From the Paper "The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 has provided an important step forward in terms of services for the disabled. However, this legislation was not created in a vacuum. In fact, it represents decades of struggle toward equality of access and opportunity for disabled Americans. The movement for the rights of the disabled was first organized in the years following the Second World War. However, it did not become a part of America's legislative history until the 1970s. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not deal directly with disabled persons; nevertheless, that act helped pave the way toward the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Rehabilitation Act has been called "a kind of Bill of Rights for American disabled people". As important as that act was, it still did not provide complete equality for the ... "
This paper discusses the censoring of music: PMRC, Dead Kennedys, N.W.A., 2 Live Crew controversy, warning labels and infringements on artists and creativity.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 7 sources, 1991, $ 79.95
From the Paper "Musicians, recording companies and fans are all concerned with the issue of music censorship. These people are pitted against the government officials and community organizations who are seeking to stamp out what is considered to be "obscenity" in popular music. However, problems arise in seeking an adequate definition of obscenity as it applies to artistic works. The Supreme Court definition for obscenity in art was reached in the 1973 case entitled Miller versus California. In that case, it was decided that obscenity is a community issue and that it must be determined on the basis of local, as opposed to federal, standards. In addition, the Supreme Court decided that, in order for a product to be obscene, it must be "patently offensive... [and] it also must appeal to prurient interests and lack serious artistic merit""
From the Paper "Does a Health Care Provider have a Duty to Warn Others that a Person is HIV Positive, and How Can We Reconcile the Duty to Warn with the Duty of Confidentiality?
Because of the nature of the HIV virus and the AIDS disease, and because of the Tarasoff decision, a health care provider has an affirmative duty to warn certain third parties that a person is HIV positive in order to protect the public health. Shifting the burden of such notification to public health authorities would be an efficient method of warning third parties, but notifying law enforcement authorities may reduce the number of HIV-positive people seeking treatment, thereby having a detrimental impact on the containment of the epidemic.
While citizens of the United States have always valued privacy rights, there is a point where the national safety and..."
From the Paper "Informed Consent in Elective, Non-Emergency Treatment
This paper will examine the issue of informed consent in situations involving elective, non-emergency medical treatment. The paper will briefly discuss the history of informed consent, the types of situations requiring informed consent, the persons involved, the information required for informed consent, and defenses against legal action alleging a lack of informed consent. Throughout the paper, the term "physician" or "doctor" will refer to all healthcare-givers, unless noted otherwise.
Traditionally, a person who touched another without express consent was liable for the tort of battery; applied to the medical profession, this meant that a physician could be sued by a patient for battery if the physician treated the patient without his or her consent.1 One of the ten most quoted sayings..."
From the Paper "OSHA
This paper will discuss the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. The first part of the paper will describe the most important provisions of the Act. The second part of the paper will discuss the social welfare issues the legislation responded to. The third part of the paper will examine the impact of the law on the social welfare concerns of the community. The fourth part of the paper will evaluate the success of the legislation in accomplishing the goals set out for it. The fifth part of the paper will make some recommendations concerning certain issues which merit further attention.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act was signed into law on April 28, 1971. Its stated aim was "to assure safe and healthful working conditions for working men and women." It directed the Secretary of ..."
This paper analyzes the logic of arguments against capital punishment: As deterrence, respect for life, arbitrariness and cruel and unusual punishment.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 7 sources, 1994, $ 55.95
From the Paper "Arguments about the right of society to demand the ultimate punishment through the death penalty have been made for decades in the United States. In the 1970s, the issue might have seemed more academic than real because the Supreme Court had thrown out the nation's death penalty laws as being improperly drawn. Since the court did not say the death penalty could never be applied but only that it was not being applied correctly in law at the time, the death penalty has been reinstituted with language that conforms to the parameters set by the Supreme Court. In spite of a number of challenges, capital punishment has been affirmed by the Court and continues to be enforced. There is considerable public support for the death penalty, much of it related to a general trend toward demanding harsher penalties for criminals because of a fear of street crime and violence."
From the Paper "One of the most divisive issues in American politics today is abortion, with strong feelings on both sides and with two unyielding perspectives in direct conflict. The pro-life perspective sees human life as beginning at conception, and therefore any abortion for any reason is considered murder. The pro-choice movement sees the issue as being the right of the woman to control her own body, and for this movement abortion is to be provided on demand, with no governmental controls on the matter at all. While there are some pro-life people who make allowances for abortion under some circumstances, such as when the life of the mother is endangered or in the case of rape or incest, the core of the movement holds abortion as wrong under any circumstances. For millions of people in the middle, abortion is allowable under some circumstances, but some controls ..."
Abstract This paper tells the story of Megan Kanka, the 7 year-old girl from suburban New Jersey who was raped and killed by her neighbor, a two-time convicted sex offender. Megan's Law requires convicted sex-offenders to register where they will be living once they are released from jail. The paper describes the implementation and implications of this federal law, and presents conflicting opinions regarding this law.
From the Paper "Megan Kanka was someone's daughter, sister, and best friend. She had happiness, dreams, and promise, just like every other seven-year-old girl. Now, she will never get to go to her prom or wedding, and she will never embrace her family again. Jesse Timmedequas, a two-time sex offender, took all of that away, brutally and permanently. Sexual offenders should be forced to register with the police department every time that they move into a new neighborhood and this information should be easily accessed by anyone."
Abstract Gun control is a heated issue in political, social and religious circles. The paper discusses the philosophies and arguments of both camps. It describes how those who favor gun control claim it will stop the senseless murders which are on the increase in American society. The paper argues that although gun control looks good in theory, there are many reasons why it is not a plausible idea such as the fact that it is undemocratic and it will not remove the guns from the hands of criminals. The paper particulary focuses on the way that the issue of gun control has becoming so political in nature over the years.
From the Paper "Gun control proponents have on their side the funding of many environmental groups while the anti gun control camp has the power and funding the National Rifle Association behind them(Cannon, 2000). The teams square off in many arenas including political, educational and moral debates. The Million Mom march was about guns as have been the national rallies held by the NRA at key political times in the nation's history. Each side provides celebrities to help their cause(Cannon, 2000). The NRA has famed actor Charlton Heston who was president of the club for several years and traveled the nation speaking out against gun control, while the gun control advocates have Rosie O"Donnell on their side. Great controversy arose when it was discovered that O"Donnell, has hired and armed body guards for her three children(Cannon, 2000). She promotes gun control however, from the standpoint that the body guards are trained and licensed in the operation of weapons not to mention registered. Regardless of which side one is on in the debate there are points to be won for everyone. When all is said and done however gun control goes against everything this country stands for and therefore would be a mistake of tremendous magnitude(Cannon, 2000)."
Abstract This paper discusses the ramifications of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution on police work. Specifically, it contains an analysis of how the Fourth Amendment helps and hinders police in their daily jobs. A concise description of the Fourth Amendment is provided, explaining its purpose to protect the citizens of the United States from unlawful search and seizure, and to grant them certain privacy rights.
From the Paper "The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the citizens of the United States from unlawful search and seizure, and grants them certain privacy rights. These rights have been in place since the Constitution was written in 1787, and have gone through many decades of debate and refining in the American court system. What remains crystal clear about the Fourth Amendment as it relates to the day-to-day business of the police officer is the duty of the officer making an arrest or seizure to know and put into practice the Fourth Amendment rights of an individual before the arrest. The officer must make sure the case is not challenged later, and a guilty person goes free on a rights technicality. This is often one of the most difficult aspects of an officer's duty, because of technicalities of the law."
Abstract Discusses the motives and actions of the cold blooded murderer, Perry Smith. Material is from Truman Capote's nonfiction novel "IN COLD BLOOD," and an article by G.A. Satten. Examines Smith's life and actions with Satten's examples to grasp how he could murder without apparent reason. Early abuses suffered by Smith.
From the Paper "In the annals of cold-blooded murders, the killing of the Clutter family stands out as a prime example. Truman Capote's 1965 non-fiction novel on the subject infers that the two murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, were not psychologically responsible, and although the two were found guilty, Capote's perspective seems reasonable. The murders committed by Perry Smith seem inexplicable even after reading Capote's In Cold Blood with its collection of accounts of Smith's life, the psychiatrist's report, and the excerpts from the Satten article on other murders committed "without apparent motive" (p. 298). Of course, as Capote points out, it was only the murder of Mr. Clutter that presents this kind of mystery since the other three members of the family were killed out of self-protection. But in Smith's account of killing Mr. Clutter there is so much simple ..."
Abstract In a 1997 issue of Medical Economics it was reported that the Florida Supreme Court had ruled against physician-assisted suicide in a decision overturning a trial judge's finding, giving AIDS patient Charles E. Hall the right to die as he wished. According to the Florida court, his intention to commit suicide through medical intervention was against the state's policy to preserve life. This paper examines the legal ethics surrounding physician-assisted euthanasia and shows that the laws of most states in America are based on the Judeo-Christian concept that suicide is a moral evil. The paper ultimately argues that suicide assisted by the patient's personal physician should be legalized.
From the Paper "While there is a focus on the right to life, there is also what is considered to be a "negative right" which is the right not to have bodily injury or pain inflicted on oneself. Clearly, some medical procedures are painful in and of themselves, but when even this does not provide even short-term benefit, other options should be available without repercussion, should it be necessary to function as an agent of simple compassion to alleviate the pain of living and the fear of dying. There are few as capable of doing that as an individual's physician, who should be entrusted to the care of the body, understanding that death is truly a viable part of life, and that choices impacting self should be the exclusive right of the individual."
This paper argues that the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment in "Plessy vs. Ferguson" hurt the fight for social equality in the United States.
965 words (approx. 3.9 pages), 1 source, 2002, $ 34.95
Abstract This paper discusses that, although the Fourteenth Amendment granted citizenship to the former slaves, the Supreme Court's interpretation of this Amendment in "Plessy v. Ferguson", greatly harmed the Civil Rights Movement. The author explains that in 1896, "Plessy v. Ferguson" determined that the standard of equal-but-separate accommodations for black and white passengers on the intrastate Louisiana train system was not in defiance of these Fourteenth Amendment rights. The author believes that, by making social equality the problem of the community and not the government, the court effectively washed its hands of the problem of racism, deeming that phenomenon a social ill that may only be rectified at the grass roots level.
From the Paper "First, the Supreme Court maintained that enforced separation did not, could not, stamp the black race with a "badge of inferiority"(50). The nature of equal-but-separate legislation was mutually exclusive; a white man was as prohibited from occupying a black rail car as a black man was from occupying a white one. And, with both black and white cars being comparably furnished, the court reasoned that blacks and whites were therefore being treated equally under the law (34). By this interpretation, no privileges of any citizen were seen as having been abridged, and thus the integrity of the Fourteenth Amendment was ruled to be in tact."
This paper examines the issue of hate crimes, acts of violence directed against people because of their racial, religious, ethnic, gender or sexual identity.
Abstract This paper analyzes why hate crimes are more harmful than traditional crimes, the problems with reporting and the changes necessary to determine the true scope of the problem with an emphasis on hate crimes committed on college campuses. The paper includes a legal discussion based on the idea that proponents of hate crime laws argue that additional penalties are warranted because crimes, motivated by bias, cause a greater harm to the victim and to society than crimes where the victim's status is not a factor. The author feels that the data on hate crimes is so woefully inadequate that it is worthless for comparative purposes and for making policy recommendations.
Introduction
Hate Crimes Defined
Why Hate Crimes Matter
How Bias Crimes are Measured
Hate Crimes Data
Hate Crimes on College Campuses
Conclusion
From the Paper "Of course, those definitions are just the beginning. Many groups push for a more expansive definition, or argue that this definition includes crimes that the FBI does not count. For example, some argue that rape is a hate crime. Other groups counter that the definition should not include sexual orientation. Regardless of what is included, it is important to note that the crime is based on the attacker's perception. Thus, if the attacker hates Jews, and attacks someone based on the belief they are Jewish, the attacker is still guilty of a hate crime even if the victim turns out not to be Jewish."
Abstract This paper examines the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which bars employers from discriminating against employees or prospective employees based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It discusses how enforcement of Title VII has transformed the American labor force into a diverse group that mirrors the multicultural society at large, though not without controversy. It provides some examples of court cases which highlight the inability of some courts to correctly apply the law.
Outline
Introduction
Title VII
Judicial Application
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
Saucedo vs. Brothers Well Service
Garcia vs. Gloor
Jurado vs. Eleven-Fifty Corporation
Gutierrez vs. Municipal Court of the Southeast Judicial District
Garcia vs. Spun Steak Company
Problems With Garcia vs. Spun Steak
Misapplication of the Law in Garcia vs. Spun Steak
The Spun Steak Court Improperly Rejected EEOC Guidelines
Conclusion
From the Paper "The Supreme Court outlined the standards for such a cause of action in McDonnell Douglas v. Green and restated those factors 20 years later in St. Mary's Honor Center v. Hicks. First, a plaintiff must establish a prima facie case of discrimination. Satisfying that requirement is not too difficult. For example, in McDonnell Douglas, the Court held that the plaintiff could meet his burden by showing that he belonged to a group protected under Title VII, that he applied for a job opening with the defendant and was rejected, and that the position remained open after his rejection. "Establishment of the prima facie case in effect creates a presumption that the employer unlawfully discriminated against the employee.""
