Shocks the conscience

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Shocks the conscience is a phrase used as a legal standard in the United States and Canada. An action is understood to "shock the conscience" if it is "grossly unjust to the observer." [1]

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United States

In US law, the phrase typically describes whether or not the due process requirement of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution has been met. [2] The term originally entered into case law with Rochin v. California (1953). This balancing test is often cited as having subsequently been used in a particularly subjective manner. [3] [4]

The term is also used in some jurisdictions as a means to determine whether a jury award is out of line with the underlying civil wrong; a jury award can be overturned on appeal if, by its amount relative to the underlying civil wrong, it "shocks the conscience".

"Shock the conscience" has also been used as a constitutional standard in discussing the issue of whether or not detainees can be tortured.

Canada

In Canada the phrase was adopted in the case Canada v Schmidt (1987) to determine whether extradition would be a breach of fundamental justice under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms . A court may look at the justice system of another country, and disregarding "finicky" requirements of fundamental justice in Canada, may consider some potential punishments in other countries to be so outrageous that a person should not be put at risk by the extraditing government. The measure was used in United States v Burns (2001) to find that the possibility of execution would shock the conscience. Critics such as Professor Peter Hogg have suggested that the use of this measure indicates courts have "enormous discretion," and he argues this is demonstrated by inconsistencies between what is considered shocking and what is considered cruel and unusual punishment. [5]

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<i>United States v Burns</i> Supreme Court of Canada case

United States v Burns [2001] 1 S.C.R. 283, 2001 SCC 7, was a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada that found that extradition of individuals to countries in which they may face the death penalty is a breach of fundamental justice under section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The decision reached that conclusion by a discussion of evidence regarding the arbitrary nature of execution although the Court did not go so far as to say that execution was also unconstitutional under section 12 of the Charter, which forbids cruel and unusual punishments.

<i>Canada v Schmidt</i> Supreme Court of Canada case

Canada v Schmidt, [1987] 1 S.C.R. 500, is a decision by the Supreme Court of Canada on the applicability of fundamental justice under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms on extradition. While fundamental justice in Canada included a variety of legal protections, the Court found that in considering the punishments one might face when extradited to another country, only those that "shock the conscience" would breach fundamental justice.

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Washington v. Texas, 388 U.S. 14 (1967), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court decided that the Compulsory Process Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution is applicable in state courts as well as federal courts. Jackie Washington had attempted to call his co-defendant as a witness, but was blocked by Texas courts because state law prevented co-defendants from testifying for each other, under the theory that they would be likely to lie for each other on the stand.

Breithaupt v. Abram, 352 U.S. 432 (1957), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that involuntary blood samples, taken by a skilled technician to determine intoxication, do not violate substantive due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. This case was only the second time the Court considered whether police could forcibly enter inside a suspect's body to extract evidence. Writing for a 6–3 majority, Justice Tom C. Clark argued that blood tests were necessary as a matter of public policy to ensure traffic safety on roads and highways, and that "modern community living requires modern scientific methods of crime detection." Chief Justice Earl Warren and Justice William O. Douglas both wrote dissenting opinions in which they argued that the involuntary blood sample taken in this case was "repulsive" and violated substantive due process.

References

  1. "Shocks the conscience". Cornell University.
  2. "Rosales-Mireles v. United States, 138 S. Ct. 1897 (2018)". U.S. Supreme Court. Harvard Law School. June 18, 2018. p. 1906. The 'shock the conscience' standard typically is employed when determining whether governmental action violates due process rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments.
  3. "Rochin v. People of California". LII / Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  4. "Rochin v. California". Oyez. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  5. Peter Hogg, Constitutional Law of Canada. 2003 Student Ed., pages 991-992.

Further reading