User:Gabriel Cusi/sandbox

Bad Deal
Innocent, or not innocent, a vast majority of criminal defendants tend to plead guilty. In Bad Deal, Alexander explains why people tend to plead guilty and seldom go to trial, and what caused the significant increase of guilty pleas. According to Alexander, most criminal cases are resolved through a process called plea bargaining, or a guilty plea by the defendant in exchange for some form of leniency by the prosecutor. Alexander states that many defendants see leniency as their best option, unknowing that they could remain liberated, rather than serving a lenient punishment. Why is this? There is a direct correlation between the War on Drugs and the increasing number of guilty pleas. In 1986, Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act which maximized the severity of punishment if one were arrested for the possession or dealing of crack cocaine. According to Alexander, the number of people reporting drug usage or dealing has upped from recent years because the government offers cash, or other assets. Alexander stresses that people are no longer willing to fight for their freedom regardless of whether they’re innocent, or not innocent.

Legal Misrepresentation
What exactly happens after arrest? In Legal Misrepresentation, Michelle Alexander answers the question that many seem to ponder. As Alexander displays, representation within the justice system is seemingly becoming sparse and many are no longer willing to fend for their rights. Alexander discusses why people go to prison, and further explains issues within the criminal justice system. According to Alexander, a convicted felon has a very slight chance of ever becoming completely liberal in the social world. Alexander explains that obtaining meaningful representation in a court of law has become a rarity. She also states that many impoverished citizens go to jail each year without ever speaking to a lawyer. It just so happens that approximately 80% of all criminal defendants in the United States are indigent, making them incapable of actually hiring a lawyer. Alexander adds that not only indigent people lack representation, but statistically, children are least likely to be represented by counsel. Alexander explains that due to poor working conditions and low pay, good attorney’s tend to not participate in today’s justice system. In today’s criminal justice system, lacking an attorney while holding up in a court of law often results in guilty pleas.

The Shakedown
According to Michelle Alexander, unreasonable shakedowns are recurring issues that correlate with the War on Drugs. In The Shakedown, Alexander discusses the stretching of the 4th amendment, profitability of asset forfeiture, and unfixed issues pertaining to the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act. Alexander explains that the 4th amendment, although in the bill of rights, still remains a controversial “right”, especially during the midst of the War on Drugs. According to Alexander, law enforcers, in order to show that federal grant money for investigation was well-spent, tend to try to keep arrests at a maximum. Alexander also states that even today, illegal shakedowns continue to occur. Profitability of asset forfeiture is also an issue that Alexander discusses. As Alexander explained, engaging in shakedowns may be lucrative for law enforcers. For this reason, law enforcers tend to participate in these searches. According to Alexander, even small searches can be profitable, and they require less investigative resources than larger searches. Alexander stresses that despite whether or not suspects have large sums of money, the Task Force proceeds to seize the currency they find. Because of this, Congress passed the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act in 2000, which supposedly prohibits law enforcers from confiscating assets. Although the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act was built to secure assets, Alexander states that it misses the objective of doing so. The main issue is asset seizure, yet even after this act underwent many adjustments, unreasonable search and seizures are still perfectly legal. According to Alexander, one of the most prominent reasons why this happens is because of the War on Drugs. Since there is a direct correlation between the War on Drugs on asset forfeiture, Alexander believes that the longevity of the endeavor of asset forfeiture will remain intact as long as the War on Drugs exists.