Criminal Law Case Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Criminal Law Case Report - Essay Example She therefore initiated a legal action in order to challenge the constitutionality of the criminal abortion laws in Texas. There were additional plaintiffs, however, the facts were quite different than those of Roe. In particular, these plaintiffs were not pregnant and they did not present the same sense of urgency and relevance as existed in the case of Roe. The United State Supreme Court dismissed these plaintiffs because they lacked legal "standing" and because the issues in their cases were not yet decidable or "justiceable." This report, consequently, will focus on the specifics and the legal merits of the case involving Roe. The main questions presented are whether the Texas criminal abortion laws violate certain constitutional principles and provisions. Roe, a resident of Dallas, Texas, initiated this lawsuit in a federal court. The defendant was the District Attorney of the county in which she resided. She didn't sue for money; instead she requested that the federal court issue a declaratory judgment stating that the criminal abortion laws violated the federal constitution and she further requested that the federal court issue an injunction to prohibit the District Attorney from enforcing the criminal abortion statutes. ... Roe was successful as the federal trial court found that the ninth and fourteenth amendments did, in fact, extend to women a "fundamental right" to decide whether or not to have children. The federal court further decided that the Texas criminal abortion laws were "unconstitutionally vague" and that Roe was entitled to a declaratory judgment. A difficulty, however, was that because the criminal abortion laws were declared void, the injunctive relief requested by Roe was dismissed. Neither party was satisfied. Roe appealed from the rejection of her request for injunctive relief and the District Attorney appealed from the declaration that the criminal abortion laws were unconstitutional and therefore void. Traditionally, cases are appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. In this case, by contrast, a "protective appeal" was made to the 5th Circuit and also directly to the United States Supreme Court. The Supreme Court noted some awkwardness with the skipping of the intermediate appellate court, but at the same time noted that it had discretion to review the appeals. Therefore, the Supreme Court proceeded to review the case on its merits. Legal Discussion: The United States Supreme Court Justice Blackmun was compelled to address a number of preliminary issues prior to addressing the constitutionality of the Texas criminal abortion laws. There was a suggestion that Roe did not have legal standing to bring this case because she was not pregnant at certain times during the course of the litigation. The Supreme Court dismissed these arguments by stating that pregnancy is by its very nature a limited condition and that the legal issues were of sufficient important to

Population Growth and Climate change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Population Growth and Climate change - Essay Example All these happenings are consequences of human activities, which immensely increase the levels of carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Ever since the beginning of the industrial revolution, human activities such as burning of fossil fuels such as coal, deforestation, agricultural and industrial processes have risen (United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Policy, 1998). However, most of the greenhouse gases emanate from the burning of fossil fuels for energy. The greenhouse effect occurs when greenhouse gases behave like a blanket over the surface of the earth and trap energy. The entrapped energy causes the earth to heat up hence the reported temperature increases. Some activities that cause the emission of greenhouse gases are under the control of man and yet many more are beyond man’s jurisdiction. Numerous scientific researches reveal that human influence plays a crucial role in this quagmire (The heat is onli ne, n.d.). Therefore, it goes without saying that the magnitude of greenhouse gases emitted is proportional to the number of people inhabiting the earth. Little can be done to reduce the population of people on earth. However, a clear understanding of the effects of the population on climate change is essential in developing a feasible blueprint for the mitigation of the undesired effects of greenhouse gases emission. This paper reviews two articles that look at the relationship between population growth and changes in climate. The Relationship between N2O and CH4 Emissions from Agriculture and Population Growth The population increase and changes in the patterns of expenditure are increasing the universal requirements for agricultural products. Only developed countries are able to meet the increased demand with the escalation of agricultural extension techniques. These techniques increase the quantities of emitted greenhouse gases (GHG) such as methane and nitrous oxide. The 1997 K yoto protocol intends to set boundaries that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases especially in the developed countries (Annex 1). However, the developing countries (non-Annex 1) do not have targeted reduction levels. A report submitted in 2000 reveals that non-Annex 1 countries emit significantly higher amounts of GHG than Annex 1 countries. The rising population estimates that the GHG emissions in non-Annex 1 countries will increase tremendously because such countries heavily rely on agricultural production. Numerous studies focus on CO2 emission in relation to agricultural land use and yet N2O and CH4 absorbs 310 and 21 times more heat per unit weight than CO2 (Beek et al., 2010). This implies that agricultural growth is likely to be accompanied by high emissions of N2O and CH4. This paper uses ten non-Annex 1 countries and captures their key agricultural systems. Data revealing the production trends is obtained from FAOSTAT. Data from primary production (production of cereal) and secondary production (animal production) is expressed in terms of tonnes per year and livestock unit (LU) values. The EDGAR32 database and the national emission inventories of direct and indirect greenhouse gases provides data on N2O and CH4 emission. Statistical analysis reveals the relationship between demographic trends and emission of GHG, which is extrapolated to 2050. Agricultural production, as well as GHG emissions, increases in most countries. The study concludes that there