The American justice system is based on the Constitution of the US that preaches freedom, independence, and the governmental protection of its citizens’ well-being. Further, some other liberties and rights are made to protect the victim and the defendant from any injustice. However, I cannot agree that the present American court system is entirely viable. First, from decades of experience, lawyers and scientists argue that the system has many undefendable flaws that damage the social communities instead of improving their safety and making them more convenient. For instance, many laws do not cover our society’s actual problems but police people for quite ridiculous rules. In LA, a couple of years ago, it was illegal to wear saggy pants and this law was not canceled until an innocent black man was shot and killed for it.
Indeed, the second highly significant issue of the justice system remains the fact that it perpetuates harmful stereotypes that are damaging the state of social minorities while the privileged classes benefit from such inequality. Consequently, the purposeful disadvantage based on race, sexuality, gender, and social class is real and needs urgent revision (Kurlychek 296). Moreover, studies on the American court system show that the police and unfair prosecutor have inexplicable power over the lives of regular people. This hierarchy makes them abuse their authority, destroying healthy community relations.
In addition, I agree that sometimes our court system gives too many protections to real criminals while the victims of violence do not get enough support. Remarkably, the problem also goes back to the dialogue about class consciousness. In the US, wealthy people can get away with horrible offenses, while the poor are more likely to be convicted for something they have not done (Kurlychek 309). That is why, in my opinion, the justice system should be improved by revising it thoroughly and providing prosecutorial integrity, fair trials, and fair sentencing.
Work Cited
Kurlychek, Megan C., and Brian D. Johnson. “Cumulative Disadvantage in the American Criminal Justice System.” Annual Review of Criminology, vol. 2, 2019, pp. 291-319.