SOC Essay 3 -2

pdf

School

University of Minnesota-Twin Cities *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

1101

Subject

Sociology

Date

Feb 20, 2024

Type

pdf

Pages

Uploaded by ChiefChimpanzeePerson514

SOC 1101 Essay 3: 1 Kendallyn Vanderheyden Mr. Walker Nov 18th, 2023 SOC 1101 Sec 001 Social Inequality Within the Criminal Courts This paper will argue that the criminal courts rely upon and deepen social inequality as they prey on lower-income areas where most social inequalities lie. There are a couple of ways the courts breed social inequalities in poverty, such as the lawyer/court-appointed attorney, the plea bargain system, and debts or fines owed to the courts. The criminal courts rely so much on lower-income areas and deepen the social inequality in the area with a system meant for only a fourth of the American population. The criminal court system is very expensive for most people needing legal advice or even for people who want to go to school for law. Overall, the most social inequalities in the criminal court system lie within the lower class and court-appointed attorneys. As most people in poverty who get patrolled the most by police often can not afford a lawyer when they get into legal trouble, they get a court-appointed attorney who works for the government. It is such an injustice that the people who get patrolled and arrested the most get the court attorneys, in which half of them do very little for their clients. In the article, Most People Cannot Afford Legal Help. 1 Reformer Wants To Change That Greg Rosalsky says his "estimate is well over 80% of Americans who need legal help cannot get it because it is too expensive" (2020). Going into that quote means that over three-fourths of Americans can not pay for legal advice due to a rigged system, as most lawyers work for big corporate companies that set the bid for how much they get paid. Although looking into how

SOC 1101 Essay 3: 2 much money goes to the courts and how much they pay for fines or bail, it is unbelievable that the government-appointed attorneys can close to the same job yet barely get paid for it. Most people think of The plea bargain system as a way to help people not get incarcerated for long periods and get a lesser sentence when they plead guilty to their charge, even though some people are innocent. However, the plea bargain system is more of a way for courts not to use so many resources while going through trials. Plea bargains deepen so much inequality as people with government court attorneys will advise and sometimes convince the defendant to take the plea even if they did not do it. Lawyers or attorneys often offer pleas when it is an open and shut case or when they think the trial would take a long time and be very difficult. The NPR says that around 98 percent of criminal court cases end in plea deals and that the system works for efficiency over fairness, which comes from a report by the American Bar Association (2023). There have been many stories over the years of how many innocent people are sitting in jail due to a plea deal that their government attorney advised them to take. While it is said never to plead guilty to something someone never did, many do as they are scared of spending a long time in prison and do not feel that their attorney will do their best to fight their case. One detailed thing that shows inequality is when they suspend driver's licenses when people can not pay their criminal debt or fees. This policy suppresses the lower income even more, creating more inequalities within the system. How do we expect people to pay their debt or fees if they do not have transportation to work? Also, so much of their debts and fees go back into the court system. In the US: Criminal Justice System Fuels Poverty Cycle, the financial part of the system "tends to place the greatest financial burden on the low-income people whose cases make up the largest share of many courts' dockets (2020). The courts rely so much on these debts

SOC 1101 Essay 3: 3 and fees to be paid for, yet mainly target the people who cannot pay for them. Also, an interesting part is that if so many criminal cases end with plea deals, why do they need so much money for the courts, and where could it be going? The paper argues that the criminal courts are responsible for exacerbating the social inequality in the US by preying on lower-income communities. There are various ways that the courts can contribute to the inequality in the country, such as through the plea bargain system and the lawyer-client privilege. By having a system that only serves a small portion of the population, the criminal courts can further exacerbate the inequality in the area.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

SOC 1101 Essay 3: 4 References Anon. 2020. “US: Criminal Justice System Fuels Poverty Cycle.” Human Rights Watch . Retrieved November 21, 2023 (https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/06/21/us-criminal-justice-system-fuels-poverty-cycle). Johnson, Carrie. 2023. “The Vast Majority of Criminal Cases End in Plea Bargains, a New Report Finds.” NPR . Retrieved November 21, 2023 (https://www.npr.org/2023/02/22/1158356619/plea-bargains-criminal-cases-justice#:~:tex t=In%20any%20given%20year%2C%2098,from%20the%20American%20Bar%20Assoc iation.). Rosalsky, Greg. 2020. “Most People Can’t Afford Legal Help. 1 Reformer Wants to Change That.” NPR . Retrieved November 21, 2023 (https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2020/09/29/917824026/most-people-cant-afford-leg al-help-1-reformer-wants-to-change-that).

Related Documents

EDC 106 - Module 4 Assignment.docx

Assessment 3 - CHCDIV002 Workbook.pdf

Two Side Term SDO.docx

theorist grid.docx

COUC 504social.docx

SOC 1101 Essay 4.pdf

KortneySchaum Lab3.docx

KORTNEY SCHAUM FINAL.docx

KortneySchaumWE1.docx

KortneySchaum WE2.docx

SCHAUM WE8.docx

Analysis_Worksheet_1_.docx

Recommended textbooks for you

Social Psychology (10th Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780134641287

Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers

Publisher:Pearson College Div

Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780393639407

Author:Deborah Carr, Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum

Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company

The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis...

Sociology

ISBN:9781305503076

Author:Earl R. Babbie

Publisher:Cengage Learning

Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien...

Sociology

ISBN:9780134477596

Author:Saferstein, Richard

Publisher:PEARSON

Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780134205571

Author:James M. Henslin

Publisher:PEARSON

Society: The Basics (14th Edition)

Sociology

ISBN:9780134206325

Author:John J. Macionis

Publisher:PEARSON

SEE MORE TEXTBOOKS

Recommended textbooks for you

Social Psychology (10th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134641287
Author:Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, Robin M. Akert, Samuel R. Sommers
Publisher:Pearson College Div
Introduction to Sociology (Eleventh Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780393639407
Author:Deborah Carr, Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Appelbaum
Publisher:W. W. Norton & Company
The Basics of Social Research (MindTap Course Lis...
Sociology
ISBN:9781305503076
Author:Earl R. Babbie
Publisher:Cengage Learning
Criminalistics: An Introduction to Forensic Scien...
Sociology
ISBN:9780134477596
Author:Saferstein, Richard
Publisher:PEARSON
Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach (13th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134205571
Author:James M. Henslin
Publisher:PEARSON
Society: The Basics (14th Edition)
Sociology
ISBN:9780134206325
Author:John J. Macionis
Publisher:PEARSON