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Celebrity special treatment in the law
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Do Celebrities Get A Pass?
Since even the earliest civilizations, there have been laws. Laws are a fundamental part of our government. They help the average citizen navigate through life when situations arise and accidents happen. They are there as guidelines for safety and overall well-being of a society. A citizen has the power to seek justice through the help of our court system. The legal system also determines the consequences for citizens who break the laws. For the “average citizen” the legal system is right and just.
What about celebrities and people who are constantly in the media? They are just like us, they make mistakes. They have run-ins with the law, they need justice too. When a celebrity needs compensation for a wrongful death case, is it handed to them? When a celebrity has a DUI are their punishments as severe as the usual? When a celebrity is charged with possession of drugs, do they get treated like everyone else? When a celebrity is called for jury duty, are they given a fair chance to participate in this civil duty? Does the legal system go about treating celebrities the same way they would a regular person, why and how?
In the case of Michael Jackson’s death multiple wrongful death suites were filed. His personal physician Conrad Murray was on trial for involuntary manslaughter. November, 7, 2011 he was charged with being guilty. He received four years in prison. The Jackson family also sued AEG Live, the concert promotor for the This Is It Tour. The company hired Murray to be his personal physician. The jury found that AEG was not responsible for Jackson’s death. AEG did not have to compensate Katherine Jackson with the millions of dollars she asked for. This trial and Michael Jackson’s death had the in...
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... everyone else. Laws which were created as guidelines for a better, safer, and happier community. Just like laws were there in even the earliest of civilizations they will be there for generations to come.
In conclusion, Through researching cases of Michael Jackson, Amanda Bynes, Lindsay Lohan, Tiger Woods, Justin Bieber, and other celebrities I have found that the legal system intends to treat celebrities equal to everyone else but sometimes their status can get in the way of what is truly just. Celebrities get caught up in their own ego and believe that they are invinsible. Hopefully as some of these stars mature they will begin to realize that the their actions will be measured to the same degree to those of non-celebrity status. I hope that famous people are given a fair opportunity to participate in jury duty and other roles in our government if they so wish to.
The O.J. Simpson trial, as it became known, opened on January 24, 1995 and concluded October 3 the same year. Over the span of the trial, the prosecution team presented 72 witnesses including friends and family of Nicole, friends of O.J., and a 9-1-1 dispatcher. Given the trial’s notable and well-known defendant, those involved in the trial gained lifetime fame. To this day I can still recall the names Judge Lance Ito, Marcia Clark (Deputy District Attorney), and Simpson’s defense counsel, “The Dream Team,” which consisted of a number of high-profile attorneys, most notably Robert Shapiro and Johnnie Cochran. I chose this case because it left a lasting impression in my memory, as well as a lasting impression in our nation’s memory. There have been many high-profile cases over the years, but this case was not predicted to end the way it di...
In each of the cases discussed in this report, the court is presented the challenge of deciding whether to protect a celebrityʻs right to publicity or to protect and artistʻs constitutional right to free speech. These protections are at conflict because the First amendment encourages the unencumbered exchange of ideas and public discourse, which celebrities are an inextricable part of. Yet, the right to publicity entitles a celebrity to profit from their reputation and prevent others from doing so. Despite the similarities present between these cases, the evidence presented as well as the circumstances surrounding each case distinguish them from each other. For example, the first two cases involve the argument of a videogame companyʻs use of
This sort of behavior is constant over time. Celebrities today are posted and paraded all over TV and magazines, no matter what they do. Justin Beiber was caught drunk driving, stealing property, and many more crimes.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Athletes and celebrities are always the star; when they play in the championship game, star in an award-winning movie, make the #1 album/single of the year, or win any type of award (Nobel, Pulitzer, Fields, Grammy, Tony, Oscar, etc). Even if they break the law, they still are the star of attention. With the cases of several celebrities and athletes, evidence is apparent of notable unfairness. One of the most popular cases of all time, the O.J. Simpson v. the People, also exhibits huge amounts of obvious inequitable treatment compared to the ordinary people’s cases. Though some people beg to differ with the visible proof that celebrities and athletes do receive undeserved special treatment and say that they just had some “good luck,” there
In Collin Palmers short essay response, various amounts of people would agree with Palmers argument, but I feel that nowadays celebrities are not aware of their actions which goes around quickly. For example, in the Deborah Kings
In every society around the world, the law is affecting everyone since it shapes the behavior and sense of right and wrong for every citizen in society. Laws are meant to control a society’s behavior by outlining the accepted forms of conduct. The law is designed as a neutral aspect existent to solve society’s problems, a system specially designed to provide people with peace and order. The legal system runs more efficiently when people understand the laws they are intended to follow along with their legal rights and responsibilities.
“I can say unequivocally that celebrities are treated with kid gloves by comparison to their day-to-day counterparts. There is great deference given to them by officers, from the moment of custody to the booking stage to getting cells of their own.” - Steven Knowles. (Gornstein). Today, there are several incidents where celebrities are caught breaking the law, but they do not get the punishment for it. Celebrities and wealthy people on the high popularity scale get special treatment in the court of law.
There is a big social issue arising in the United States with all of these up and coming stars. Do celebrities, including athletes, have an obligation to speak out about social issues in our country? The answer is yes, their opinion holds more value in times like today than any average person. People will listen to celebrities because we admire them, and they have an obligation to help our country. This is a huge deal in our country because of many problems reoccurring in our country like racism, police brutality, and homosexuality.
laws made by others in our society, and decide whether or not the laws we make
Celebrities. We all want to live like they do; we all want to experience what they do; to be accepted in a way that is purely envious. More importantly, we want all the extras that celebrities receive in life. One of those extras seems to be the beating the justice system. Beating is a strong word; I prefer to use the word whitewashing. Why is it that when a celebrity goes on trial, the public seems to be transfixed on the outcome? Does the public even know why or how the accused celebrity manages to be not guilty after not guilty after not guilty? Lets be honest, it is jury of our peers that decides our fate in the legal system. Just because you are a celebrity does not mean that you have a hall pass to a not guilty plea. Now take a step back from all I have said; the extras that I had mentioned are the advantage that celebrities have over the average citizen. Money, the media, and even the jurors and the prosecution play roles that aid the defendant. The fact is that when celebrities are on trial for serious crimes, the advantages that they have are prevalent, and our usually overshadowed by the media coverage that comes with it.
What can they with so much money? It doesn't go off well to people that have a immense job like a doctor or lawyer, that they help out the world much more but don't get as much money as an person who just entertains. Police officers and firefighters are well respected professions that assure our lives while risking their own, and don't earn close to what these celebrities are making. Teachers educate the next generation of kids and have the biggest impact on kids besides their parents, while celebrities make millions acting in a movie, or creating a YouTube video. Celebrities don't even work for very long, unless they're good. They get too much money from endorsements that we buy from. Some people criticize that celebrities make unreasonable money, but don't do anything to stop it, instead they help celebrities make more
How far would you go to get that story or to snap that front page picture? How far is too far? The issue of privacy has taken a new toll, where do you draw the line? The news media (Toronto Star, CTV & CBC) are all networks that I believe still respect that value of privacy with the youth act not addressing there name or picture, or when it comes to getting the story it doesn’t seem that there exploiting people for the benefit of the story, on the other hand a lot of the debate and pressure is coming from the entertainment aspect of the media where a celebrity losses all privacy. My argument is that do we celebrities for the over exploitation on themselves or do we blame the tabloids/paparazzi. Is the way they go about in finding their stories different is there difference between the tabloids (shorten in length and full with pretty pictures
Law in my view may be described as a set of rules that are manmade, through the formal legislative frameworks such as the parliament, with the intention of regulating aspects of life of those subject to it.( "Province of Jurisprudence Determined”) It generally governs the social behavior of its subjects and affords rights, but also imposes duties and responsibilities on them with the purpose of creating order and certainty. Along with the aforementioned it generally provides for sanctions when these laws are not obeyed.(China Law review pg.1) What is important to notice is that in a modern constitutional democracy the constituency of law is theoretically decided on by the society, meaning their moral values are bound to influence what they would want to be law. Further laws are regulated by a constitution, or supreme law. In South Africa for instance the Constitution (The constitution of the republic of SA, 1996) is founded on values such as human dignity, equality and freedom. These are not only found in law, but also in morality.
Do we as a society have the right to punish celebrities when they misbehave? Do celebrities have the right to become livid when they are focused on their immoral behavior? Do they love the media attention only when it benefits them? Before we can answer the above questions, would we, furthermore, can we live our life as a celebrity if given the opportunity? The perks of illimitable wealth, vacationing all over the world, housekeepers, chefs, being in receipt of freebies from designers, multiple homes in diverse parts of the world, chauffeurs, the finest foods, and all the other perks that come with being a celebrity?
According to Reference.com (2007), law is defined as: "rules of conduct of any organized society, however simple or small, that are enforced by threat of punishment if they are violated. Modern law has a wide sweep and regulates many branches of conduct." Essentially law is the rules and regulations that aid in governing conduct, handling disputes, and dealing with criminal actions.