Judge Dee Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is a translated Chinese mystery story of a judge who investigates three murder cases. While he is solving the cases he sometimes used dreams, fortune telling, and ghosts to help decided on the case. According to the preface, “The law permits the judge to put the question to the defendant under torture, provided that there is sufficient proof of his guilt.” (Judge Dee, p. XVIII). When Judge Dee is in the process of solving the cases he uses torture to get a confession out of all the suspects he interrogates. Since the Judge is using ghosts, dreams, and fortune telling for ways to help him decide the case, it is possible that he will torture an innocent person. A concern for the common people is that he …show more content…
In the book, Judge Dee is torturing Mrs. Djou to confess and she responds, “If you, because of a private grudge, persist in slandering and torturing me, well, they say that the doors of the higher authorities are always open for the persecuted and the oppressed.” (Judge Dee, p.61). This statement shows that the power of the Magistrate is a concern and the government has allowed the people to complain if the Magistrate is using his political powers unjustly. This also shows that Mrs. Djou has the ability to defend herself against being treated unjustly and can go to someone higher than Judge Dee to complain that she has been tortured while she is innocent of the crime accused against her. The opinion of the general public also have a way to get rid of the Judge, “If the populace were to choose to sabotage the administration of a magistrate, taxes would not have been paid on time…. And after a few months a censor would have appeared on the scene, for the purpose of investigation.” (Judge Dee, p.XXII). If the public did not like the Judge they could not obey him and cause him trouble by not paying taxes which would get the Judge in trouble with the potential of him losing his job. This show that the people have some way to remove a Judge that is not fair by either going to the government that is in control of him or by giving him trouble by not paying taxes and …show more content…
Near the end of the book Judge Dee has finished getting the confessions out of three suspects, the crime they committed recommends death as the punishment. So he gathered all the evidence and submitted it to the Imperial Court. A couple weeks later in the book it says, “the prefect forwarded the Imperial ratification of the capital punishments proposed for Shao Lee-huai, Hsu Deh-tai and Mrs. Djou with only a few changes made by the Board of Punishments, on the recommendation of the Metropolitan Court.” (Judge Dee, p. 213). This shows that Judge Dee can not punish his suspects however he wants. He has to prove the case and submit it to the Metropolitan Court if the punishment is to be death. The higher courts have to approve the punishment and tell the judge how the death penalty should be carried out. The police that works for the Judge have the ability to not obey the Judge because they know that if they torture an innocent person that they will be punished also. So the Judge also have to prove to the people that works for him that follow out his orders that he is correct because they also risk the possibility of death and punishment if he is wrong. The person that is accused also have the power to not be punished unjustly because Judge Dee can not prove that someone is guilty unless the suspect confess to the
Johnny Cade did not kill unlawfully and also he can’t apply for a minor committing the crime because he’s 16, one year over the limit. According to Oklahoma law, first-degree murder is a person “unlawfully and with malice aforethought causes the death of another human being.” It is also not manslaughter because it is not a homicide committed without a design to effect death and in the heat of passion, but in a cruel and unusual manner, or by means of a dangerous weapon. Johnny did not have time to think and had to stab Bob to save Ponyboy’s life. Ponyboy was being drowned and to save him, Johnny had to commit the act of homicide. It lists that it was a justifiable homicide because it means that homicide is legal when committed in the lawful
The novel, Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is set in China during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE). In Chang-Ping, the town located in the Province of Shantung, Judge Dee is a magistrate and the "father and mother" of the people. A Magistrate is a judge, detective, and a peacekeeper who captures criminals and is responsible for reprimanding them. The novel goes through three cases in which Judge Dee solves murders and punishes those responsible. As a Magistrate, you need to have knowledge of Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism in order to excel. A magistrate has a lot of power which comes with a lot of responsibility and consequences. If a magistrate were to wrongfully execute someone, said magistrate would then be executed which is why the prestigious position requires a certain type. Judge Dee is that type, he is an excellent Magistrate because he has good judgment, knowledge of Confucian, Dao and legalist beliefs and is not afraid to take risks in finding the truth of a mystery.
Judge Danforth’s conduct during the course of these tragic trials have lead me to be soured of the judicial community’s lack of impartiality. Judge Danforth is not alone in his quest for “justice”. Many other judges have used “divine right” as an excuse for the murder of innocent people. The witch trials are a mockery,that have no proof, evidence, or any other grounds for a trial. The only evidence they have, if we can even call it evidence, “spectral” evidence and hearsay. They be hanging people because a party of 16 year old lying heathens have claimed manifested spirits of the convicted have attacked them. How can these children blind the court, enough to get people murdered, under the guise of being bewitched. God save Salem
INTRODUCTION United States Supreme Court case Scott v. Sanford (1857), commonly known as the Dred Scott Case, is probably the most famous case of the nineteenth century (with the exception possibly of Marbury v. Madison). It is one of only four cases in U. S. history that has ever been overturned by a Constitutional amendment (overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments). It is also, along with Marbury, one of only two cases prior to the Civil War that declared a federal law unconstitutional. This case may have also been one of the most, if not the most, controversial case in American history, due simply to the fact that it dealt an explosive opinion on an issue already prepared to erupt - slavery. Thus, many scholars assert that the
The book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee takes place in the Tang Dynasty in a region of China called Chang-ping. The time in which the book took place was a very Confucian society due to the resurrection of the Confucian Educational System. This society emphasized beliefs such as the importance of the government, education, filial piety, and the 5 relationships. It believed that the gentleman was the embodiment of all these characteristics and was held to the highest standards. Legalism was the practiced legal system at the time. In the legal system, it was expected that to those who were accused of wrongdoings were to be tortured into confessing their crimes and the punishments were very severe. One of the ways Legalism worked was that when one was suspected to be guilty, the confession would be tortured out of them, rather than searching and comparing all the suspects. The society of the time also practiced and believed in spiritual entities. They 'd pray in temples for answers to their questions and the response they 'd get were taken seriously. These were the common practices of the time. This novel focuses on Dee Jen-djieh, or more commonly known as Judge Dee. He is the magistrate of Chang-ping and is famous for solving many successful and puzzling cases. He is an honest, wise, benevolent, justice-loving magistrate, although some members of the public believe he is too rash in judgments and often jumps to conclusions. Judge Dee is a good magistrate because he is
In the State of Texas, we have a rather odd way of selecting which judges will and will not be able to have a job in the State of Texas. The way we select them is the same way that we decide who is going to be the governor of the State of Texas, we elected them. There are many flaws with choosing election as the way of picking who will be judges. Some of the flaws are that there will possibly be a lack of minority chosen, voters tend to know little to none information about the local election let alone the candidates up for judges, and finally people contributing to campaigns. While few people know that this how we elected judges in Texas, but even fewer realize the consequences the will continue to pile up if we do not do something to put an end to this ludicrous way of choosing an influential position of office.
In Texas, the Judicial system is made of up judges whose jurisdiction ranges from municipal, county, probate, district, and justice of the peace courts, each of which undergoes an election process, one which is the same for each judge, expect for the municipal. An advocate for another system, Wallace Jefferson, firmly believes that an appointment system should take place for all judges to assure that those who are put into a position are done so based off of merit and qualification. However, given the current system, judges, per say those who wish to serve on a district court, must adhere to these requirements. Judges must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Texas, have been practicing law as a lawyer or state judge for at least four years, be between the ages of 25 and 75 and be a resident of their respective judicial district for two years, minimum.
In the State of New Hampshire judges are appointed. They are nominated by the governor and confirmed by an elected five member executive council to guide the governor. This process is in place to allow residents to have faith in who is being chosen. The lowest tier trial court are called The Circuit Courts. The highest court is the New Hampshire Supreme Court, which is also the only appeals court for the state. There are ten Circuit Courts in the state which serve thirty two district divisions. The 1st Circuit Court serves the towns of Berlin, Colebrook, and Lancaster. The 2nd Circuit Court serves the towns of Lebanon, Littleton, Haverhill, and Plymouth. The 3rd Circuit Court serves the towns of Conway and Ossipee. The 4th Circuit Court
Chief Justice William Howard Taft was very influential in initiating improvements to the federal judicial system. William Taft, a former president, aided in the development of policies that would unify the judiciary system and aid in stream lining the federal judicial system. He enacted changes to the judicial system that improved the system immensely. The method that he used to achieve the many improvements that he enacted during his tenure as a Chief Justice was through legislative Acts such as the Act of 14 of September 1922.
The translated novel Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee tells of a district magistrate of Chang-Ping in the T’ang Dynasty named Judge Dee Goong An, famous for his ability to solve mysterious cases. This is simple enough, except it is immediately evident to the reader that Judge Dee is not just a normal magistrate content with solving a case – it is easy to see that he always digs deeper. His success is unparalleled in the land, his actions laid out without a single corrupt thought or a lax view. What makes Judge Dee so effective? How is he able to look past the most obvious answers to find the one that is correct? It is obvious that he can only do this with the help of various different philosophies. These philosophies provided him
Using the example of the case of Damon Thibodaux, he was taken for questioning after a girl who they were last seen with went missing. She was found strangled and naked (Leo, 2008). A homicide officer took over the case, and Thibodaux was interrogated for several hours. Although Thibodaux repeatedly said he knew nothing about the murder, the interrogation kept going, eventually the officer was able to record a statement from Thibodaux pleading guilty of consensual and non-consensual sex with the victim, beating, and assassinating her. Thibodaux was condemned to death, and was to spend fifteen years on death row and sixteen years in jail before DNA examination confirmed that he was not guilty (Kassin, 2013). Thibodauxs exoneration proceeding concluded that fatigue and exhaustion from the overnight search for the girl, the long interrogation, psychological vulnerability, and fear of the death penalty led to the false confession by Thibodaux (Leo, 2008). This case is a great example of
Judge Dee was considered the “Father and Mother Official.” Magistrates function as a judge, jury, prosecutor, and detective. He was the highest power in his district and was in charge of many things. He was in charge of the town, land administration, the tribunal, the bureau for the collection of taxes, the register office, and the public order in the district. Magistrates had to have great moral strength, intellectual power, and refined literati also trained on Chinese letter and arts. Without any of these skills, the magistrate would have failed his job. He would have barely gained any support since these skills were signs of a good leader. The Magistrates were almost miniature monarchs of their own lands. Even though whatever they say is not law, they are able to convict and torture people until they listen. Judge Dee took everything under his control form the detective work to sentences. He used lieutenants and constables to help out, but most work was done single-handedly. No one else I the district has more power than him. A few magistrates in the book even had their own private army for example; the magistrate in Turnip Pass had a garrison to protect the area from criminals. Magistrates are supposed to be truth-seeking men. Judge Dee is obviously truth seeking because he tries to see why the husband died in “The Strange Corpse” even though no one filed a complaint, he did this for righteousness, which is looked for in
The Capitol had importance in colonial times and it still has significance today. Court took result in the capitol. It gives us an example of court in Colonial Williamsburg. Court happened in the first floor of the west building and was active when there was a crime, like today. The punishment was rather different from today. Sometimes they would brand criminals, or tar and feather you, or if criminals did a felon the court would hang them, but they would not jail you. They thought that jailing was cruel and unusual punishment. First, if criminals committed a misdemeanor the court would brand them. Branding is when a metal bar with jagged edges is heated up and is placed on the criminal’s hand. It would stay there for a long time, to shame
On Friday, April, 4, 2014, I observed the Vanderburgh County Superior Court to observe different family law cases. The cases I heard involved contempt of court for failing to pay child support, failure to appear for a court appointed drug test, birth certificate affidavit, request for contest hearing time, and an issue of paternity case. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Corcoran was presiding over the family court hearings. When entering the courthouse, I was greeted by security and advised to remove any cell phones, and/or, any other items that would trigger a metal detector. After this, I proceeded straight to look for the family courtroom. After roaming around mindlessly for a couple minutes, I decided to ask the courthouse officer monitoring
It was the year of 1857 and a robust wind blew through the South as the air was filled with both victory and horrific disappointment. An ordinary man named Dred Scott began his journey for his rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Scott’s struggle for freedom would come to make him one of the most famous plaintiffs in American history and a worldwide symbol for emancipation. Scott happened to be of African descent which was an extremely difficult obstacle to live with in early America. The Dred Scott decision made by the supreme court in March of 1857 negatively impacted the United States by empowering the South, contributing to the secession, and expediting the Civil War.