Starting in the 1980s, elected officials sometimes engaged in the political process of enacting new laws named after specific individuals. How/why did this practice arise? What was significant about the individuals for whom legislation was named? Provide examples
What will be an ideal response?
Salient issues raise public awareness and public officials have long used this approach to address other social issues. Starting in the 1980's, people running for office realized application of this approach might help their election or re-election if they applied it to their ‘get tough on crime' stance. A known example of this is through the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. Named after James Brady, President Reagan's press secretary, who was shot in the head during an attempt to assassinate the president. The law required a background check on any person seeking to buy a firearm. Though the act of selling a handgun to persons who were deemed dangerous had been illegal since 1968, this new law was seen as being tougher on crime. Other victims, such as Jeannae Clery, Emmett Till, Matthew Shepard, and James Byrd Jr, all suffered heinous crimes and had legislation named after them. Thousands of laws have been enacted in the name of a victim, but the response to this approach has been mixed. Some believe it is a great avenue to bring attention to a serious crime and to mobilize the public around it. Others argue it is another means for politicians to exploit the media for their own personal gain.
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The right to counsel attaches in an initial appearance before a magistrate that usually occurs within 48 hours after arrest
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The Kitty Genovese murder took place in which year?
a. 1950 b. 1962 c. 1964 d. 1968
According to the Supreme Court opinion in Mapp v. Ohio (1961), involving a police search for a bombing suspect: a. only a handful of states had adopted the exclusionary rule by legislation or judicial opinion. b. the exclusionary rule applies to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause. c. whether states had adopted the exclusionary rule was irrelevant in deciding
whether that rule applies to thestates through the Fourteenth Amendment due process clause. d. the police may not seize evidence relating to pornography when they are looking for a bombing suspect.