Peculiarities of Political System in California - Assignment Example

How System Differs Since its inception, the Constitution of the California envisages a different set of separation of powers as it is described in the Federal Constitution of the country. Intrinsically, the law in United States to allow States to adapt a different approach than that of the Federal Government in terms of managing the lives of the citizens. The overall separation of powers in California can only be accepted by the courts if one branch of government has actually intervened into the core functions of another branch which ultimately creates the violation of the separation of powers within the State. Under the existing rules, the incidental impairments are not considered as violation of the separation of powers and as such reasonable regulation is permissible under the law. It is also because of this reason that certain overlaps exist between the institutions wherein they continue to perform their duties while at the same time remains independent from each other. It is also critical to note that the powers conferred to the Federal Government and the resulting system of the separation of powers is dependent on the powers conferred to the federal government by the States and as such the overall powers of the federal government are limit. On this ground, like other States, there is an intrinsic different between the systems of checks and balances at the federal and state level due to plenary powers available to the States. The plenary power in turn is actually being driven by the people living in the States therefore the States actually enjoy relatively larger powers in terms of deciding what constitutes the separation of powers and the system of checks and balances. (Pollock) Prison Problem in California California is considered as a state which has a lot of potential because of its ability to produce individuals and businesses who are innovators and can make a fresh start. However, the overall criminal justice system of the State is considered as one of the black spots on the prison system of the State. Over the period of last 25 years there have been many lawsuits effectively challenging the prison system of the State because it is not only overcrowded but it is also presenting a challenge in terms of providing safe and healthy conditions to the prisoners. The 2011 decision by Supreme Court is a vivid example of how bad the prison system of California has become over the period of time. The Supreme Court decision of 2011 clearly sheds light on the overcrowded prison system of the state and how it is creating challenges in terms of offering safe and healthy living standards which are guaranteed under the constitution for every citizen. (Gilmore) The California State Prison System is administered by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation while State approximately spends 7% of the budget on the correction and rehabilitation of the prison inmates, these figures clearly suggest that the overall nature and extent of the problem being faced by the California State. The Supreme Court decision to actually release the overall population of the prisons within the State requires to be reduced by tens of thousands. It is argued that this problem has multiple reasons as to why the population of prisons kept on growing since 1970s. One of the key reasons is that of the excessive punishment given to the offenders because the laws are based upon giving punishments based upon fear and vengeance. The State drastically changed the laws and started to punish offenders due to the fear of facing high crime rates during 1970s and 1980s. certain high profile murders such as the murder of Polly Klauss made the State more fearful of the rising rates of crime. In the span of five to ten years, more than 1000 laws were passed to actually increase the overall sentencing of the offenders based upon relatively smaller crimes. The overall strict nature of the laws makes it a problem because of the punishments given to the offenders. The Three Strikes law is considered as one of the prime examples of how one law is causing more than 9000 people to actually serve life prison in the State. It is also critical to note that once the overall legislative process became tough and difficult for the offenders, State actually started to loosen its interests in the reforms programs to increase the education and awareness about the crime and how the offenders will actually be punished at the law. The overall slow-down in the reforms actually made it difficult for the prisoners to make a new life once they are out of the prisons. Due to lack of education and skill development in the prisons, prisoners often ended up at prisons again during their parole and as such the complexity of the laws made it relatively difficult for the prisoners to settle once they complete their sentence or released on parole. There was a gradual shift towards the change in the overall political stance on the prisons and criminal justice within the State during 1980s. Gradually, administrative focus shifted from rehabilitation to that of the punishment making it more difficult for the prison system to accommodate and hold a gradually increasing number of prison inmates. Apart from this, it has also been indicated that there was an element of racial bias involved too due to diverse population of the State and presence of White people on the parole boards representing the local elites rather than representing the labor and poor class of the State which formulated much of the population of California. (Cummins) The above discussion therefore clearly suggests that on one hand, excessive legislation and the implementation of laws in strict manner has resulted into a drastic increase in the population in prisons. Apart from this, the State is also not spending much despite the fact that it is spending 7% of its budget on the prisons however, considering the overall population in the prisons this seem to be a low amount. It I however, also important to note that there have been recent changes especially after the Supreme Court judgment of 2011. There have been new legislations which attempted to withdraw the laws which are considered as redundant or too tough on the smaller crimes. The passing of proposition 36 has made the intentions of the voters clear that the people of the State may no longer want to believe in strict sentencing laws and therefore are ready to make changes which can drastically reduce the number of prisoners in the State. After the Supreme Court judgment there has been a gradual reduction in the number of prisons inmates suggesting that the State is working towards correcting this problem. It is also critical to note that much of the California’s problems may also be due to the nature and dimensions of its political economy. It is probably among the top 10 economies in the world and due to the fact that it offers opportunity, it is also a hub for immigrants and diversity. The resulting demographic diversity actually created significant challenges for the State also because of the political compulsions and other related issues. Due to the economic changes which took place during 1970s and 1980s mainly due to capital movement and other natural disasters, the economic advantage of California was relatively lessening. It was due to this reason that there was a far cry for an increased crime rates in the State and hence much tougher laws were made to deal with this issue. It is therefore really critical to analyze that the California’s problem is deeply rooted in the way its society is operating. Its overall political system has been designed and developed in a manner which reflects the overall public aspirations and opinions. As such the overall legislative process is also affected by the governance system of the State. This problem therefore is largely due to the way the overall political and legislative system of the State has been shaped over the period of last many years. The prison problem gradually emerged out of the deep rooted structural problems in the way California is being governed and one of the reasons may be its focus on direct democracy. Direct Democracy Direct Democracy is a tool where people have the power to decide on important policy related issues. In representative democracy, the chosen representatives actually make the decisions on behalf of the people however, in direct democracy, general public is involved in the decision making process at policy level. Direct democracy actually allows the States to involve public in making any constitutional amendments and seek their direct opinion on the issues which are critical and important in nature. California is experimenting with direct democracy since 1911 and so far its experience is considered as good because of the fact that public has given its opinion on important issues faced by the State through different initiatives. The tools of direct democracy adapted by the California include referendum, recall and initiatives. Referendum actually refers to the right of the people to actually accept or reject any legislative act or any legislation referred to them by the elected representatives. It often takes place through a direct vote wherein individuals are asked for their direct opinion on the proposed legislative acts. Recall is the right of the public to remove any person from the public office even before he or she has completed the term. Initiative on the other hand, however, gives power to the public to actually propose legislations and or reject laws through the direct poll independent of the legislative branch of the government. All three tools give powers to the people to act and intervene into State issues to some extent. It is important to note that Californian voters actually used the initiative to overcome the constitutional deadlock and since initiative requires statewide approval therefore it is considered as a more equitable application of the legislative power as compared to the legislators participating on the basis of geographical districts of the States. As such this has allowed the public to become more involved in having their voice heard in the matters of public importance. The overall history of the State suggests that it has used the tool of recall in both positive as well as negative manner. Forcing out of the Governor Gray Davis is a great example of how public has actually reacted towards the state expenses, deregulation of the utilities as well as other related issues. The Three Strikes Law which punishes the habitual offenders and allows courts to sentence them has been the result of the public intervention into the affairs of the State. It is however, can easily be assumed that this initiative by the public may be the direct result of the cumulative fear of the general public regarding perceived fear of a rise in the street crime. It is also important to note that through a ballot rolled back the property taxes and further made it difficult for the counties to actually collect such taxes. As a result of this the overall state revenue declined and the money to be spent on the rehabilitation and correction of the prison inmates during their stay in the jails. It is also critical to note that due to the direct democracy, there exists a sharp division between the counties and the State regarding the funding of the correction system. California is probably the only State in the nation which relies on the funding for the rehabilitation of the prison inmates on the counties. The proposition 36 is considered as one of the initiatives wherein the voters through initiative passed a legislative act through which the offenders with minor crimes were to be separated from the jails and being put in community rehabilitation centers. Besides, through this initiative, an expansion of funding was also approved by the voters in favor of drug courts and allowing availability of more funds for the rehabilitation of drug users rather than putting them into jails for minor crimes. (Baldassare and Katz) This initiative by the public was the result of the direct awareness of the fact that it may be actually expensive to treat drug addicts in jails than in the rehabilitation facilities. With higher number of people being declared as the drug addicts in the State this was an important initiative. The above discussion suggests that tools of democracy have been both beneficial as well as harmful for the State. At some point in time they proved as beneficial because new laws were enacted to deal with the potential threat however, with the recent changes, it has become clear that tools of democracy need to be exercised for the benefit of prison inmates. It is clear that people have exercised their right to influence different constitutional issues and to some extent they were successful also. However, the power given to the public to approve the budgets or to raise the taxes created delays and inefficiencies within the criminal justice system of the State which further aggravated the situation and resulted into an increase in the prison population in the State. Opinion Considering the above debate, it is clear that the issue of prisons in California is a deep rooted issue and drastic measures are required to change the situation and bring it in line with the instructions of the Supreme Court. One of the key steps which can be taken by the State is to basically increase the overall budget to be spent on the jails and increase the number of facilities. By increasing the number of facilities California can actually reduce the burden on its existing facilities and improve the overall safety and health conditions within the acceptable range. However, in order to achieve this, the politicians and the executive may have to make political moves in order to generate sufficient public interest to actually raise this issue. Though the awareness is already being created however, to achieve the drastic changes and to bring the problem under the control, it is important first to not only design effective legislations but also generate sufficient public opinion in their favor so that they can easily be passed on. (Page) It is also important for the State to actually increase its expenditure on the education and rehabilitation of the inmates. Due to its peculiar geographical position, easy access for the immigrants and booming economy, it is more challenging for California to increase the expenditure on issues which are relatively non-productive in nature however, it has to incur the expenses on education and rehabilitation in order to reduce the chances of relapse specially by those inmates who are charged on the minor counts. State must be able to budget properly to accommodate such expenses and make more room for the rehabilitation of the prisoners in order to help them to better integrate with other main expenditure heads of its budget. Above all, there is an effort to make an integrated effort in order to reduce the prison population in the State. Works Cited Baldassare, Mark and Cheryl Katz. The Coming Age of Direct Democracy: Californias Recall and Beyond. Washington: Rowman & Littlefield, 2008. Cummins, Eric. The Rise and Fall of Californias Radical Prison Movement. Boston: Stanford University Press, 1994. Gilmore, Ruth Wilson. Golden Gulag: Prisons, Surplus, Crisis, and Opposition in Globalizing California. California: University of California Press, 2007. Page, Joshua. The Toughest Beat: Politics, Punishment, and the Prison Officers Union in California. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. Pollock, Joycelyn M. Prisons Today and Tomorrow. London: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2009. Read More