prop 21
Occupy Wall Street
Tea Party - Abstract:
- In the United States, the Constitution and statutes are in place to ensure all citizens’ rights and to regulate a constitutionally limited but free society. The law makers and courts safeguard these rights and facilitate the additions and amendments necessary to maintain a functioning society. Despite this promising framework, our legal system all too often fails to provide solutions to citizens on an individual basis. Intuitively, a series of individual failures can conjure widespread dissatisfaction among society. If groups of people believe that the laws do not serve them or even do not apply to them at all, they are more inclined to turn to alternative means to accomplish their goals. For example, people may look to black markets, crime, and under the table negotiations to fulfill their needs for self-advancement if they perceive these alternative paths to be more conducive to their success than legitimate avenues. Clearly, this departure from the law represents a failure on someone’s behalf. Is it on the streets where decisions are made on a daily basis to disregard the law in favor of crime, often for the ironically noble purpose of acquiring the means to leave the same environment? Is it in the court house where sentences are issued on the basis of statute and not individual merit? Is it in the legislature where representatives pass laws without adequate understanding of their constituents? This thesis will examine where the weaknesses in our legal system lie and offer potential solutions to these shortcomings.