Political Science

Where did the right to privacy originate

The right to privacy actually originated with the United States Supreme Court in two rather famous cases.  In 1928 in the case of Olmstead V. United States in which Olmstead lost on a technicality, Justice Louis Brandeis wrote a dissenting argument that stated his opinion that the Bill of Rights, while never using the word privacy, inferred that Americans do indeed have a right to privacy.  In  the case of Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 decided in favor of Griswold,  Justice William O. Douglas wrote that there are penumbras and extensions within the Bill of Rights of that create zones of privacy.  These penumbras and extensions can be found in the First, Third, Fourth, Fifth and Ninth Amendments.  (Harris, Leslie  Associates, Constitutional Origin of The Right to Privacy.  Prepared for The American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy, httpwww.fontanalib.org.)

Should juveniles be charged with serious crimes such as murder be treated as adults  Can children have intent

I believe that each case has to be considered individually as each incident of crime usually has several mitigating factors.  In the case of very young children, their brains arent developed to the point of impulse control so how can they be held responsible as an adult  Also, most children and teenagers live in the moment, they dont think ahead nor do they take time to consider the consequences of their actions.  I believe that children can have intent.  Recently in the news is a report of a 14-year old who shot his mother and stepfather dead because he wanted to get out of doing chores.  It was premeditated murder in that he went to his parents closet, retrieved the gun from the locked box and shot his mother then laid in wait for his stepfather.  I believe he should be tried as an adult, however, he should be incarcerated with kids his own age and be provided every opportunity for rehabilitation.  If he cannot be rehabilitated, he should be transferred to an adult facility when he turns 18.

What kind of incentives would motivate you to participate in an interest group  Among people you know who are active, what are their incentives

I would have to be interested in the topic of the group to even consider participating, whether there were incentives or not.  Money or other material rewards would be a motivating incentive to participate.  Another incentive would be if my input had some influence on the topic.  If it were a topic I felt passionate about I would participate if I felt that my voice was really going to be heard and make a difference.  One other reason I would participate in an interest group would be just plain curiosity.  Of the friends I polled with this question, the answers were the same as mine although several did say if money were the incentive, they would participate whether they were interested in the topic or not.