Culture War and The Supreme Court
Justin Naugher
Four Supreme Court Cases
1. Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
While searching Mapp's house, police officers discovered obscene materials and arrested her. Because the police officers never produced a search warrant, she argued that the materials should be suppressed as the fruits of an illegal search and seizure.
While searching Mapp's house, police officers discovered obscene materials and arrested her. Because the police officers never produced a search warrant, she argued that the materials should be suppressed as the fruits of an illegal search and seizure.
2.Gideon v. Wainwright (1963)
Gideon was accused of committing a felony. Being indigent, he petitioned the judge to provide him with an attorney free of charge. The judge denied his request. The Supreme Court ruled for Gideon, saying that the Sixth Amendment requires indigent criminal defendants to be provided an attorney free of charge.3.Texas v. Johnson (1989)
To protest the policies of the Reagan administration, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag outside of the Dallas City Hall. He was arrested for this act, but argued that it was symbolic speech. The Supreme Court agreed, ruling that symbolic speech is constitutionally protected even when it is offensive.4.Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
After hours of police interrogations, Ernesto Miranda confessed to rape and kidnapping. At trial, he sought to suppress his confession, stating that he was not advised of his rights to counsel and to remain silent. The Supreme Court agreed, holding that police must inform suspects of their rights before questioningTwo most likely Vacancies on Court during 2016 election
1. Antonin Salia, is the eldest of all the judges (78), and currently has served the most years on the court. He is a Conservative Justice who was originally nominated by President Reagan The reason I believe he is likely to vacate the court is simply because of how old he is and how much time he has spent on the court,
2. Anthony Kennedy, is the second oldest of the judges (also 78), and has served the second most years of all of the judges. He is a swing vote meaning that he can vote either Liberal or Conservative. He was nominated like Salia by President Reagan. The reason for his being on my list of the two most likely vacancies, is the same as Antonins. They simply have both been in the courts for a very long time.
How would these Vacancies effect the court
Well since Salia is a conservative that would mean that there is a vacancy of a strong conservative judge within the court. This would mean that if a democratic president were sworn in, and this vacancy were to occur. There could possibly be an imbalance within the supreme court system. As for Kennedy he really has no side, but that does not negate his importance to the court. Often times in a very close vote he can and is the tie breaker. So in order for the proper balance to come back into effect, another swing voting justice would be ideal for the court in this situation. Obviously though anything can happen, it all really matters just who the president is at the time..
Conclusion
Basically the Culture war is a conflict of interests of different sides of our culture. The only problem is, is that there are so many sides to this culture war it really is impossible to keep up with who is on what side of each issue. We must simply take this one issue at a time as a nation. I truly believe that the culture war will never end until each of our cultures within our society can agree as equals on each problem or issue.