The Rights of Women in the Court Cases - Essay Example

History Part One Women’s Rights One of the significant court cases that championed for the rights of women was the Reed vs.Reed case in 1971. The case involved issues surrounding the death of a minor, Richard Lynn Reed, who had died intestate in the County of Ada in Idaho. Prior to his death, the adoptive parents of the deceased had separated. Following the death of Richard, his mother filed a petition, which she presented to the Probate Court in Ada County. In the petition, she sought to be appointed as the person in charge of the administration of the estate belonging to her deceased son. Before the mother's petition was heard, the father of Richard, Cecil Reed, also filed a petition seeking to be appointed as the administrator of the estate (Lively 29). Initially, the court ruled that, since the respondent was a male, he was the most preferable to the female appellant in accordance with Section 15-314 of the Idaho Code. However, Sally Reed appealed; luckily, her appeal was handled by the District Court of the Fourth Judicial District of Idaho. In dealing with the appeal, the court held that the section challenged by Reid violated the fourteenth amendment clause on Equal protection. The decision of the court in this case was that the court held that the unequal treatment of women by the Idaho law could be regarded as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause in the constitution. Further, the court decided that the denial of equal rights to women violated the fourteenth amendment (Lively 30). The court voted that Idaho did not deny letters of administration to the women gender. The court also voted that women whose spouses had died had the preference over a brother, father, son, or any other male relative. The court decision in Reed vs. Reed was written by Chief Justice Warren Burger. The decision of the Supreme Court in this case has had a phenomenal impact on the society; it has led to the treatment of gender discrimination as a constitutional violation. This case became the basis for the enactment of laws that recognized the rights of women (Lively 32). Worker’s Rights A Supreme Court case that involved the rights of the workers included the Albemarle paper Company v. Moody in 1975. The respondents in this case involved a class of former as well as present employees of the paper company, mainly those of the Negro descent. The employees sought an injunction against any practice, policy, or custom at the plant, which violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964. During this case, the court held that the company has locked Negro employees in the classifications of jobs that had low pay. As such, the court ordered the petitioners (Albemarle) to implement a system that could encourage plant-wide seniority. The part of the constitution used in this court case was Title VII of the 1964 civil rights act. The decision of the Supreme Court was that the back pay could not be ordered because of the losses that the plaintiff sustained under the system of discrimination. Further, the court held that Albemarle did not breach Title VII in bad faith. The court also held that the respondents had gone wrong in delaying their back pay claim; this could be regarded as prejudice to the petitioners (Lively 42). However, the respondents appealed the decision upon which the court voted that the absence of bad faith could not be regarded as a reason sufficient to deny back-pay. The court also voted that back pay could only be denied when its general application would not act as a frustration to the central statutory processes, which Congress manifested in enacting Title VII. Mr. Justice Stewart wrote the decisions of the court. The decision of the Supreme Court has affected the society in that the ruling has led to the transformation of labor laws (Lively 44). The relative impact of the cases discussed can be comparable in the sense that both the cases led to the enactment of numerous laws. These laws have sought to end discrimination and accord equal rights to all. Both cases championed for the rights of the oppressed, the first advocating for women’s rights and the second case advocating for rights of exploited workers (Lively 45). Part Two Miranda v. Arizona (1966) In the case of Miranda v. Arizona, a sexual assault had taken place in Phoenix, Arizona, during the March of 1963. Later on, Ernesto Miranda was arrested on the 13th of March in connection with the incidence. Before the questioning, Miranda was not aware of his rights to counsel. Two hours after his arrest, investigators came with a written confession signed by the accused. The decision of the court was that the accused could not face conviction for the crime that he was accused of committing. The Supreme Court voted to overturn the conviction of Miranda. Chief Justice Warren, who wrote the decision, purported that individuals should not be compelled to incriminate themselves (Lively 53). Further, the court ruled that the statements by the accused could be regarded as inadmissible since Miranda did not get his right of consulting with an attorney. The parts of the constitution used to decide the case were the fifth and the sixth amendment. The court resolved that, under the Fifth Amendment, the police violated Miranda’s right to remain silent. The police also denied Miranda his right to legal counsel as stipulated in the Sixth Amendment. The decision had the impact of burdening the police to inform citizens of their rights before questioning them. New York Times v. Sullivan In 1960, the New York Times published an advertisement known as Heed Their Rising Voices, which aimed at helping to raise funds for civil rights movements. The advert had several errors of fact; as such, one of the commissioners in Montgomery, Alabama, Sullivan, sued The New York Times for what he termed as libel. The jury granted Sullivan damages that amounted to half a million dollars, but the New York Times appealed to the Supreme Court. The Court ruling favored The New York Times on March 9, 1964. The court refused the argument of the Alabama Supreme Court that the Fourteenth Amendment dwells on state action and not private action. The decision was written by Justice William Brennan who termed the decisions of the Alabama courts as defective. The case had the impact of establishing the actual standard of malice and allowed the reporting of civil rights movements without fear of a lawsuit. The decision of the case also allowed the press to continue criticizing the government without any fear of the consequences of libels (Lively 59). Gideon v. Wainwright In this case, Gideon was charged in a state court in Florida with a felony because of entering and breaking. Lack of funds limited him from hiring a lawyer for defense; the court rejected his request to have an attorney. As such, he defended himself during the trial and the jury convicted him; thereafter, the court sentenced him in a state prison for five years. Later, the Supreme Court held that the accused was entitled to representation by an attorney appointed by the court (Lively 68). In this case, the part of the constitution used was the Sixth Amendment that guaranteed representation by a counsel as a fundamental right. This was also provided for in the Fourteenth Amendment; the decision was written by Justice Black. The case had the impact of establishing the right of the poor defendants to have an attorney appointed by the court. The decision has played an essential role of giving voice to the poor defendants who were denied the right to representation. The decision also led to the establishment of the office of the public defender across the country (Lively 71). The relative impact of the three court cases has some similarities. First, the cases led to the realization that the rights of the accused had to be upheld and respected. As a result of the court cases, changes were enacted to improve the manner in which the Supreme Court handled the cases of accused persons. The cases also portrayed that the initial decisions of the courts could always be revoked when they denied individuals their fundamental rights, which the constitution grants (Lively 73). Works Cited Lively, Donald. Landmark Supreme Court Cases: A Reference Guide. London: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1999. Print. Read More