Honouring the social contact: Toward ending the "Awful but Lawful" era

Abstract

Honouring the social contact: Toward ending the “Awful but Lawful” era Charles E. “Chuck” MacLean, J.D., PhD1, walks us through his research about honouring the social contract toward, in his opinion, ending the “awful but lawful” era when it comes to criminal justice in the United States. The United States Constitution, arisen from the Age of Enlightenment, formed the social contract between the American People and their Government, with limited, shared powers exercised by the Government and defined and circumscribed by and with the consent of the People. In a word, the Government must stop authorizing – largely led by U.S. Supreme Court decisions – the wholesale erosion of the constitutional social contract in the quest to serve majority preferences and law enforcement expedience at the expense of individuals’ and minorities’ rights and privileges. Simply put, during the “awful but lawful” era, 1969 to the present, unconstitutional government action has been repeatedly celebrated and cemented by successive Supreme Court decisions devoid of true jurisprudence and guided instead, in my opinion, by elitist tropes empowering monied and White interests over all others.