Reform from Socioeconomic Injustice

With ever changing and continuously improving aspects of society, we would hope some of the focus could be geared toward improving our criminal justice system. Until we reach “equal justice for all” there are many reforms which can continue to be achieved. Many people look back on history and think those problems are behind us, but the truth is, most issues are still prevalent in some sort of fashion, even in today’s society. The issue of prejudice and social classes can still be seen in many areas, but the court system is one area which needs to be cleared of this injustice, for everyone’s protection. Looking back on history, it’s easy to speculate why this issue first came to be. Perhaps socioeconomic status became an issue in a time when white, upper-class men dominated jury deliberations, presumably due to their higher status outside of the jury room. As times changed and people fought for equality, this prejudiced idea never fully left the court room. There is no time better than the present to start aiming for change. My theory on how to reform this aspect of our court system is to focus on the equality of the jury and the defendant’s representation. One key to eliminating prejudices against socioeconomic status is to eliminate prejudices within the jury. While this is obviously not completely attainable, it can be aimed for with an impartial jury. In order to eliminate this problem in our court system, I propose more rigid standards for juries, striving to incorporate equal numbers of genders, races, and ages, to the best of our ability. A second suggestion for reform is to monitor state administered representation. By requiring certain criteria for lawyers, there may be less room for slacking and more effort to work. Perhaps better pay or more incentives may also invoke hard work and accuracy. These reforms, while seeming abrupt and hard to achieve, can lead to change over time, aiming to eventually eliminate the injustices received due to one’s socioeconomic status.