That
Court granted a new hearing to a Delaware murderer who challenged
prosecutorial reference to his current membership in a violent white
racist prison gang, citing the racist's First Amendment free
association rights.
Following favorable ruling for that avowed racist, Abu-Jamal unsuccessfully sought Supreme Court reconsideration of its rejection of his challenge of prosecutors violating First Amendment protections by referencing his teenaged membership in the Black Panther Party.
Months after spurning Abu-Jamal's request, the Supreme Court granted relief to a white Nevada murderer challenging prosecutorial reference of his membership in a devil worshipping cult - citing its prison racist ruling precedent.
Equal protection of laws seemingly should have provided an ex-Black Panther with the same protection of rights extended to a racist gang member and devil worshipper given similarities in their respective appeals.
While it's true that courts enjoy wide discretion in interpreting law as those courts deem appropriate, disparate rulings in the Abu-Jamal case raise real questions about courts acting in accordance with America's bedrock principle of equal-justice-under-law.
The most disturbing aspect of the Abu-Jamal case is that evident improprieties by police, prosecutors and jurists ignored in this matter are deprivations endured daily by defendants nationwide, undermining equal justice under law - that phrase chiseled above the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court building.
--Linn Washington Jr., columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune, is a former Yale Law Journalism Fellow who writes frequently about the Abu-Jamal case and other issues involving race-based inequities in America. He is author of Black Judges on Justice: Perspectives from the Bench, published by The New Press.
Following favorable ruling for that avowed racist, Abu-Jamal unsuccessfully sought Supreme Court reconsideration of its rejection of his challenge of prosecutors violating First Amendment protections by referencing his teenaged membership in the Black Panther Party.
Months after spurning Abu-Jamal's request, the Supreme Court granted relief to a white Nevada murderer challenging prosecutorial reference of his membership in a devil worshipping cult - citing its prison racist ruling precedent.
Equal protection of laws seemingly should have provided an ex-Black Panther with the same protection of rights extended to a racist gang member and devil worshipper given similarities in their respective appeals.
While it's true that courts enjoy wide discretion in interpreting law as those courts deem appropriate, disparate rulings in the Abu-Jamal case raise real questions about courts acting in accordance with America's bedrock principle of equal-justice-under-law.
The most disturbing aspect of the Abu-Jamal case is that evident improprieties by police, prosecutors and jurists ignored in this matter are deprivations endured daily by defendants nationwide, undermining equal justice under law - that phrase chiseled above the entrance to the U.S. Supreme Court building.
--Linn Washington Jr., columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune, is a former Yale Law Journalism Fellow who writes frequently about the Abu-Jamal case and other issues involving race-based inequities in America. He is author of Black Judges on Justice: Perspectives from the Bench, published by The New Press.
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