Describe your understanding of the U.S. court system at both the state and federal levels? Be sure to touch on the roles of the court at each level. How do cases reach the U.S. supreme court? How do the justices render their decisions? How would you define judicial review? Where did it come from? What is it used for? Considering that the judicial branch is an unelected branch of government, should judicial activism be a proper exercise of judicial power? Why or why not? Considering that the judicial branch is an unelected branch of government, should judicial restraint be a proper exercise of judicial power? Why or why not?
Category: Law
Law enforcement policies and practices
Are law enforcement policies and practices such as stop and frisk or recent immigration policies/practices or recent policies about reproductive rights consistent with our Constitutional rights? Have the courts protected those rights? Explain why or why not. (Consider the 4th, 5th and 6th amendments, federal immigration laws such as asylum, DACA, and/or Supreme Court cases in your response).
What changes or improvements do you think are most important to advocate for and why?
How will these changes protect or strengthen our rights under the law?
How the 1964 civil rights act was passed into law.
Describe your understanding of how the 1964 civil rights act was passed into law. How has this act been interpreted by the U.S. supreme court? Has this law eradicated discrimination? Why or why not? Can discrimination ever be benign or is it always harmful? Explain. What is equal opportunity? Can policies aimed at equal opportunity alleviate claims of discrimination? Why or why not? What is an equal outcome? Can those policies aimed at equal outcomes alleviate discrimination? Why or why not?
The officers’ thought process
Sean Bell, a 23-year-old African-American, and two other friends were leaving Bell’s bachelor party at a strip club on November 25, 2006, when they were shot by a group of undercover detectives who had been monitoring the club. More than 50 shots were fired at the car containing the three men.
Research the circumstances of the case and consider the officers’ thought process leading up to the shootout.
Was the officers’ use of force legal under Tennessee v. Garner (1985) https:/supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/471/1/? If yes, why? If no, why not?
Explain with reference to case law whether or not the suspect had the right to resist the stop and whether the suspect could use force to resist the stop.
Did the officers who shot the suspect have a reasonable belief that other officers were in danger? Explain.
Was the use of force by the officers excessive under Graham v. Conner (1989)? https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/490/386/ Why?
If you were an officer in a similar situation, and had been indicted, would you opt for a bench trial or jury? Explain your choice.
Motions to dismiss
Case Study
Police received a tip that a man has been selling drugs out of his house and that there are several teenagers who work for him as peddlers. Two officers stopped him outside his house and asked if he would accompany them to the station to answer some questions. He agreed to come along.
On the way to the station, the officers pointed to children walking around and mentioned that penalty is heavy for those who sell drugs to children, or involve them in selling drugs. The suspect said, “Hey, I may have dealt some drugs, but I have never sold to kids or dealt with kids.“
When they arrived at the station, the officers arrested him and read him his rights, based on the tip they had received initially, and his admission to selling drugs. Then he was taken to a room and confronted with being the center of a drug ring that uses teenagers to distribute drugs. He asked, “Maybe I should call my lawyer?“ The officers replied, “Telling us the truth will do much more for you than seeing a lawyer.“ The man admitted to his involvement and called his lawyer afterward.
Based on the case study for this week, submit a case analysis using Microsoft Word that answers the following questions:
Assume that you are the judge on this case. What motions to dismiss would you expect to hear from the defense in the case? How would the prosecution counter these motions?
What are the key issues arising from the defendant’s admission made while in the police car? Is the case within the ambit of Miranda, or outside it? Why do you think so?
Should the defendant’s admission in the police car be admissible? Why or why not? Discuss with reference to United States v. Patane (2004).
What would have been the effect on this case if the suspect had not asked for his lawyer? Discuss with reference to Escobedo v. Illinois.
https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/542/630/
https://www.oyez.org/cases/1963/615
Certain criminals get more publicity
Why do you think certain criminals get more publicity than their victims? What impact does this have on victims and their families?
Certain criminals get more publicity
Why do you think certain criminals get more publicity than their victims? What impact does this have on victims and their families?
Crime and violence in society would disappear
Discuss your views about how much crime and violence in society would disappear if there were no crime and justice media.
Crime and violence in society would disappear
Discuss your views about how much crime and violence in society would disappear if there were no crime and justice media.
Recent high-profile crime
Discuss a recent high-profile crime in terms of how the social construction process was utilized to construct the event as a symbolic crime and any social and policy impacts that resulted.