The Burger Court & the Penal System.

AMERICAN law; BURGER, Warren E., 1907-1995; JUDGES; LAW reform; CRIMINAL courts

When Warren Burger took office as Chief Justice of the United States, he emphasized in his first major speech to the American Bar Association that it is all very well to reform the criminal law with respect to procedure, but that the American penal system is also failing in many respects, and one must cure its ills. He suggested that reform could come through rules of court, legislation, or whatever means is available. One of the means available is litigation, and there has been a great upsurge in recent years of petitions from prisoners, directed not so much to their trials but to abuses in the prison system, and raising sharp constitutional issues. The Burger Court has issued no rulings in this field, and has thus far accepted no cases for review, except a very limited review in cases involving the death penalty.