The U.S. Supreme Court, Research Paper Example

The current makeup of the U.S. Supreme Court is balanced along ideological lines, with a conservative majority of five justices to the four liberal justices. Because of this composition, the USSC often ends up with decisions split along those same, with 5-4 decisions being common. As the USSC shifted to the right beginning under President Reagan, the court’s decisions often took positions that favored public-order advocates at the expense of individual rights. The practical application of this ideological position has influenced how police officers, courts, and the prison system function, and has eroded many individual rights. The court has routinely sided with police over citizens where rulings about Miranda warnings, searches, and other activities are concerned. The prison system has grown exponentially in the last several decades as the court system has made it easier for police and the courts to imprison people, minimum-mandatory sentences have become common, and conservative-leaning politicians have advocated for a “law and order.” This shift to the right concerns me, as it takes away from individual rights and makes more and more members of society into criminals.

An individual charged with a crime is supposed to have a right to a jury of his or her peers. This means that other citizens are responsible for deciding the fate of someone charged with a crime. In general this does not mean the same thing as someone’s peers in day to day life. My peers are other students, or people who work in similar fields, and other people that I have things in common with. Someone who is significantly older than I am, or who comes from a very different economic, cultural, or social background than I do, may not be able to relate to me or to situations and circumstances I face in life. If I am ever charged with a crime, I would like my jury to be as close to my real peers as possible.