Tuesday April 15 2014 The Relationship Between Law and Justice theory and practice are inseparable cannot be disentangled who put the law into place and that is the law put in place by the sovereign if we want to understand what the law is we nd LSJ 375 Day 5 Deshaney v Winnebago Legal Positivism Five Minutes of Legal Legal Naturalism more based on morals legal naturalist would not say we can study the laws as it is without considering what it ought to be what a cannot talk about what is without talking about what ought to be what natural law is saying is there is an essential relationship between law and the law that is laid down by people the law is the law only when it is in accord of what is true pineapple vs veggies Natural Law can be problematic because people have different sets of moral standards how do we know what is right Deshaney v Winnebago rst name plaintiff the one who is asking the court to do something At appellate level you are petitioning the court ling a petition the names switch because now you are appealing and you are asking the court to do something this is the person who led the case Slide 1 Basic elements of Supreme Court Decision syllabus majority opinion s and notes dissenting opinion s and noes There are two major issues in DeShaney one of LAW and one of JUSTICE Our key concern how are they related Law Did the defendants violate Joshua Deshaney s 14th Amendment rights thereby creating liability under 42 U S C 1983 the civil rights act Justice was the court s ruling fundamentally just or unjust and by what moral standards powerful illustration of the tragedy of power Remember the U S Supreme Court only rules on constitutional questions not guilt or innocence Remedies under criminal law and state tort law were foreclosed legal formalizim vs legal activism Slide 2 1 Tuesday April 15 2014 The main legal con ict in DeShaney is between formalism and activism Formalism Judges follow the letter of the law and make strict literal logical interpretations even in the face of tragic consequences feel bad We have to interpret the law for what it is is literally the law does not have a whole lot of stretch we cant stretch the law because we Activism Judges follow the spirit of the law and interpret the law in light of its supposed underlying intent you cant just follow what the letter of the law is because times and values change Can t just read what is on the page but need to stretch the law to consider things that weren t considered by people when they made the law The Relevant laws in DeShaney are the 14th Amendment 1868 and the Civil Rights Act of 1871 14th Amendment Civil Rights Act of 1871 brief short language but is applied to complex cases Compare the brevity of the 14th amendment with the complexity of the case The Court s task is to interpret complex fact patterns in light of very concise laws What does the law really mean Slide 3 The 14th Amendment was passed after the Civil War to address complex issues created by the abolition of slavery the doctrine of supremacy US law is the law of the land its not as if states and local laws dont contradict federal law but sometimes local govts can give you more but CANNOT take away you can never be given less in a state than you are given in the constitution nor shall any state deprive applies to deshaney state can only take things from you after due process Two Kinds of Due Process Procedural the government has to follow a certain procedure or set of procedures before it takes something from you Before they lock you up or make you pay a ne it must follow a certain set of procedures Substantive the government owes you something of signi cance because they have com the government compromises your liberty or property interests it must then take care of substantive things that you would otherwise been able to take care of yourself clothing food medical care shelter when the government compromises you taking care of yourself they must then provide for those deprivations does not have to be super nice or extravagant but must provide for the basic things you would provide for yourself Joshua s Substantive right was harm when Winnebago country ignored what was happening from him Not a procedural due process claim but a substantive due process claim Joshua was like someone in jail or a state facility just as the state has responsibilities of those who are locked up they violated his right of due process in the 14th amendment in not ensuring he has liberty life or Core Rights Privileges and immunities of citizenship due process and equal protection 2 Tuesday April 15 2014 Landmark 14th Amendment cases Brown v Board of Education 1954 and Roe v Wade 1973 The Civil Rights Act of 1871 originally called the Klu Klux Klan Act gave teeth to the 14th Amendment by creating the right to sue government of cials for alleged constitutional violations advance their own agenda under color of authority now you have a speci c statutory remedy to sue of cials that use their power to you can t use government power to advert peoples constitutional rights you cant sue someone who isn t acting under color of authority When those social workers failed to step in and help they were violating the substantive portion of due process law In Deshaney Joshua sued Winnebago County and several individual defendants for alleged violations of his 14th Amendment rights Slide Four The key legal question Under the 14th Amendment did Joshua have a protected Liberty interest in bodily integrity Joshua s case is obviously tragic but were his constitutional rights violated the state knew what was going on for years served only 2 5 years this case is not about the criminal culpability of Randy his father although he 1984 Joshua s father beats him into a permanent coma Case led 1985 1986 summary judgement granted to defendants Summary judgement dismissal of a civil case without trial because the material facts are undisputed and grounds for judgement exist as a matter of law A very common and highly controversial legal procedure 1987 7th Circuit Court of Appeals af rms the District Court s ruling However this con ict with 2nd Circuit precedent lost on district level 7th circuit af rmed the district courts ruling then appealed to US Supreme Court and lost again 3