Please answer all questions to the best of your ability. This is not a test, but will be collected at the end of class. This evaluation will help me develop interesting and useful material for this unit.
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1. Do you think that there is racial prejudice in the criminal justice system? Why or Why not?
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2. Do you think that Black people use racism as an excuse to commit crimes? Why or why not?
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3. Have you ever witnessed an instance of racial prejudice from any law enforcement agency (i.e. Police, judges, lawyers, juries)? If you did, Why do you believe that there was racial prejudice and not other explanations for what you witnessed?
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4. The Constitution allows for Black people (and all people) to be judged by a jury of their peers. What do you think this means? Do you think that if only Blacks served on juries where there was a Black defendant, he/she would face no racial prejudice? Why or why not?
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5. Do you think that Black people get treated fairly all or most of the time by the criminal justice system? Why or why not?
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6. Do you think that Black people with a lot of money do not face racial prejudice in the criminal justice system? If you answered yes, do you think that if more Black people were rich, there would be little if any racial prejudice in the criminal justice system? Why or why not?
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7. If you were to end up in the criminal justice system, do you think you would be treated fairly? Why or why not? Would the same be true for most of your friends? Why or why not?
Readings
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1. See No Evil
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2. Black Robes, White Justice.
Accompanying Activity
Discussion of two conflicting viewpoints. Discussion of last night’s homework.
Objectives
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1. To show that people hold different beliefs on the same subject and that these beliefs can and should always be debated but must at all times be respected.
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2. To help students understand that racism is a complex issue that must be discussed openly and honestly if it is to be corrected.
General Statement
Debates concerning the role of race in the criminal justice system often call forth many of the most overtly racist attitudes harbored by many Americans. This one area—crime—is often the text, but the subtext is inevitably race. There are those who suggest that Blacks are “predisposed” to committing crimes and that they just be punished when they act on what is a “natural inclination.” On the other hand, there are those who see the criminal justice as a daunting state apparatus whose primary purpose is to lock-up Black people so that Whites can further justify their ill-treatment of them. In this regard, the commission of crimes by Blacks is the result of a deliberate and well-planned conspiracy by powerful Whites.
Entry Point A
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Have the class read the two essays See No Evil and Black Robes, White Justice. (Both written by Gary Highsmith)
Entry Point B:
Divide the class into two groups A)Those that agree with essay #1 and those that agree with essay #2.
Entry Point C:
Have each group select a recorder and a reporter.
Entry Point D:
Have the groups write a Statement of Defense, briefly outlining why they chose that particular essay to agree with. The reporter should speak for the group. A discussion should follow.
Homework
Students should write a one-page persuasive essay which discusses both the strengths and weaknesses of the argument which they oppose. Inform students that these will be read in class the following day.
See No Evil
It never fails. Whenever Black people get caught breaking the law, they want to blame it on White society, as if it took the brick, broke the window, and robbed the house! All ethnic groups have had it tough in this country. My grandparents came here and did not have any money in their pockets. Why they couldn’t even speak English. But what they did was obey the law and work hard, and they did not get into trouble like the Blacks do nowadays.
It has gotten to the point now that if Blacks don’t get the verdict or the treatment that they think they should get, they will go off and riot and burn up every damn building in sight. I mean, look at what happened over in Los Angeles when the police officers were acquitted in the first Rodney King Trial. I mean, they really went berserk. There was a jury, there were lawyers, there was a judge and a trial. But as soon as the Blacks felt that things did not go their way, they were ready to commit more crimes! I just don’t get it.
I don’t understand how all the White judges can be racist and be Judges. If you believed what the Blacks were saying, you would think that all the White people involved in the criminal justice system were involved in some kind of conspiracy to put Black people in jail. There are many White lawyers that defend Blacks and there are White judges that do not send Blacks to jail, aren’t there? I mean come on, enough is enough already!
Hey, I know that there is some prejudice in today’s society. Not all White people are Saints. But they are not all sinners either. I even believe that there is some racism in the criminal justice system, but instances of racial prejudice are, in my opinion, very rare. The courts are places for fairness and justice, and not racism and prejudice.
If the Blacks began to concentrate more on values in their community, and began to look for more legal means to make money, I think all this stuff about racism would disappear overnight. All this attention they get when they march, rally, boycott and even riot just makes it more difficult for them.
I have some Black friends. They have never, not once, mentioned to me that they faced racial prejudice from the cops, or judges or from any area of the criminal justice. That could be because they do not commit crimes like those in the inner-city do.