Prisons & Punishment Final Exam

Bentham's Panopticon (via Foucoult)

The panopticon is a prison design and theory developed by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century. Foucoult argued that the state's central role is to control its people, and prisons serve as a means of both physical, and more importantly, mental control. A panopticon is designed with a central guard tower, surrounded by cells. The structure is supposed to induce a state of constant perceived surveillance, even if nobody is actually watching. What we must ask, when analyzing the impacts of our criminal justice system, is how being placed in an environment with no personal privacy can degrade our humanity and interpersonal relationships.

The Standford Prison Experiment

The Stanford Prison Experiment was a 1971 psychological study conducted by Dr. Philip Zimbardo, intended to investigate the effects of perceived power in a simulated prison environment. White male college students were randomly assigned either 'guard' or 'prisoner' and the study aimed to explore how these assigned roles and pre-determined behavioral norms associated with them would impact participant behavior. The study had to be stopped after 6 days due to extreme abuse at the hands of the guards and severe emotional distress of the prisoners. The study has been viewed as evidence to how situational factors, rather than individual personality traits, can lead to harmful behavior towards others.

The black codes

Black Codes were laws enacted in the Southern United States after the Civil War to restrict the freedoms of newly emancipated African Americans. These laws aimed to maintain a system of racial subjugation by limiting African Americans' rights to work, own property, move freely, and access legal protections. Black Codes were a precursor to Jim Crow laws and were designed to preserve the economic and social hierarchy of white supremacy in the post-slavery era. As a result of these new legal statutes, the criminal justice system became a dragnet for blacks in america.

The Mississippi Plan

The Mississippi plan was a bargain struck between Edmund Richardson and the state government of Mississippi in 1868, where Richardson contracted work from overflowing population of convicted ex-slaves who were criminalized under the Black Codes. Richardson hired these laborers to work outside of the prison walls for his own private business, keeping the derived profits of their labor. This practice became known as 'convict leasing', and became a common form of purchasing cheap labor in order to replace the free labor they had just lost access to -- notably, from the same population of individuals.

Convict leasing

Convict leasing was a a system used in the United States after the Civil War, which essentially allowed for the continuation of slavery under a new veneer of justice. Convict leasing began with the new emergence of the Black Codes, laws enacted after the Civil War to criminalize actions of African Americans such as being unemployed, owning property, and moving freely. The Black Codes promoted a mass incarceration of African Americans, who know facing punishment for a crime, were no longer afforded the protections of the 13th amendment. Starting with Edmund Richardson in 1868, private business owners began to contract out the overflowing number of prisoners for labor on their enterprises. States themselves profitted by renting prisoners to companies, while business benefitted from cheap labor. The system ultimately perpetuated slavery within the United States, rebuilding the walls of white supremacy after emancipation. Moreover, because there was essentially an endless labor supply of convicts to purchase from, business owners would work their laborers to death, with no regard for their health and safety (in contrast to, ironically, slave masters who at least at financial incentives to ensure their slave did not die). Convict leasing became a long term southern asset that led the devastated Southern economy into a period of industrial growth.

The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander

Main Idea:

historical pattern: slavery --> convict leasing --> jim crow --> mass incarceration

acknowledges the lack of resistance to these processes across the political spectrum (north and south)

each of these processes were done in order to appeal to the lower class white vulnerabilities and racism

collapse of formal slavery create mass southern histeria --> what would now distinguish poor whites from blacks? --> led to creation of VAGRANCY laws that applied selectively to blacks --> mass incarceration of ex-slaves led to overcrowding --> led to convict leasing (slavery with a different name) --> eventually convict leasing to businesses was replaced by states owning their OWN labor camps (Parchman Farms) --> Jim Crow laws = attempt to decimate any multi-racial, lower class unity --> end of jim crow evolved to begin to address economic inequality that threatened a coalition of the lower class --> mass incarceration as a race-neutral order that would keep working class separate --> play the CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE CARD (civil rights protests depicted as criminal) --> conservatives argued that rather than poverty causing crime, it was caused by CULTURE (again, appealing to lower class whites)

Parchman Farms

Parchman Farms was the state-run Missiippi Penitentiary, which was transitioned into a plantation-like system, existing in operation until 1965. People incarcerated at Parchman Farms labored from sunup to sundown, planting, picking cotton, and plowing fields. The labor generated large revenue for the state (totally to the equivalent of around $5 million dollars in two years of operation). Due to these harsh labor practices, racial violence, and exploitation, Parchman serves as a symbol of the oppressive legacy of convict leasing and racial injustice in America.

Willie Horton Ad

Ad run during the Bush v. Dukakes race in 1988. Prior to the ad running, Bush was down around 8 points in the polls. The ad basically called Dukakes soft on crime for allowing Willie Horton, an individual convicted for murder and rape charges, to have weekend furloughs. After the ad ran, Bush beat Dukakes by relatively large margins. The "sinking of Dukakes" signaled to other politicians that electoral constituents care deeply about how punitive the candidate they are voting for is. The ad made every politician lead with the mindset that their opponent would never be able to say "you are soft on crime".

Felony Murder

if you commit a felony and somebody dies, even if you were not directly involved with the killing itself, you can be charged with murder --> viewed as a convenient tool for prosecutors because it is EASIER to yield convictions as you no longer have to prove mental intent required for murder as long as you can prove a defendant's clear involvement in the predicate felony

Determinate sentencing / time -served requirements

A period of incarceration that is fixed by a sentencing authority and cannot be reduced by judges or other corrections officials --> offenders MUST serve a statutorily determined portion of their imposed sentence

Structured Sentencing

A model of criminal punishment that includes determinate and commission-created presumptive sentencing schemes, as well as voluntary/advisory sentencing guidelines --> gives little regard for mitigating circumstances

Mandatory Minimums

statues that remove the discretion of the sentencing judge to impose a sanction BELOW the minimum --> basically requires a specific minimum prison term for certain crimes, regardless of individual circumstances

Adversarial Model

A system of criminal justice resolution that is designed with 2 sides (prosecutor v. defense → conviction v. acquittal). Each side puts forth a narrative in front of an "impartial observer" (judge and jury), and the idea is that this model replicates a sort of game. Either side is attempting to piece together a narrative that guarantees the most beneficial outcome for their representatives, and in some cases, themselves. Thus, the truth often gets lost in the process of this model.

Inquisitorial Model

Another form of criminal justice resolution, more common in Europe, where the 2 parties work TOGETHER to figure out who did what. Truth seeking and fact-finding is a much more central aspect of this model and the judges play a more active role in finding facts, rather than just being an observer of a presentation by the prosecution and defense.

Alford Plea

A plea that allows a defendant to plead guilty while nonetheless maintaining his or her innocence --> allows for a conviction for prosecution, but the individual can tell people that they are innocent

The Prosecution

the legal party responsible for presenting a case against an individual/entity accused of committing a crime. The ethical duties of a prosecutor include 1) pursuing justice, not convictions 2) refraining from extrajudicial comments and 3) disclosing all exculpatory evidence.

Ethical duties of a prosecutor

1) pursue justice not convictions

2) refrain from extrajudicial comments

3) disclose exculpatory evidence (Brady v. Maryland --> 1963)

Grand Jury

A group of citizens that decides whether there is sufficient evidence to accuse someone of a crime. If the grand jury decides that there is sufficient evidence based on the evidentiary standard of probable cause, the individual will be indicted. these proceedings are supposed to be a secret, intended to be protect the accused individual by vetting out false charges and allowing the person to live a 'normal life' if they are not indicted. However, grand juries have become essentially a member of the prosecution, due to the ease of which the standard of 'probable cause' is often met. In fact, it is famously said that a grand jury could 'indict a ham sandwich'.

Ways of providing defense attorneys

1) public defender system --> "gold standard", centrally-funded professionals --> aims to put defense on equal footing with prosecutors in terms of resources; don't really take on THAT many cases compared to other systems

2) panel programs --> private attorneys on a pre-approved list are appointed and paid to represent defendants case-by-case (sometimes attorneys have nothing to do with criminal law and are appointed as community service)

3) contract system --> one attonry or several are a part of a contract iwth a county/circuit to represent a fixed number of cases for a fee --> allows budgeting of public defense for a whole year

INCENTIVE ISSUES for the latter 2 systems --> poorly paid AND the consequence of a poor decision in the eyes of a judge could lead to dismissal; paying case by case --> incentivizes least amount of work possible with quickest turnaround

Ethical duties of the defense counsel

1) keep client confidentiality --> only except is when told something that indicated the commitment of a FUTURE CRIME

2) avoid conflicts of interest (ex: co-defendants if they may testify against each other)

3) zealous representation of rights and interests of the defendants --> you are supposed to do EVERYTHING you can do to defend your client, regardless of anything they have told you, what they are convicted of, and your opinion of them as a person

Judge

A judge is a public official, either appointed or elected, who presides over legal proceedings in a court of law. Their primary responsibilities include interpreting and applying the law, ensuring a fair and impartial trial, and making decisions on matters such as procedure, evidence, and sentencing, all while maintaining courtroom order and protecting the rights of all parties involved. However, the method of judicial appointment or election can create ties to certain constituents—whether political elites or the general public—which may influence a judge's decisions and attitudes toward defendants.

Ethical duties of a judge

1) impartiality and lack of prejudice (or at least the appearance thereof)

2) Fairness (stay above political fray)

3) avoid conflicts of interest (ex: holding stocks in a company)

Ways to appoint a judge

1) legislative appointment (only in VA) --> candidates must be approved by both houses of legislature

2) executive appointment (3-4 states) --> judges appointed by a governor/ president with approval from an executive counsel / state senate

3) popular elections (1/2 states) --> can be either partisan or nonpartisan

4) Merit selection (over 20 states) --> candidate must be nominated by a nominating comission that has expertise in legal understanding AND THEN governor appoints 1 individual from the candidates --> judge must stand for periodic noncompetitive retention elections

Judge Faruqui

Appointed as the US Magistrate Judge in 2020 for the US District Court for DC

talks a lot about mass incarceration vs. arbitrary incarceration --> the fact that you don't get to chose your judge, lawyers, probation officers, or juries

the point of justice is not OUTCOME based, its PROCESS based

aggravating factor

Any fact or circumstance that makes a killing especially "egregious" --> defendant then becomes eligible for the DP

Some general standards such as killing a police officer, but in general, a lot of the DP cases have to do with felony murder

Mitigating Factor

any facts about the defendant/crime that might serve as a basis for a sentence LESS than death

Witherspoon questions

try to sift out the two ends of the juror spectrum --> 1) those who would NEVER impose the DP under any circumstances 2) those who would impose it under ALL circumstances

What are the two types of accuracies must be taken into account during capital cases?

1) factual --> DNA evidence has revealed a startling amount of people who have been convicted and executed who later were found to be innocent --> should DP cases ONLY be held when there is a significant amount of scientific evidence?

2) moral --> we must ensure that a juror's moral determination that the defendant deserves to die is NOT influenced by factors unrelated to the defendants culpability

McClesky vs. Kemp

1987: Implicit bias and personal discretion

showing a pattern of racial discrimination DOES NOT COUNT as sufficient enough evidence --> you must still show that the racial bias applies in your specific case (which is very hard to prove in cases of implicit bias)

Boykin v. Alabama

1969: Plea Bargain History

established the "voluntariness" standard of plea bargains, although remains very tricky to fulfill because the terms of many pleas are SO unequal that a lot of times, people will admit to things that they didn't do

North Carolina v. Alford

1970: History of plea bargains

established the "Alford plea" or the "no contest plea" --> allows YOU to maintain your innocence (you can go around telling people that you didn't do it), but it is formally charged as a guilty plea and goes on you record

basically, acknowledging that there IS evidence that points to you being guilty, enough so that it can be charged as such

Santobello v. NY

1971: History of Plea Bargains

"An essential component of the administration of justice. Properly administered, it is to be encouraged" --> really signaled the use of pleas as a way to deal with case overload issues

Bordenkircher v. Hayes

1978: History of plea bargaining

prosecutor's conduct (threatening life in prison for not accepting a plea deal of 5 years) IS ACCEPTABLE

vigorous dissent, said to encourage vindictiveness by prosecutors

Brady v. Maryland **** IMPORTANT

1963: Disclosure of Evidence

everything the prosecutor gets from the police MUST be given to the defense, in order to place both sides of the adversarial model on more equal footing

in reality: in almost EVERY wrongful conviction case, there are brady violations all over the place --> burial of evidence // undisclosed information --> shows a desire by prosecutors to "win at all costs", rather than seeking the truth --> very little way to hold prosecutors accountable for this

Powell v. Alabama

1932: History of right to defense

Established the right to attorney in CAPITAL CASES (not others)

appeal of a case of 9 black boys accused of raping 2 white women --> 8/9 received the DP and appealed to the SC who ruled that because they did not have time to speak/investigate with a lawyer, the lower court's decision was to be reversed

Betts v. Brady

1942: History of right to defense

No right to a counsel unless "penalty was severe, the issues difficult, and the defendant inexperiences"

although opened the right to cases other than just DP, the language was so vague and open to interpretation

Griffin v. Crenshaw

1956: History of right to legal counsel

the poor can receive free trial transcripts for their appeals

seems like it would be pretty much guaranteed, but this was actually very controversial and was a split decision at the time; and current SC Justice Clarence Thomas actually wants to overturn this

Johnson v. Zerbst

1938: established right to counsel for federal cases

Gideon v. Wainwright *** IMPORTANT **

1963: Right to defense counsel

Details of case:

Gideon was convicted of breaking and entering a pool room and was sentenced to 5 years in prison with no attorney provided . Gideon himself appealed to the SC and was granted a new case with a defense counsel present. Gideon won this new trial EASILY, showing the power of a good defense (jury on deliberated for 1 hour). The case marked a landmark court decision that set the precedent that states must provide defense attorneys to criminal defendants charged with serious offenses who cannot accord lawyers themselves, overturning Betts v. Brady.

Many have said that the "promise of Gideon" has gone unfulfilled because of the lack of key resources that defense counsels have (again, remember 7 minutes of New Orleans).

Argersinger v. Hamlin

1972: History of defense counsel

Lawyer must be provided for all crimes with jail as a possible sentence

Strickland v. Washington

1984: Ineffective Assistance of D Counsel Case

Question: What is the standard for ineffective assistance of D counsel?

Holding: 2 steps must be proven in order to warrant a NEW trial due to ineffective D counsel

1) counsel's performance was deficient --> can easily be rejected by D counsel just saying that their behavior was a "strategic choice"

2) errors were "so serious as to deprive the D of a fair trial" (i.e. prejudicial) --> had the attorney not made ______ decision, the jury DEFINITELY would have decided differently --> again, this is almost an impossible standard to reach or prove (ex: sleeping lawyer, only voted 9-5 that it was ineffective)

Defense Attorney

The defense counsel is the legal representative of individuals accused of committing crimes. Their ethical responsibilities include: 1) safeguarding client confidentiality, 2) avoiding conflicts of interest, and 3) zealously defending the rights and interests of the defendant, regardless of personal opinions about the individual or the alleged crime. These duties can lead to a public perception of defense attorneys as "getaway car drivers," seen as aiding criminals in evading justice. This negative view also hampers efforts to secure public funding for defense services, leaving defense attorneys at a considerable disadvantage compared to prosecutors. Consequently, this raises concerns about the effectiveness of the constitutional right to legal representation.

Bob Macy

Robert H. Macy was a Democratic District Attorney from 1980 until 2001 for Oklahoma County and the State's capital, Oklahoma City. He was nationally known for his impassioned performances in capital murder trials, sometimes followed by reversals on appeal, and in three cases, exonerations.

Justice Penny White

Targeted due to a decision that she did not write, but voted with the majority on, that led to a new trial for a gruesome crime → got labeled as "pro-rapist" and "pro-murderer" and ended up losing re-election

Justice Young

Justice on the Nevada SC

His own political advertisement is all about having a tough a crime agenda → highlighting the amount of DP he has sentenced

The Jury

12 members of the public who must be neutral and unprejudiced (ignorant of the case), tasked with determining whether a defendant is guilty or not guilty BASED ON THE FACTS OF THE CASE

Ethical Duties of the Jury

1) decide based on facts --> cannot bring outside knowledge, info, ideas, and principles

2) remain impartial and fair

3) Remain independent, not influenced by other

4) keep jury conversations confidential

jury nullification

a jury's refusal to render a verdict according to the law and fact regardless of the evidence presented --> this is when an individual on a jury decides to vote one away or another NO MATTER WHAT because they disagree with the legal premise of the indictment/criminalization of the action itself

Venire

entire panel from which a jury is drawn

Voir Dire

the process by which attorneys elect (or really reject) certain jurors to hear a case

Peremptory challenge

the right for attorneys to reject a certain # of potential jurors without stating a reason (they must keep notes of their reasons, and must present them if challenged)

Batson Challenge

states that lawyer must give 'race neutral' reason for removing people from jury pool --> Has led to several # of cases being overturned but very hard to meet standard

based on the case of Batson v. Kentucky

Batson v. Kentucky

1986: Prosecutor was systematically striking black people from jury pool (something that has been done through the history of the south)

SC supported the challenge and said that it was a violation of the 14th amendment's equal protection clause --> Now, a lawyer must give a reason that is NOT explicitly tied to race --> has led to lawyers using other work-arounds/signals of race and essentially, not much has statistically changed (blacks still disproportionately struck from jury pool)

Death qualification

States that it is okay to exclude jurors always opposed to DP

Mass incarceration

Mass incarceration refers to the large-scale imprisonment of individuals, particularly in the United States, as a result of policies that emphasize harsh sentencing, especially for drug-related and non-violent crimes. Michelle Alexander, in her book The New Jim Crow, argues that mass incarceration disproportionately affects Black and Brown communities, functioning as a modern system of racial control similar to Jim Crow laws. She contends that the war on drugs and systemic biases in the criminal justice system perpetuate racial inequality by stigmatizing people of color as criminals and stripping them of basic rights even after release.

Exoneration

cases in which sufficiently strong evidence has been assembled to persuade a prosecutor, court, or governor that a convicted defendant is NOT guilty (could happen due to DNA evidence, or evidence of mass police/prosecutorial misconduct)

What are the three common causes of error in exonerations in the US

eyewitness misidentification, reported perjury, and false confessions

The Reid Technique

an interrogation technique that influenced nearly every aspect of modern police investigations, boasting over an 80% confession rate

Begins with a behavior analysis interview, with polygraph testing. If you suspect a suspect is lying, you leave the room and return 5 minutes later with a folder, saying "we have no doubt that you committed the crime. Now let's sit down and see what we can do to work this out" --> minimization: downplaying the moral consequences of the crime without mentioning legal ones to try to get them to admit

if the suspect admits --> turn admission into a full, written confession

Marty Tankleff

Marc's friend from childhood

accused of killing his parents, case riddled with police and prosecutorial misconduct --> Reid technique false confession (told him that they found his hair on his mom, staged a phone call to say his dad woke up and said he did it)

Sentenced 50 years to life

Marty had everything --> PI working day and night, money to hire a good defense team --> still was in prison for 20 years, imagine someone who doesn't have those resources

1994 Crime Bill

signed by Bill Clinton, incarcerated individuals blocked from receiving pell grants --> killed a lot of the educational opportunities and cut a majority (if not all) programming even though the recidivism rate for people who get degrees in prison is essentially zero

Dan Slepian

author of the Sing Sing Files

Prisonization

overcrowding and miserable conditions within a prison create lasting mental anguish and trauma, making inmates more violent and angry than before their incarceration

Turner V. Safley

Main issue: dealt with the constitutional rights of prisoners, specifically first amendment rights

legal standard established: developed the Turner test, which says that a prison regulation that limits prisoners' constitutional rights is valid, as long as it is "reasonably related to penological interests"

Farmer V. Brennan

Main issue: addressed the 8th amendment and whether prison officials are responsible for protecting inmates from harm, specifically regarding "deliberate indifference to inmate safety:

Legal standard established: rules that prison officials violate the 8th amendment when they show "deliberate indifference" to substantial risk of harm, however, this requires demonstrating that the prison official acted with sufficiently culpable state of mind -->

essentially stating that a person cannot prevail on a claim of 8th amendment violations unless they can demonstrate that a prison official actually knows and disregards excessive risk to health/safety

Hudson v. McMillian

Actually applied the "Whitley v. Albers" standard of an action that shows maliciousness/sadistic behavior: supervisor of a prison was proven to have said "don't have too much fun" to the guards before they were going to violent stop a riot --> explains how high of a standard must be met for a prisoner to demonstrate unconditional use of force

1996 Prison Litigation Reform Act

argued that lawsuits by prisoners weren't serious, took up resources, and resulted in micromanagement of prisons --> severely restricted prisoner's access to courts and decreased power of federal courts to ameliorate bad prison conditions

Brown v. Plata (2011)

known to be the biggest and most consequential prison case in 2 decades --> addressed severe overcrowding in California's prisons, which led to inadequate medical and mental health care for inmates. The Court ruled that these conditions violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. In a 5-4 decision, the Court upheld a lower court's order requiring California to reduce its prison population to 137.5% of design capacity to ensure humane treatment --> led to the release of 40,000 prisoners.

Robert Martinson

author of the 1974 paper "What Works?"

basically argued that nothing works and concluded that rehabilitation programs were ineffective at reducing recidivism --> cited as a long-standing justification of the tough on crime agenda, elimination of pell grants, and elimination of federal parole, even though his conclusions were rejected by many experts in the field, and even denounced by himself

killed himself due to guilt

The Attica Prison Riot

Was portrayed in the media as angry, black prisoners who kidnapped the guards and had to be repressed by the state

What actually happened? protesting for better living conditions

Court ruled that the state will defer to prison officials on how to run themselves --> basically unchecked discretionary power: since attica, prisoners have lost many rights as long as prison officials can claim "security" to justify their measures

Prison industrial complex

the corporations and agencies with an economic stake in building and supplying correctional facilities and in providing services

850-1000% increase in prison spending in the last 30 years (10 states spend more on prison than education)

we have created a climate in which it is now in someone's economic interest to ensure that prison terms are longer, tougher, and harsher --> the prison boom can perpetuate itself

Julia Keleher

Secretary of education in PR

White Colonizer → people got really mad at her for coming in and trying to control the system

Was indicted for a white collar crime

Faced 3 charges, each with a 20 year punishment → facing the stacking of these punishments, she took a plea deal for 6 months and 1 year of home confinement

The reason the cares is because the other women she was with were NOT equipped to deal with their charges

Discretionary Parole

release before a sentence is completed, even for those convicted of violent crimes --> part of the REHABILITATIVE MODEL

This policy has largely disappeared in most states and completely eliminated in the federal system

Rejection of discretionary parole is usually based on the nature of the crime rather than an evaluation of a person's transformation

And even more simply: fear

Bears no mind to the research that prisoners "age out" of crimes with education and vocational opportunities

Mandatory parole

automatic release of a prisoner - condition to certain requirements - who has served a determinate sentence

Experience of sentence

inmate has served maximum sentence and must be released unconditionally, without any parole/reporting requirements

Marsy's Law

changed the default time for the date of the next parole hearing from a single year to 15 years (california)

"ban the box" movement

A movement to remove the box from employment applications that says, "check this box if you've ever been charged with a crime." Ban the box legislation still allows employers to ask applicants this question or do a background check on applicants before hiring them, but by removing the box, employers have to meet face-to-face with applicants before disqualifying them. As of 2016, 24 states have enacted "ban the box" legislation

"One-Strike Policy"

Clinton policy 1990s --> automatically ineligible for public housing for a minimum of 5 years if you commit a felony

Recidivism

a statistic that shows the % of incarcerated individuals who commit a crime within 10 years of their release

misleading stat --> most people think that recidivism refers to a new crime, but majority of the individuals get sent back for technical violations of their parole/probabtion requirements

Habeaus Corpus

legal remedy that allows a person to challenge their detention/imprisonment in court

Furman v. Georgia

1972 case that ruled that the DP was cruel and unusual punishment that was tainted by racial bias

swift and negative reaction by citizens and within 2 years, 35 states had reinstated the DP

Lynching

Form of unofficial capital punishment / adjudication of guilt by group lacking the formal authority for either

Participants in lynchings often included the very same people who, in their official capacities, administred the criminal justice system, such as police officers and judges.

Public spectacle with carnival-like atmosphere

connection to DP --> strong correlation of states who committed most lynchings and states with most executions --> similar racial disparities in both

Difference? DP done in private, regulated manner, almost like the state is embarrassed

Southern Strategy

Nixon's Southern Strategy was a political strategy used by President Richard Nixon to gain support from white voters in the South during the late 1960s and 1970s. It focused on appealing to discontent over civil rights advancements and desegregation, shielded under the guise of drug criminalization. By using subtle language that emphasizing states' rights and law-and-order policies, the strategy shifted many traditionally Democratic Southern voters to the Republican Party, who could avoid admitting to being attracted to racist appeals.

Whitley v. Albers

Main issue: addressed the use of force by prison officials and whether such force violates the 8th amendment

legal standard established: prison official's actions are judged by whether the use of force was applied "in good-faith effort to maintain and restore discipline" or whether it was done "maliciously and sadistically to cause harm"

Prison gerrymandering

prisons are located in white and republican rural areas, which boost the population numbers while not changing the number of people allowed to vote, gives increased voting power to the residents