Politics and Justice in the US - Research Paper Example

?Politics and Justice in the US Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 11th May, IntroductionThe United States of America is a modern democracy that has experienced a lot of changes in the democratic front. The country has been practising democratic elections and representation of the US citizens. However, there are people who question the effectiveness of democracy within the United States. They raise the issues of parochialism, incumbency and fragmentation within the organs of the government. Other institutions such as the Supreme Court of the US have long been considered as an office that is devoid of politics is now under scrutiny. For instance, the appointment of the judges in the US Supreme Court is done by the Senate once the President has anointed some individuals. The Supreme Court is independent and it decides on appeals brought forward from other courts. This essay is going to elucidate on the role and challenges faced in these institutions. US Democratic System The United States of America has long faced the challenge of electing leaders who in a free and democratic manner. The US has one of the highest numbers of elected people in office with over 500,000 people being elected into different electoral roles. As a result, a lot of elections are conducted almost every now and then in the United States. The process of electioneering and its effect relation to democracy is that it does not assist in opening up democratic space in the United States. This is because the American democratic system is dogged by challenges such as parochialism, incumbency and fragmentation of decisions. The sheer number of electoral positions in the United States means that its citizens are constantly involved in elections which are not healthy for democracy (Dye, 2011). Moreover, the elected officials in the United States stay long in office and thus this provides a challenge brought about by incumbency. Incumbency does little in reforming the ideas and policies practised in the United States of America (Herbst, 2011). Incumbency does not reflect the wishes and the changing dynamics of the US population. Incumbency helps in stifling democracy in many areas of the United States of America and this is witnessed by Senators or Governors who occupy their offices for long periods of time. Democracy requires the proper functioning of organs of the government and this requires good decision making. The Senate is one of the important organs of government since it is involved in making laws. However, due to constant wrangling and taking of different positions by law makers. We have a situation whereby ideals and policies are sacrificed since every party or group in the house of Senate take different positions (Dye, 2011). This is because Incumbency might in some situations lead to lack of party identity and formation of caucuses that differ from their own party. The high rate of incumbency has dealt a great deal of damage to democracy since people find to difficult to identify with their representatives. As a result, these elected leaders will take advantage of this situation to serve self interests. The fragmentation of decisions is detrimental to the process of law making (Reynolds, 2007). Since Senate house committees run the house and the process of law making. These committees take on issues on a local basis which is outside their mandate. As a result, the Senate has been reduced to a body that serves the interests of few individuals. For example, some senators might have been influenced by certain lobby groups to pass or rejects some bills beneficial to certain individuals or companies (Sinha, 2007). However, this is not the greatest hurdle facing American democracy since the biggest problem facing Americans is representation. Leaders elected in America have participated in democratic election albeit with difficult challenges. These challenges have undermined democracy since they are fundamental in the creation of equal opportunities for everybody as democracy envisages (Box, 2001). The process of being elected the president of the United States of America is a lengthy and costly process that requires huge capital resources. Thus, the presidential race favours elites while average and poor people who are not financially endowed are usually scorned. Moreover, the race does not involve policy debates or mandate but it revolves around characterization of the candidates (Phillips, 2002). Voter apathy in the United States does not contribute to democracy since not everybody is involved in the process of electing the President. Previous elections in the US have seen less than 50% of all eligible voters not voting in these elections. Several reasons have been cited for this problem including voter registration obstacles, ignorance and alienation (Jacobs, 2007). The process of registering as a voter in the United States is tedious and the voter has to be the person who undertakes all these procedures. Moreover, if a voter moves to another region, he/she has to apply to be a voter afresh. This strategy has made it difficult to have many registered voters. While the high number of elections leads to apathy since voters have to vote in so many elections. Research has shown that a lot of eligible voters in the United States of America keep away from elections because of alienation since they are either intimidated or have low education that cannot allow them to participate in elections (Hudson, 2010). Supreme Court in the US The Supreme Court in the United States has the responsibility of handling different cases referred to it by the different courts. It is the highest judicial organ in the United States and most of its members are people nominated by the President of the United States. The court since its formation has handled a lot of cases that has advanced the cause of civil freedoms in the United States. In the early years of the court, it established itself as a court with ability and power to be the supreme expositor of the constitution (Sherman, 2003). The powers to establish and maintain constitutional interpretation is a duty that the Supreme Court undertakes very well. In the early 1800’s the court ruled on the issue of land in the state of Virginia whereby land was confiscated from a British loyalist in the case of Martin v. Hunter's Lessee. Therefore, the court has established itself as the court that rules of issues that cannot be handled by the lower courts and its ruling is final since it is the court of last resort (McKeever, 2005). The Supreme Court has been instrumental in pushing for civil rights in the United States and it ruled on many cases concerning the 14th amendment. Whereby, the court in the period between 1910 and 1930 ruled on cases that ensured that the bill of rights is respected and recognized by all American citizens. During the Second World War period the court faced several challenges which it surmounted with a bit of effort (Alvarez, 2006, p.58). These challenges included the repudiation of cases that infringed on individuals rights of freedom such as making the pledge of allegiance in schools mandatory. But it was until the rise of the of the civil rights movement era that the Supreme Court undertook major strides in upholding civil rights. For instance, the court ruled that the segregation in schools violated the law on equal rights while it created the right to privacy especially in schools. In the case of Reynolds v. Sims, the court held that the tradition elective boundaries amounted to violation on the right to vote. One of the crucial judgments made by the court was the incorporation of the bills of rights into the laws of many states and this helped in pushing recognition of civil rights (DuBois, 2003). However, the Supreme Court has not escaped criticism from different quarters in the United States. One of the criticisms is in its formation with many people being of the thought that the judges in this court are not independent. This is because they are chosen by political figures and not by the people (Solimine, 2003, p.22). Another criticism is the way the court has failed to give direction on issues such as the death penalty, abortion and civil unions. The non-committal of this court on these issues has led to widespread criticism (Hays, 2004, p.71-72). One of the hardest moments that tested the integrity of the court was during the election of President Bush versus Al Gore which led to the end of the electoral recount (Choper, 2001, p.82). There have been voices of concern about the independence of the Supreme Court due to influence from politics. For instance, the clerks to the court who are hired by the different justices of the court are said to be working for different political agendas. This was witnessed by a former federal judge, Mr. Michael Luttig who said that ideological clerks are hired in the system and this might compromise justice. Conclusion The US politics has long been hailed as an example democracy to the rest of the world but today the same cannot be said. This is because US politics has witnessed challenges that might compromise democracy. Problems such as gerrymandering, incumbency and lack of proper electoral policies have undermined democracy in the United States. Money, power and influence has also infiltrated politics bringing with it inequality that is great detriment to the achievement of democracy. For example, to become the President of the United States a candidate has to have money that will be used in campaigns for a period close to two years. Civil rights have been advanced through various groups but the US Supreme Courts is one of the institutions that pushed for the recognition of civil rights. The court was active in the civil rights era in rulings for the recognition of the fundamental civil rights. It ruled against discrimination and marginalization of different people in the society. However, the court has not been without fault since it has been criticized to being politically influenced and inclined to undertake certain decisions. References Alvarez, M. and Hall T., 2006. Controlling Democracy: The Principal-Agent Problems in Election Administration. Policy Studies Journal, 34(1), p.56-59. Box, R. Marshall, G. Reed, B. and Reed, C., 2001. New Public Management and Substantive Democracy. Public Administration Review, 61(1), p.41-44. Choper, J., 2001. Why the Supreme Court Should Not Have Decided the Presidential Election of 2000. Constitutional Commentary, 18(1), p.82. DuBois, M. and Smith, S., 2003. The U.S. Supreme Court. New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons. Dye, T. Schubert, L. and Zeigler, H., 2011. The Irony of Democracy: An Uncommon Introduction to American Politics. Austin, TX: Drummond Publishers. Hays, S., 2004. The U.S. Supreme Court's Administrative Performance: Problems at the Top? Public Administration Quarterly, 22(1), p.71-74. Herbst, S., 2011. Rude Democracy: Civility and Incivility in American Politics. Lowell, MA: Routledge. Hudson, W., 2010. American democracy in peril: Eight challenges to America's future. Washington, WA: Cengage Learning. Jacobs, L. and Skocpol, T., 2007. Inequality and American Democracy: What We Know and What We Need and What We Need to Learn. Chicago, IL: Jones & Bartlett Learning. McKeever, R., 2005. The United States Supreme Court: A political and legal analysis. 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