Less Law Essay

From the outbreak of the incident throughout the trial most citizens would support the jocks because of who they were and their parents despite supporting what were morally right. The punishments bestowed upon the boys were unreasonable due to the severity of the act committed. The light punishment would come about because of the defendant’s statuses. Black argues that the greater social status an actor has the less law will be applied. Less law means less jail time, smaller fines and the like (Black, 1976). The statuses of the guys as well as their parents were only limited to the town of Glen Ridge. When it came to sentencing they all received a “slap” on the wrist. The guys were given light fines (15-20k) as well as a brief time in medium security prison due to Judge Cohen having sympathy for the guys. To help the defendant’s the community made donations to defray their legal bills. Black also argues that when a low status actor commits a crime against a high status victim more law will be applied (Black, 1976, 1993). What would have the

It is all too common that women fall victim to guys that are of higher status because they belong to an athletic organization, fraternity, etc. which contributes to the school and for that reason nothing happens to the guys who hold high statues and therefore they do not face any consequences. With such cases happening all the time what message is the justice system trying to teach our adolescents? Punishment should be equal for everyone but that’s just not the case, we live in a society where money and power can get you out of your legal