Discrimination and Abuse of Discretion

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Such discrimination violates internationally protected rights. In the criminal justice arena, public officials also abuse their discretion by overstepping their authority, or by instituting policies that undermine the rule of law and deny justice to all parties, including victims of crime, witnesses, and the accused.</p></div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="panel-region-separator"></div><div class="panel-pane pane-views-panes pane-taxonomy-landing-page-panel-pane-1 pane-taxonomy-feature-page"> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-panel_pane_1 view-taxonomy-feature-page view-dom-id-4"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/23/usnew-york-few-arrested-pot-become-violent-criminals"><img src="https://web.archive.org/web/20130528042154im_/http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/crop-300x200/media/images/photographs/2012_US_marijuana.jpg" class="imagecache imagecache-crop-300x200 imagecache-default imagecache-crop-300x200_default"/></a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-image-caption-value"> <div class="field-content">A marijuana plant</div> </div> <div class="views-field-field-copyright-value"> <span class="field-content">© 2012 Reuters</span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/23/usnew-york-few-arrested-pot-become-violent-criminals">US/New York: Few Arrested for Pot Become Violent Criminals</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content"><p>Few of those who enter New York City’s criminal justice system as a result of marijuana possession arrests become dangerous criminals</p></div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> 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class="panel-pane pane-views-panes pane-taxonomy-landing-page-panel-pane-4 pane-taxonomy-news-listing"> <h2 class="pane-title">Discrimination and Abuse of Discretion</h2> <div class="pane-content"> <div class="view view-taxonomy-landing-page view-id-taxonomy_landing_page view-display-id-panel_pane_4 view-taxonomy-news-listings view-dom-id-7"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="item-list"> <ul> <li class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/03/new-york-bail-reform-letter-chief-judge-jonathan-lippman-about-his-proposals">New York Bail Reform: Letter to Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman About His Proposals</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 3, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content"></div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-2 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/05/02/us-maryland-abolishes-death-penalty">US: Maryland Abolishes Death Penalty</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">May 2, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Maryland on May 2, 2013, became the sixth US state in six years to abolish the death penalty, continuing a trend to end this inherently cruel punishment in the United States. Maryland’s governor should commute the sentences of the five men who remain on the state’s death row.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-3 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/03/22/too-little-justice-misdemeanor-defendants-us">'Too Little Justice': Misdemeanor Defendants in the US</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Mar 22, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Indigent defendants in Midland, Texas are not receiving proper instructions regarding their right to counsel, a problem leading to uneducated plea bargains.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-4 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/03/15/us-maryland-expected-abolish-death-penalty">US: Maryland Expected to Abolish Death Penalty</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Mar 15, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Maryland is on the verge of becoming the sixth US state in six years to abolish the death penalty, though five men may continue to sit on the state’s death row.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-5 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/03/08/us-ny-trial-right-bin-laden-law">US: NY Trial Right for Bin Laden In-Law</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Mar 8, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">The Obama administration’s decision to try an alleged al Qaeda figure in federal court rather than before a military commission at Guantanamo best serves the interests of justice. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who had been an al Qaeda spokesman, was indicted on a criminal charge of conspiracy to kill United States citizens. He appeared in US District Court in Manhattan on March 8, 2013, and pleaded not guilty.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-6 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/31/us-injustices-filling-prisons">US: Injustices Filling the Prisons</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Jan 31, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content"><p>The enormous prison population in the United States partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said in the US chapter of its World Report 2013.</p></div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-7 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/01/04/us-human-rights-watch-submission-un-human-rights-committee">US: Human Rights Watch Submission to the UN Human Rights Committee</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Jan 4, 2013</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Human Rights Watch submitted this statement to inform the Human Rights Committee’s understanding of the US government’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-8 views-row-even"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/11/23/usnew-york-few-arrested-pot-become-violent-criminals">US/New York: Few Arrested for Pot Become Violent Criminals</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Nov 23, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content"><p>Few of those who enter New York City’s criminal justice system as a result of marijuana possession arrests become dangerous criminals</p></div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-9 views-row-odd"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/09/04/discussion-about-drug-policy-long-overdue">A Discussion About Drug Policy Is Long Overdue</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Sep 4, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Of the many issues that national politicians routinely gloss over during campaign season is drug policy. Whether a different set of policies would better serve human rights and US interests is something that US policymakers may genuinely disagree about. But a rigorous debate within the United States about drug policy and its financial and human rights consequences is long overdue.</div> </div> </li> <li class="views-row views-row-10 views-row-even views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-field-imagefile-fid"> <span class="field-content"></span> </div> <div class="views-field-title"> <span class="field-content"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/31/more-lies-about-rape">More than lies about rape</a></span> </div> <div class="views-field-created"> <span class="field-content">Aug 31, 2012</span> </div> <div class="views-field-field-news-teaser-value"> <div class="field-content">Voices from across the political spectrum condemned the Missouri Senate candidate for Senate, Todd Akin, for his recent offensive and scientifically inaccurate reasoning to deny rape survivors’ access to abortion. </div> </div> </li> </ul> </div> </div> <div class="more-link"> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news-all/2364">more documents on this topic »</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="footer"> <div class="limiter clear-block"> <div class="clear-block"><a href="#header" class="back-to-top">Back to top</a></div> <div class="nav"> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/rss" class="rss-link">RSS</a> <div class="pipe-links"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/home">Home</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/our-work">Our Work</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/news">News</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/publications">Publications</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/multimedia">Multimedia</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/about">About Us</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/contact-us">Contact Us</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130528042154/http://ff.hrw.org/">Film Festival</a> <span class="pipe">|</span> <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130528042154/https://secure.hrw.org/site/c.nlIWIgN2JwE/b.8671517/k.3F9E/Donate_to_Defend_Human_RIghts/apps/ka/sd/donorcustom.asp">Donate</a></div> </div> <div class="footer-blocks clear-block"> <div id="block-views-hrw_footer-block_1" class="clear-block block block-views"> <div class="bcontent"><div class="view view-hrw-footer view-id-hrw_footer view-display-id-block_1 view-dom-id-9"> <div class="view-content"> <div class="views-row views-row-1 views-row-odd views-row-first views-row-last"> <div class="views-field-body"> <div class="field-content">Human Rights Watch<br/> 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor<br/> New York, NY 10118-3299<br/> USA<br/> Tel: 1-(212) 290-4700<br/> <br/> <strong><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/en/contact-us">Contact Us - Global Offices</a></strong><br/> <strong><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130528042154/http://ff.hrw.org/">Film Festival</a></strong><br/> <strong><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/en/about/jobs">Employment</a></strong></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div id="block-tic-5" class="clear-block block block-tic"> <div class="bcontent"><div class="col-left clear-block"><strong class="vocab-header"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/regions">Browse by Region</a></strong><div class="item-list"><ul><li class="first first"><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/africa">Africa</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/americas">Americas</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/asia">Asia</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/europe/central-asia">Europe/Central Asia</a></li> <li class=""><a href="/web/20130528042154/http://www.hrw.org/middle-east/n-africa">Middle East/N. 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Discrimination and Abuse of Discretion