Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact

In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), a landmark case, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provided the federal government with a formula to determine which voting jurisdictions should be subject to oversight when passing electoral laws. Fast Facts: Shelby County v. Holder Case Argued: February 27, 2013Decision Issued: June 25, 2013Petitioner: Shelby County, AlabamaRespondent: Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.Key Questions:  Are federal requirements within the Voting Rights Act of 1965 constitutional?Majority Decision: Justices Roberts, Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and AlitoDissenting: Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, and KaganRuling: The Supreme Court ruled that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was unconstitutional. Facts of the Case The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to prevent discrimination against black Americans by enforcing the Fifteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In 2013 the court looked to determine the constitutionality of two of the Act’s provisions, close to 50 years after its passage. Section 5 required certain states with a history of discrimination to gain federal approval before making changes to their voting laws or practices. Federal approval meant that authorities in Washington D.C., the  Attorney General, or a court of three judges had to review possible amendments to state electoral laws.  Section 4 helped the federal government decide which states had a history of discrimination. Section 4 looked at jurisdictions with less than 50% voter turnout and electoral laws that allowed the use of tests to determine voter eligibility. The original act was set to expire after five years, but Congress amended and reauthorized it several times. Congress re-authorized the Act with a 1975 version of Section 4 for 25 years in 1982 and again in 2006. In 2010 officials in Shelby County, Alabama, filed suit in district court, arguing that Sections 4 and 5 were unconstitutional. Arguments An attorney representing Shelby County offered evidence to show that the Voting Rights Act had helped close gaps in voter registration and turnout rates. Blatantly discriminatory evasions of the law were rare, he added, and minority candidates held offices at higher rates than ever before. Voter eligibility tests had not been used for close to 40 years. The attorney said that the act created extraordinary federalism and cost burdens to preclearance. In light of the new evidence, the attorney argued that the act could no longer be justified. The solicitor general argued on behalf of the government, defending the constitutionality of the Voting Rights Act. It was a form of deterrence, encouraging states to maintain fair electoral laws because unfair additions might be rejected, he argued. Congress reauthorized the legislation in 2006 as a continuing means of deterrence, acknowledging that disparity in voter registration had decreased. The solicitor general also argued that the Supreme Court had previously upheld the Voting Rights Act in three separate cases. Constitutional Questions Can the federal government use formulas to determine which states require oversight if they want to make changes to electoral laws? How often do those formulas have to be updated to remain constitutional? Majority Opinion Chief Justice John Roberts  delivered the 5-4 decision, which found in favor of Shelby County and invalidated parts of the Voting Rights Act. At issue was Congress decision to reuse language and formulas that had not been updated since 1975. When the legislation originally passed it was a â€Å"dramatic† and â€Å"extraordinary departure from the  tradition of federalism, Justice Roberts wrote. It gave the federal government unprecedented power over state legislatures with a specific goal — preventing state and local governments from using voting laws to discriminate. It had accomplished its goal, Justice Roberts wrote on behalf of the majority.  The legislation  was successful at decreasing voter discrimination. As time went on, Congress should have acknowledged the impact of the legislation and slowly altered it to account for that change. The Act imposes current burdens and must be justified by current needs, Justice Roberts wrote. Congress was using 50-year -old guidelines and formulas to maintain the federal governments authority over state voting laws. The majority could not allow what they viewed as outdated standards to blur the line separating the federal government from the states. Justice Roberts wrote: Our country has changed, and while any racial discrimination in voting is too much, Congress must ensure that the legislation it passes to remedy that problem speaks to current conditions. Dissenting Opinion Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented, joined by Justice Stephen Breyer, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Justice Elena Kagan. According to the dissent, Congress had sufficient evidence to re-authorize the Voting Rights Act for 25 years in 2006. The House and Senate Judiciaries held 21 hearings, Justice Ginsburg wrote, and compiled a record of more than 15,000 pages. Although the evidence showed that the country had made overall progress towards ending voter discrimination, Congress found existing barriers that the VRA could help eliminate. Justice Ginsburg listed racial gerrymandering and voting-at-large instead of district-by-district as second-generation barriers to voting. Justice Ginsburg likened getting rid of a preclearance requirement to throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet. Impact Those in favor of the decision viewed it as an affirmation of state sovereignty, while those against it saw it as damaging to voting rights in the U.S. When the Supreme Court found Section 4 unconstitutional, it left the federal government without a way of deciding which jurisdictions should be subject to preclearance requirements. The Court left it to Congress to create a new coverage formula for Section 4. The Justice Department can still challenge laws that impact voter registration and turnout under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, but doing so is more difficult, and requires the department to be willing to take on a case. In light of the Supreme Court ruling, some states passed new voter ID laws and eliminated certain forms of voter registration. Not all of the states that passed laws in the wake of Shelby County v. Holder were ones previously covered by the Voting Rights Act. However, a 2018 study conducted by Vice News found that areas once controlled by Section 5 â€Å"closed 20 percent more polling stations per capita than jurisdictions in the rest of the county. Sources Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. (2013).Fuller, Jaime. â€Å"How Has Voting Changed since Shelby County v. Holder?†Ã‚  The Washington Post, WP Company, 7 July 2014, www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2014/07/07/how-has-voting-changed-since-shelby-county-v-holder/?utm_term.8aebab060c6c.Newkirk II, Vann R. â€Å"How a Pivotal Voting Rights Act Case Broke America.†Ã‚  The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Oct. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2018/07/how-shelby-county-broke-america/564707/.McCann, Allison, and Rob Arthur. â€Å"How the Gutting of the Voting Rights Act Led to Hundreds of Closed Polls.†Ã‚  VICE News, VICE News, 16 Oct. 2018, news.vice.com/en_us/article/kz58qx/how-the-gutting-of-the-voting-rights-act-led-to-closed-polls.

Impact Of Colonia On Indian Ocean And The Trans Atlantic...

An Analysis of the Impact of Colonia Racism in the Indian Ocean and the Trans-Atlantic Trading Systems This African study will compare the impact of colonial racism as part of the exploitation of African people by European traders in the Indian Ocean and trans-Atlantic trade systems. The origin of international trade in the Indian Ocean stemmed from the arrival of the Portuguese, which sought out gold and loot to be taken from the Swahili peoples. In this manner, the Swahili were not technologically advanced enough to resist modern weapons of the Portuguese, which made them vulnerable to attack and looting of harbor city-sates. In comparison, the trans-Atlantic trade of the English and Spanish sought to commoditize Africans into slavery through this very same type of colonial racism. In essence, these trading conditions set the tone for hundreds of years of slavery and colonization, which subjugated the African peoples through skin color and racist policies to exploit them as subjects of European dominance colonial racism. The origins of the Indian Ocean trade defies the slow growth o f trading settlements around the Indian Ocean, which soon grow to massive proportions on the arrival of the Portuguese during the 16th century. During the 16th century, the Portuguese exploited the weakness of Swahili tribal villages working the Indian Ocean trade, which made them victims of attack by the more technological advanced artillery and weapons of the Portuguese. More so, the

No Future Essay Example For Students

No Future Essay No Future?When looking into the future people see many different things. Whether it be flying cars, buildings floating in the air, or people walking around in space suits, everyone has their own idea. Most of the time when people look into the future they look far into it, not in the next several years. The future is usually defined as twenty or more years beyond the present. Many movies and stories written about the future world seem to have the common theme that technology will play a big part in the development of the future. The development of technology will lead to the advances that will take the world into the next century and beyond. George Lucas film THX 1138 and Robert Zemeckis Back to the Future are both examples of movies that portray technology and the advances of the future. THX 1138 and Back to the Future both portray technology as a danger to society that could ultimately lead to its downfall. George Lucas made THX 1138 long before he became famous in his later movies. He based the film on his movie that he used as his graduate project and thesis. It was his first attempt at directing and producing a Hollywood film. His goal was to create a film that would show the future state of the world if it was to continue on its path of the search for perfection of everything. He shows the future as a place that many people would probably not want to live or to be associated with. Lucas shows that everyone will be the same. People will wear the same clothes and have the same haircut. Names are no longer a part of society. In the movie each person is given a prefix of letters followed by a number. They are basically drones who follow orders. Technology has advanced so far that every motion or action of the person is monitored. Anytime that one of them does something wrong it immediately appears on the computer screen as to what they are doing and what their number is. It is possible for the computer to monitor all of their vital signs and mental activity. Each person is carefully monitored and watched. The people are told what to do and act based on how they were trained. They work in shifts of labor and are almost extensions of the computer that tells them what to do. There is no more guessing about disease or how a person is feeling. Everything is fed to a computer which processes the information and figures out what to do. Computers have begun to control the lives of the people and it is almost to the point that they are running society as a whole. Computers are no longer devices that simplify life for humans; humans are now devices that help computers. Science has developed a drug that keeps the people submissive and almost with no thought of their own. The drugs take away the humans ability to think and to be creative. Ironically it was those attributes that led to the development of all of that technology in the first place. Humans are no longer allowed to think for themselves. Instead of people controlling the development of technology; technology is now controlling the development of the people. One of the best scenes that tells about the technology of this movie takes place in the prison. The people who have broken the laws are sent to an area that is totally white. No other color can be scene. They are put into machines and forced to take the drugs and the computer monitors them. Just through several test the entire body of the person can be checked for what is wrong. The person is checked up on like a machine. The computer then decides what to do with the person. When people are treated like machines and not allowed any freedom of thought it is very dangerous to society as we know it. This could easily end society through the emission of peoples rights. .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b , .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .postImageUrl , .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b , .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:hover , .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:visited , .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:active { border:0!important; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:active , .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u89becdf3ad0a5af6ef0bc04de565bf8b:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Hiv And Aids EssayThere are very few positive sides to this society. There is no problem of human error in society.Computers make most of the decisions. There is almost no problem with crime or violence because all of the people are so controlled and watched. While those two positive aspects may seem good to some people, the society that was created is not.All of the things inside of people that made it possible for technology to be developed have been taken away. There is no more creativity or individuality. Everyone is the same and they have no way to be an individual. There is no heart and no fun involved in life any more. The society is no longer a society of people. I t is a society of machines. The people have become the technology. The technology that the people worked so hard to create and control, now controls them. Robert Zemeckis shows a much nicer and happier future in Back to the Future. Technology is still very present, but the people are still in control. Society is almost the same place as it is today. The people still work and still have their own personality and still make decisions for themselves. Nothing seems to have changed from the present except for several advances in technology. Zemeckis chooses to concentrate on one aspect of technology that has been developed in this future time. That one main aspect is the development of the technology necessary for time travel to happen. Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) has developed a time machine. It looks just like a DeLorean, but it has been modified to allow it to go into the future or back into the past. Marty (Michael J. Fox) gets in the car to escape danger and ends up in a time period before he was born to the time when his parents were his age. He goes back and forgets about the advances that have been made in technology between then and the time in which he was living. He keeps remembering things from the future that are not in the time period in which he is stranded. Even his clothes represent changes that have occurred in technology in the few years that separated these two time periods. Technology is truly evident in the way that things look and the way that things are run. Time travel is not a new concept of technology, but it is a new concept which is believed to have been invented this short distance into the future. The technology that was used to develop this machine was based on an idea that had occu rred to the scientist long in the past. Technology in this society has allowed for the machine to be developed. The society as a whole has not changed from the present very much. The time machine seems to be the only difference. It is scary to think that people could use this technology to travel throughout time. The only problem with it is that it can be used to change history. When Marty returns from his trip, he realizes that he has created an alternate future. Technology can now be used to change the past as well as the future. It has made it possible for people to control all the events that have ever happened in the history of the world. Back to the Future presents a much nicer picture of the future than does Lucas in THX 1138. It shows that it has not changed very much. The one thing that is scary is that the future could be constantly changing, if the technology of the time machine was made available to everyone. This would mean that there would be no set future for the world. Each person would try to change the future so that everything would benefit themselves. This would lead to the eventually destruction of society and maybe no future at all. .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 , .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .postImageUrl , .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 , .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:hover , .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:visited , .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:active { border:0!important; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:active , .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686 .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u5ef8f9fd3391626ee400350b323bc686:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: CONTENT ON THE INTERNET: FREE OR FETTERED? EssayGeorge Lucas and Robert Zemeckis both portray the future in their films. The future however is very different between the two movies. In THX 1138 everyone is controlled by the technology that has created computers that can control things. In Back to the Future each individual person has the option to control the future of the world. Both movies give too much power to one thing. Either Technology or the individual have too much power to have society run smoothly. Both of these things would most likely lead to the destruction of society as it is. A point must be reached somewhere in the middle or there may not even be a future for people to dream about. Works CitedBack to the Future. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson. 1985. Videocassette. Universal Pictures, 1986. THX 1138. Dir. George Lucas. Perf. Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence. 1970. Videocassette. Warner Brothers, 1971Category: Music and Movies

Sports, Gender, and Equality in Prize Money Essay Example

Sports, Gender, and Equality in Prize Money Essay The equality and disparity of prize money for female and male athletes is a contentious and debatable issue that has been going on for numerous years. It is demonstrated in a BBC Sport Study which found that 30% of sports compensate men higher than women whereas 70% of sports reward equal prize money. The biggest disparities in sport were found in football, cricket, golf, darts, snooker and squash resulting in nearly a third of sports not paying equal prize money. On the other hand, many sports do offer equal prize money such as athletics, bowls, skating, marathons, shooting and volleyball (BBC Sport). Although tennis was the first ever sport to reward equal prize money at the US Open in 1973, it has caused large controversy in terms that female players should not be earning equal. Watching male tennis players take part in and slave away over five sets at Grand Slam events, provides the viewpoint that they work harder and longer than the female associates to earn that bit extra. Alth ough, women’s sports naturally rates less than men’s due to the deficiency of sponsorship and media coverage, it does not change the fact thatfemale sports are still exciting and just as competitive. The largest and most questionable debate discovered in this topic, was the equality of prize money in tennis. Where male players play best of five sets while female play best of three, yet are still awarded equivalent sharing’s. As mentioned above, it is clear men work much harder over an extensive period of time and do enough to produce more income than their female counterparts. Although, female tennis players generate plenty of media interest, the disappointing reality is that fans vastly prefer to view men’s matches. TV ratings and figures prove this, for example the Australian Opens men’s final constantly rates higher than the women’s. Another being at the 2014 Australian Open during a Sunday night session, where spectators remained only for We will write a custom essay sample on Sports, Gender, and Equality in Prize Money specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Sports, Gender, and Equality in Prize Money specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Sports, Gender, and Equality in Prize Money specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer