Introduction
The court cases that happened in the 1920s were mainly based on the federal policies that had been set. Based on the limited travel means, the court system was mainly based on the jurisdictions set within the state lines. The evaluation of the cases in the court system in the 1920s indicated that there was a need for the system to be revolutionized as there was no construct system in place. Prior the 1930s, the government played a small role in the creation of a unified court system, which needed to show coordination in the system. The analysis of the cases showed the different rulings concerning the way the cases were handled, which affected the set laws in the different states. There were various factors that led to the court decisions made, which affected the operations of the courts. This paper will evaluate the court cases in the 1920s based on how some of the cases were handled.
Court Cases in the 1920s
One of the notable trails in the 1920s was the Sacco-Vanzetti [1921] case where the two were convicted of murder during an armed robbery. In the assessment of the court case, it can be noted that some of the facts that were presented were based on circumstantial evidence. The controversy in the case can be noted through the systems that were submitted in the case. Some of the witnesses produced by the prosecution offered different accounts, especially in the descriptions of the accused. The effectiveness of the witness statements presented various controversial issues in the testimonies that they gave. The lack of investigations played a major role in the decision that was made to prosecute the individuals. The aspect of race played a critical role in the decisions that were made in the cases and affected the overall delivery of justice to the people.
Johnson (2003) states that the assessment of the guilt of the two individuals indicates the innocence or guilt of the individuals was based on the past characters of the individuals. Based on the analysis of the past behavior, the two individuals were judged based on their lack of social responsibility to the community and lack of respect for authority. Some of the factors played a significant role in the ruling that was made in the case. The decisionachieved in the case indicated a trend in the law on how the past behaviors of individuals affected the prosecution when it came to cases. The need to change the operations of the law played a critical role in the restructuring of the court system that was set in place.
The observation of civil rights was also a major factor that played a role in the court cases presented. Following the Meyer v. Nebraska [1923] case, the right to free speech based on the Fourteenth Amendment can be noted in the court’s decision to strike down the ban on foreign language instruction in schools. The aspect of free speech in the 1920s led to the rise in the cases that restricted the people from practicing their civil rights. The effects of the Amendment played a critical role in the decisions of the case especially when it came to the aspect of free speech versus propaganda. The Gitlow v New York [1925] case is paramount in showing how slander against the government played a role in the prosecution of individuals. In the case, the court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not protect the socialist from the remarks that he made concerning forceful overthrow of the government. From the outcome of the case, it may be noted that the rights of the people were protected and followed accordingly in the court system.
The need for reform in the ruling of the court cases can be indicatedby the change in the social theories that governed the different states. Lobban and Moses (2014) show that the 1920s played a major role in the development of the constitutional laws. According to the authors, the Supreme Court cases in the era based on the aspect of race played a role in the structure of the rulings in the cases. Before the 1930s and 1940s, most of the cases that involved the racial discriminations were indicated in the decisions made in the courts. The laws and policies in the 1920s fostered racial discrimination, which can be noted in the Sacco-Vanzetti [1921] case where the remarks made by the witnesses showed an aspect of racial discrimination. The rulings in such cases have fostered a change in the decisions made in the cases from the 1930s.
The regulations that were presented in the society in the 1920s and the era before that indicated the rules that were set by the federal government. Most of the cases presented about labor unions and the protection of workers were found to be unconstitutional, which is a factor that led to variations in the perception of the decisions made in the cases. The discriminations that were made in the cases resulted in the need for the government to make changes in the rulings raised in the cases. The development of the Taft Court led to mixed reactions based on the decisions made in the cases presented. The Court in the past had played an unfair role in the court decisions based on the limited attention paid to the socioeconomic needs of the people (Finkelman, 2014).
In the evaluation of the court cases that were conducted in the era, it can be noted that the economic prosperity played a significant role in the cases that were presented. The Federal Trade Commission v. Gratz [1920] is a landmark case where the White Court restricted the effectiveness of the role of the federal agencies in regulating the business combinations. The courts had the role to decide the methods that business used and what constituted of unfair business competition. The business regulations based on the court decisions permitted for unfair practices in the different jurisdictions. The need to regulate the courts in the management of the businesses in the different states affected the decisions made in the cases and the business operations. Gleason (2013) states that the need to have the adequate laws set will be based on the incorporation of the changes in the judicial system.
The capitalist rule in the states affected the court rulings based on the cases that were presented. The administration of juvenile justice in itself needed a major intervention in the delivery of justice for the individuals. The lack of implementation of the programs in the system affected the delivery of justice by the court system. The postponement of most of the cases based on the limited resources and availability of time has played an important role in the justice received by the youth. In most cases, interventions and development of the programs to assist in correcting the wrongdoing of the youth affected the delivery of the justice by the individuals. Whitehead and Lab (2012) state that that the changes in the system changed the behavior of the youth and there was the need to have a set strategy that will assist in the development of the court system.
Conclusion
The role played by the court decisions made in the 1920s affected the application of justice in the following years. The court cases, in most instances, changed the cases following and the application of the law. The 1920s cases indicated that there was the need to change the law made and the decisions made on succeeding cases. The unfair treatment of the minorities in the society played a role in the decisions raised in the cases. The need to change the factors in the operations in society played a major role in the alterations of the laws that altered the application of legislation. The need to have a standardized court system and the judicial decision affected the societal changes in the society. The lack of the standardized system led to the mishandling of different cases, which sometimes spilled to the overshadowing of human rights. The court cases in the 1920s led to the need to have changes that will ensure that those on trials have the adequate and necessary justice based on the evidence presented.
References
Finkelman, P. (2014). The Supreme Court: Controversies, Cases, and Characters from John Jay to John Roberts [4 Volumes]: Controversies, Cases, and Characters from John Jay to John Roberts. California: ABC-CLIO.
Gleason, J. A. (2013). The American Judicature Society: A Campaign for Better State Court Judges, 1913-1940. Judicature, 96(6), 269-277.
Johnson, J. W. (2003). Historic U.S. Court Cases: An Encyclopedia. London: Routledge.
Lobban, M., & Moses, J. (2014). The Impact of Ideas on Legal Development. Cambridge: Cambride University Press.
Whitehead, J. T., & Lab, S. P. (2012). Juvenille Justice: An Introduction. London: Routledge.
