Oscar Holton
American Government Benchmark
Judicial Branch:
Brown v. Board of Education
Brown v. Board of Education was a court case that debated on the issue if race-based segregation of children from public schools constitutional. In the end, segregation of children from public school based on race was seen unconstitutional and violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision of this court case allowed me to not be denied to attend public schools because of my race. It gives me the opportunity to get the same education as my peers in another race. Having segregation existing in public schools would deprive black children from getting the benefits that they would have in an integrated school system and I’m grateful that this isn’t the case anymore.
Tinker v. Des Moines
The Tinker v. Des Moines court case came about when three public school pupils in Des Moines, Iowa, were suspended from school for wearing black armbands to protest against the Vietnam War. The Tinkers wearing black armbands did not cause disruption and their action was protected by the constitution because it was in the term of symbolic speech. This influences my life in many ways. Today I can wear any messages that I want to make known, as long as it doesn’t interfere with the requirements of appropriate discipline in the operation of the school. I can make known my viewpoint on things without
Roper v. Simmons
In the Roper v. Simmons case, Christopher Simmons was sentenced to death in 1993, when he was only 17 for a murder. The court case resulted in the Supreme Court deciding that executing minors is "cruel and unusual punishment" proscribed by the Eighth Amendment. This court case has a negative effect on me. There were times when I was beaten by a group of people. When I called the cops, no justice was served because the people who assaulted me were the age of 17 and 16 and they couldn’t be tried as an adult. Today, going home from center city is a long distance, and on they way I encounter students from different high schools who are in gangs beating up other students from different schools. I don’t think it’s fair that minors under the age of 18 can’t be charge for an adult even if they committed an adult crime.
Abington School District v. Schempp
In the Abington School District v Schempp, the Supreme Court finds Bible reading over school intercom unconstitutional. Students who attended public schools in Abington Pennsylvania were obligated to read at least ten verses from the Bible. Today I’m glad schools don’t require students to read the bible. Everyone has his or her own religion and I would feel wrong being forced to participate in worship of another religion.
Legislative Branch:
Pennsylvania DUI
The Pennsylvania DUI law was made to protect fellow drivers and pedestrians on the street. This law benefits me because it reduces the amount of drunk drivers than there would be without the law, amounting to less car accidents caused from drunk driving. Getting in a car accident with a drunk driver, less blame would be on the alcohol free driver. Also knowing that there are consequences for people who injure people for driving drunk is a little relieving. I’m now driving, and because of this law I know not to drink and drive and it’s a protection from getting in an accident.
The Clean Indoor Air Worker Protection Law
The Clean Indoor Air Worker Protection Law includes the prohibition of smoking on public transit vehicles has such as Septa. If this law weren’t in existence, people taking public transportation would be exposed to second-hand smoking everyday. Every weekday I take Septa at least 4 times a day. If people were able to smoke on Septa, I would develop bad lungs, a bad heart and maybe cancer by the many people smoking on the bus and train.
State of Pennsylvania Junior Driver License
The laws of the State of Pennsylvania Junior Driver license are too restrictive. One point of the law I dislike its that the junior license is still restricted for driving between the hours of 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM unless there is a licensed driver that is 21 years or older, Not being 18 yet and having a junior license, I’m given a curfew to be able to drive. This affects me negatively because many parties or events do not end until 11:00 or after that I like to attend. Since I’m restricted for driving between 11:00 pm and 5:00 am, I won’t be able to drive to these events but have to take public transportation. Taking public transportation at a late time at night can be unsafe, but if I could drive my own vehicle, I could develop some feeling of security.
Child Labor Laws
In Child Labor Laws, people under the age of eighteen can’t more than six consecutive days in any one week, or more than forty-four hours in any one week, or more than eight hours in any one day. Also most jobs can only hire you if you are of legal age. I find this law unfair for children who need more money to help their family out. I’m not 18 yet and I want to be work at certain jobs, but they require me to be the age of 18 or older. Even though the task is very simple and I know I’m able to do the job efficiently, I’m still restricted because of my age.
Executive Branch:
Police Department
The police department is part of the executive branch. Their job is to enforce the law and prevent crime, making the city a safer place. A couple of years ago I was assaulted when someone attempted to rob me for my possession. When I called the police department, they arrested the person and now the criminal have to pay for the damaged merchandise from the situation. Today police offers are around dangerous areas around Philadelphia and knowing that gives me a since of security. People find police officers as a nuisance but I see them as protection.
Registration for permanent residency
A United States Permanent Resident is an identification card attesting to the permanent resident status of an alien in the United States. It is known informally as a green card. The bureaucratic process had a negative affect on me because my father is in the process of getting a green card. It’s been 6 years since my father applied and I haven’t seen him since. The process is too long and it is basically a waiting game to see if you’ve been denied or accepted. Because of this long period away from my father, I don’t have a male role model at home to show me what it means to be a man.
Draft Registration
Registration for the draft or the selective service system is the process that all men in the United States have to do at the age of 18. The federal law requires all men to register with the Selective Service System within 30 days of turning 18 years of age. This has a negative effect on me because I don’t want to join the service. There is a chance I might be drafted if we were in war and needed more soldiers. War goes against my belief and I don’t support it. Even if I don’t get drafted it’s a waste of time filling out the paper work.
FAFSA
The FAFSA is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Students who want financial aid for college need to fill out the FAFSA. This process is beneficial because it helps me to get into college. College admissions are expensive and because my family income isn’t that high, FAFSA will benefit me even more. I haven’t done any extra curriculum activities so I am mostly relying on academic scholarships and help from FAFSA to take care of the expenses of college.
Citation:
Cozzens, Lisa. "Brown v. Board of Education."http://www.watson.org/. Lisa Cozzens, 29 Jan 1998. Web. 18 Jun 2011. <http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilrights/brown.html>.
Pearson Prentice Hall., . "Tinker v. Des Moines School District (1969)." http://www.infoplease.com/. Pearson Education, 2005. Web. 18 Jun 2011. <http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar39.html>.
"ROPER V. SIMMONS (03-633)."http://www.law.cornell.edu/. Legal Information Institute, n.d. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/03-633.ZS.html>.
_The Oyez Project, Abington School District v. Schempp , 374 U.S. 203 (1963)
available at: (http://oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1962/1962_142)
(last visited Tuesday, January 18, 2011).
http://dui.drivinglaws.org/. "Pennsylvania DUI Laws, Fines and Penalties." ExpertHub.com, Web. <http://dui.drivinglaws.org/pa-dui.php>.
About.com, . "Text of The Clean Indoor Air Worker Protection Law." http://philadelphia.about.com/. he New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://philadelphia.about.com/library/weekly/blsmoking_ordinance_1.htm>.
Doyle, Alison. "Child Labor Law."http://jobsearch.about.com/. The New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://jobsearch.about.com/od/employmentlaw/a/childlaborlaw.htm>.
"About the Department." http://www.phillypolice.com/. Philadelphia Police Department, n.d. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.phillypolice.com/about/>.
"Green Card (Permanent Residence) ."http://www.uscis.gov/. N.p., 22 Dec 2010. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=ae853ad15c673210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=ae853ad15c673210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD>.
"What is the Draft?."http://www.militarydraftregistration.com/. PL Enterprises International, Inc. DBA Registration Services., n.d. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://www.militarydraftregistration.com/?gclid=CJ_O8ueGwqYCFZ065Qodp1iYKA>.
U.S. Department of Education, . "About Federal Student Aid." http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/. U.S. Department of Education, 28 Jun 2010. Web. 18 Jan 2011. <http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/about/index.html>.