Right Turn: Reagan on the World Stage
Historian Allan Winkler calls Ronald Reagan a "classic cold-war warrior." As tensions escalate, $1.5 trillion is spent for nuclear and conventional weapons that will protect the U.S. and maintain its military superiority..
Right Turn: Supply-side Economics
Reagan assumes the presidency at a time when the country is in economic crisis. During the campaign he had introduced his solution--supply-side-economics. With conservative backing, the Reagan administration decides to a..
Right Turn: Trials of Jimmy Carter, The
President Carter's inexperience in Washington causes some tension in Congress. With high annual inflation rates and high unemployment, Carter appoints Alfred Kahn as "inflation czar." In that role Kahn is asked by Congre..
Right to Know, The
Professor of Law and Medicine Alex Capron talks about the conflict between an individual's interest in keeping sensitive information private, and the interest others may have--some of it legitimate, some of it not--in ga..
Rights of the Accused: Court Takes More Conservative Position on Civil Liberties
The Supreme Court began to take a more conservative approach to civil liberties in the years following the Warren Court. There was even an unsuccessful effort to overturn the Miranda decision. Terry v. Ohio which recogni..
Rights of the Accused: Death Penalty, The
The death penalty is a divisive issue that continues to haunt the court. The basic divide is between those who think the system is so flawed you cannot know for sure that someone is guilty and others who think it is fair..
Rights of the Accused: Due Process as Protection for Disadvantaged Minorities
Most of the major advancements in due process protections coincided with the civil rights movement of the sixties. The Warren Court viewed the Constitution as a living evolving document, gaining moral authority on race i..
Rights of the Accused: Fallout from Prison Population Growth
With so much emphasis on arresting and punishing people, the prison population has expanded massively At San Quentin, 40% of inmates are imprisoned because of drug offenses, not counting those convicted for crimes where ..
Rights of the Accused: Response to Increase in Violent Crimes
With violent crime on the rise there has been support in many states for stiffer punishments like multiple offender laws. Although few people spend much time thinking about prisons and prisoners, there is concern about h..
Rights of the Accused: Rules of Law
In 1966 Ernesto Miranda appealed a rape conviction to the Supreme Court and became the center of a landmark decision. His conviction was overturned on the basis that he had signed a confession without knowing he had the ..