Reference no: EM133032421

Constitutional Law - Case Review Project

Instruction: Read each scenario on the ensuing pages and relate each situation to a U.S. Supreme Court judicial decision. There are 14 total scenarios. You must pick five of them to analyze, as a minimum. If you choose to do more than five, it will count as extra credit for up to two additional scenarios, at five points each.

You must include, as a minimum, the following-
- An overview of the scenario
- The case law(s) relevant to the situation, including:
o Case name and date
o Synopsis
o Number of affirming justices
o Number of dissenting justices
- What action should be taken based upon case law, and your explanation

You will need to do some additional research to find the answers to certain questions, and to fully understand a ruling.

Scenario #1:

Three years ago, Congress enacted a law requiring that all schools in the U.S. will provide a federal drug education program for all 8th and 11th grade students. The law further stipulated that the person providing the program will not double as a regular teacher, and will be a separate hire at the school's expense.

Recently, as population growths have occurred throughout the nation, states have found it increasingly difficult to provide the manpower within their budgets to fund a person to teach the program at various schools. Plus, new state accountability requirements make it hard to provide this one-hour a week drug program during the spring, when specialists are needed to teach certain students basic skills so they can pass the accountability exam.

In Kentucky, three school districts were given the okay by their superintendents to discontinue the federal drug program until further notice. The Kentucky State Education Board has ordered those three superintendents to resume administering the federal program, and they have all refused to do so.

The superintendents believe they cannot be ordered to do this.

Scenario #2:

At approximately 0300 hrs., an officer from the Rarington Police Department is dispatched to the intersection of Front Street and 7th Avenue, in reference to a subject pulling on the doors of closed businesses and homes. Officer Green arrives on scene at 0311 hrs.

Upon arrival, Officer Green observes a known crack user (Ken Krackman) walking door to door, pulling on doors and looking in windows. Officer Green exits his car and approaches, unbeknownst to Krackman. As Krackman walks toward another door, Officer Green quickly closes in on him and orders him to "Halt," declaring his command in a loud voice. Krackman continues to pull on the door, looking over his shoulder at Officer Green. As Officer Green walks more closely toward Krackman, Krackman begins to run down the street.

Officer Green chases Krackman, and Krackman approaches a fence. Krackman quickly turns, then starts toward an open sewer drain. Knowing that the thin-bodied Krackman will likely fit down the sewer drain, and that the stocky-bodied Officer Green will likely NOT fit down the sewer drain, he orders Krackman to stop. Krackman refuses, so Officer Green declares, "I will shoot if you do not stop. Stop now!" Krackman refuses, and is almost fully down the drain, despite Officer's Green's attempts to pull him upward. Fearing that Krackman will elude the arrest, Officer Green pulls his pistol and shoots Green in the lower neck. Although Krackman makes it down into the sewer drain, he dies shortly thereafter due to the gunshot wound. His body is recovered shortly thereafter.

Krackman's family believes that the shooting was unlawful.

Scenario #3:

While on patrol, two officers from the Des Moines Police Department observed a girl standing near a water fountain. As they approached the area where she was standing they made eye contact and nodded to her, in a communal effort to say "hi." To this, the girl, Heather Lloyd, began running.

The officers immediately began chasing her and she ran through the park. At one point, she pulled an item out of her pants and tossed it into the weeds. One officer broke off pursuit and seized the item, while the other officer continued foot pursuit and eventually took custody of Heather. When his partner caught up to him, he showed him the item that Heather had tossed, which was a .38 caliber pistol.

Heather was charged with Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon. She claims that it was illegally obtained by the police.

Scenario #4:

Bo Lewis and Bud Hatfield are next-door neighbors in the small Mississippi town of Parkville. They are also well-known members of the local chapter of the Arian Nation, a White supremacist group. On their street, a house went up for sale. One afternoon, the real estate agent brought a Black couple to tour the house, and this was witnessed by both Bo and Bud.

The next day, Bo and Bud went to the real estate agent's office and asked if she planned to sell that house to "those people." She told Bo and Bud that the couple was impressed with the house, and would be coming by the house to sign a contract next Monday evening around 7 p.m. To this, Bo and Bud called an emergency meeting of the Arian Nation chapter. The decision was made by the Grand Wizard that they would burn a large cross on Bo's front lawn, which is two doors up from the house for sale that would be revisited by the Black couple. "This county has no ban on burning presently in force, so we will be able to do this without a burn permit from the fire department," the Grand Wizard said. The cross would be burned just before 7 p.m. on Monday so that the Black couple would visibly see it. "We can't have these people living on our street, and we can burn whatever we want on my lawn," Bo said.

On Monday, 35 members of the Arian Nation silently gathered on Bo's lawn and raised a 30-foot cross, to which they set fire. As the real estate agent drove by with the Black couple in the car, the Black couple were appalled and scared and opted to not sign the contract on the house. The real estate agent called the police, and the Black couple said that they wanted those hate-mongers arrested.

Parkville Police officers arrived and asked the members to extinguish the fire, as the Black couple decided to not buy the home for sale. Officer Smith said, "Can you boys put this out now, they're all gone and not coming back and you're causing a scene out here." The Arian Nation members agreed to extinguish the fire, and nobody was arrested.

The Black couple believes the Parkville Police violated their rights by not arresting the cross burners, and stated that they were in cahoots with the group.

Scenario #5:

Detective Green of the Corntown Police Department, in Nebraska, has spent four months investigating two serious robberies that occurred in Corntown. In one case, the victim was severely beaten after the robbery and was hospitalized; and in the other case, the victim remains traumatized since the suspect discharged a pistol directly over the victim's head while demanding money. The only evidence Det. Green has obtained is a good set of fingerprints taken from the scenes of both crimes. As Det. Green delved further into the case, he was able to develop a potential suspect named Keith Karone, but Karone has never been arrested so his fingerprints are not on file.

Det. Green showed a photo line-up to both victims. Although each victim looked hard at Karone's picture, neither said that he is the suspect. Det. Green suspected that this is because both victims are still fearful of Karone, having been brutalized by him at the scene of the crimes. Despite Det. Green's pleas, neither victim would cooperate in identifying Karone.

Still without an arrest warrant, Det. Green went over to Karone's house and knocked on his door. He said he needed to speak with him about the case, to which Karone replied, "I'm not saying a word without my lawyer." Det. Green then asked Karone to submit to a set of fingerprints for identification purposes. Karone said, "No way. You're not getting my fingerprints." Det. Green then told Karone that if he did not consent to fingerprinting, he would arrest him immediately.

To this, Karone voluntarily accompanied Det. Green to the police station. After being fingerprinted, it was determined that Karone's prints matched those at both robbery scenes. Karone was arrested and incarcerated pending trial.

Karone claims that all evidence against him should be suppressed.

Scenario #6

Ray Myers was able to defraud numerous people and merchants with stolen credit cards throughout Slingville, Michigan and its surrounding suburbs. Myers used 18 different credit cards to fraudulently obtain over $75,000 in cash and merchandise. With this much activity, Slingville Police Officer Brian Knox was able to obtain pictures from video surveillance from various merchants that positively identified Myers. Accordingly, Off. Knox obtained arrest warrants for 29 counts of Unlawful Use of Credit Card, Felony Theft, and Forgery.

Off. Knox and two other Slingville PD Officers went to the home of Myers. They knocked on his door, and he voluntarily let them into his living room. At that point, Myers was placed under arrest. Officers conducted a search of the living room and found all 18 credit cards on the end table. One officer then went into the dining room and kitchen, while the other officer went upstairs and searched the bedrooms. In the master bedroom, an officer found two kilograms of cocaine and a large box of explosives and detonation cord. In addition to the charges on the arrest warrant, Myers was also placed under arrest for Trafficking Cocaine, Maintaining a Dwelling for Distribution of Drugs, and Possession of Explosive Devices.

Myers claims that the search was unlawful, and that all charges against him should be dropped.

Scenario #7

To disrupt a large house of prostitution located on the north side of Reowold, Connecticut, the Reowold Police Department attempted to use undercover detectives. However, given the small size of the police force, the criminal element in Reowold was familiar with all of the small town's officers, and they were denied access to the building used for the prostitution activities.

The Reowold Police conducted numerous hours of surveillance that showed "clients" entering and exiting the premises, as well as scantily-dressed women entering the premises at various shifts. However, the police could not prove that any sort of sexual activity for money was transpiring inside of the building, so they came up with an innovative idea. Reowold Police purchased a state-of-the-art thermal imaging device capable of detecting very minor temperature alterations.

On one of the busier nights for the alleged brothel, Reowold Police set up surveillance of the building from an adjacent building, using the thermal imaging device. As a client would enter the building, police would track the person's path throughout the building, to one of the five rooms where a person was waiting, according to thermal imagery. Thermal imagery was able to show transfer of money from one hand to another, as well as the enjoining of two persons immediately after the transfer of money. Reowold Police were able to tape the imagery, and recorded seven transactions during one evening.

With this evidence, Reowold Police went to the magistrate court to obtain a nighttime search warrant of the premises. The judge signed the search warrant, and officers forcibly entered the premises the next evening. The brothel owner was arrested for Promoting Prostitution; three women were arrested for Prostitution, and three men were arrested for Patronizing a Prostitute. All of the forenamed actions were directly witnessed by the officers who executed the search warrant.

The defense made a motion to dismiss all charges, claiming that the entry into the building was illegal. The motion asserted that the search warrant should be invalid, because it was issued as a result of probable cause obtained from the thermal imaging, which in itself was an unlawful entry.

Scenario #8

While working at the corporate headquarters of American Bank, Paula Jones was a manager in charge of customer accounts. After being passed over for promotion several times, she became disgruntled and developed a cocaine habit, but didn't tell anyone about it. With access to all accounts in the system, she began "making deals" with certain customers who obviously lacked financial means, and were in trouble with the bank because of overdrafts and other penalties.

Jones would place $5,000 in the accounts of certain customers, and she would also reverse any of their penalty charges. In exchange, those customers agreed to write Jones a check for $2,500. Jones did this with 115 customers, but got caught when one of the customers got a guilty conscience and went to the bank authorities. American Bank's fraud investigators revealed that Jones had scammed $287,500 from the bank, and lifted over $4,000 in penalty fees that otherwise would have gone to the bank.

Consequently, she was arrested for Theft (Felony) by State Police. At her arraignment in state court, Jones asked for a court-appointed attorney. The magistrate denied her request, stating that she should have adequate funds to retain her own attorney. Jones claims that all of her monies went to support her cocaine habit, and that she had no money in her bank account. The court still refused to appoint her an attorney. Jones made the same request at her preliminary hearing, and she was denied a court-appointed attorney for the same reason.

Jones went to trial pro se, and ended up being convicted. She was sentenced to five years in prison, and was ordered to give back all misappropriated monies to American Bank. Jones feels that the court should have appointed her an attorney, which would have increased her chances of securing a plea or acquittal.

Scenario #9

Jared Jale asked Heather Richington out on a date, after having met her at a social function. Richington is the daughter of a well-known political figure, Collins Richington; and Jale was the busboy at an event that Richington attended. Not wanting her father to know she was dating Jale, Heather met Jale at a secluded bar on the outskirts of the city. The two talked, had drinks, then departed together.

At Heather's apartment, Jale walked her to the door and asked if he could come in. Heather said, "Not tonight, but maybe if we go out again. Call me and we'll talk." To this, Jale forced his way into Heather's apartment, and proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her against her desires, and despite her continual pleas for Jale to stop. Jale departed after the act.

Heather called the police the next morning, and Jale was arrested the next day on charges of Burglary and Rape, and was incarcerated pending trial. At trial, Jale was convicted of both crimes. Given the popularity of Heather's father, this became a very high profile case with a lot of media attention. Jale was sentenced to death for his actions, since he has three prior Rape charges.

Jale's defense team asserts that the penalty does not fit the crime.

Scenario #10

A rash of robberies has continued to plague the small town of Littletown, but police have been unable to identify a suspect, with any formidable evidence. A few informants have told police that Eddie Snide is "probably the guy" because he's been acting "funny" lately around everyone, and always seems to have some money on him even though he doesn't have a job. However, there is nothing solid that points the finger at Snide as the serial robber.

Then one evening, Snide was arrested for Loitering in the Littletown Park after dark. At the arraignment, bail was set at $200 since Snide has a long capias history. Unable to pay it, he was committed to the County Jail pending his court appearance. Since he was an unpopular figure in Littletown, Snide feared that physical harm may come to him while in jail.

Littletown Police saw this as an opportunity to see if Snide would confess to the robberies. They placed an undercover officer in the County Jail with Snide. The undercover officer stood between Snide and some of the inmates on several occasions. One day, a few inmates ganged up on Snide. The undercover officer said to Snide, "I got your back if you tell me who's doing those robberies in town. I just got to know." To that, Snide said, "It's me. I'm the robber. I did all of them. Now protect me from these guys!" The undercover officer then helped Snide.

Snide was arrested for 18 counts of Robbery 1st Degree, and was convicted on all charges, based mainly upon his confession to the undercover officer in the County Jail. Snide feels that he was railroaded into making the confession.

Scenario #11

Steve Driver was charged with running a stop sign, and went to J.P. Court for arraignment two weeks later. Driver walked up to the clerk, Vicki Voom, and started engaging in small talk with her, stating that he just wanted to pay the fine and get out of there. Voom became enamored with Driver and his charm, and pulled him aside.

Voom said to Driver, "Actually, I looked at this ticket when it came in and the cop charged you with the wrong section number. If you bring that up at trial, you could be found not guilty by the judge. Just letting you know." At the arraignment, Driver pled not guilty and requested a trial in the magistrate court. When his trial date came, after the officer testified, Driver cross-examined him and asked the officer what the proper section number was for the charge. The officer recited the proper section number, and Driver asked him why the proper section number was not on the ticket. To that, the officer said, "It was a mistake on my part, but the wording of the charge is correct." The judge dismissed the case due to it being an invalid charge, and Driver got off.

After trial, Driver walked up to the clerk's window, addressed Voom and said, "Thanks a lot for the info. You were right! We'll have to get together sometime." Voom said, "I was just doing what was right." Hearing the exchange, the officer asked to speak with the judge in private, and told the judge about the conversation between Voom and Driver. The judge questioned Voom, and she admitted pointing out the charge error to Driver.

About a month later, transfers came out for the J.P. Court system and Voom was reassigned to a J.P. court on the other side of the county, about 45 minutes further away from her home. Voom stated that there is no way she could manage that drive because she is a single parent, and needed to be able to pick her kids up at daycare on time. She was told that many of the police officers who frequent that court felt they could not trust her, and had complained about her. She was told that her transfer was in the best interest of the court system. Voom plans to file suit against the J.P. Court system, claiming that her rights were violated.

Scenario #12

After Brenda Blue and Gil Green had been dating for about a year, their relationship started to run awry. Blue continued to accuse Green of dating others, but Green denied it. Green then told Blue that he was tired of her possessiveness, so he broke up with her. Blue was extremely upset and pleaded with Green to come back, but he would not.

Green was found dead in his apartment from a gunshot wound to the head about two weeks after he and Blue had broken up. Blue was questioned by police and became a prime suspect. She had no alibi as to her whereabouts during the time surrounding the shooting, mostly because she was a loner and had nobody to confirm her claims that she was home at the time of the shooting.

A co-worker of Blue, Rhonda Redd, told police that Blue was not home at the time of Green's shooting, and further advised that Blue has been acting "strange" lately. She also gave police a shell casing that she said she found near Blue's desk at work, "in case it means anything." The bullet matched the caliber of the gun used to kill Green. With this evidence, Blue was arrested for the murder of Green.

Prior to trial, Redd's paperboy (a 14-year old boy) stopped to talk to a police officer at the street corner. He said, "Did they ever find out who shot Gil Green? I deliver the paper to his girlfriend, Rhonda Redd. Gil used to come over her house a couple times a week, and I used to see him leave in the morning. He was a nice guy." Detectives were then advised of this, and questioned Redd. Redd denied any involvement with Green, and said, "That paperboy is just a kid. I never dated Gil Green. He's got to be making it up." Police then asked the 14-year-old boy's parents if they could question him about this some more. Not wanting to get him involved, the parents said, "He sometimes makes up stories. It's nothing, we're sure." Consequently, police dismissed the paperboy's statements as nonsense, and did not document them in any reports. The prosecuting attorneys were also unaware of the paperboy's statements, and proceeded with trial.

Blue was subsequently convicted of Murder 1st Degree. About a year following the trial, she heard about the paperboy's comments while she was in jail.

Scenario #13

Police respond to the scene of a burglary at a residential home. The occupants advised that as they arrived home and entered the front door, a man pushed the family aside and ran out the front door with several items in his hands, and fled down the street. The family contacted the police immediately, and gave a description of the suspect.

While en route, two officers in a patrol car observed a person matching the description of the suspect. They stopped him, then brought him to the scene of the burglary for a show-up identification. The family identified the man, Ned Lasso, as the burglar, so police placed him under arrest.

While one officer interviewed the family and took a report which inventoried all of the stolen property, the other officer stayed with Lasso in the vehicle to secure him. The one officer came out of the house and asked the other to step out of the car. He privately told the officer that the family noted that the suspect had stolen a bronze bell, which had been in their family for over 200 years. Above and beyond anything else, the family wanted that irreplaceable item back.

One officer read Lasso his Miranda Rights, and he refused to speak when asked what he did with the stolen property. Lasso said, "I want a lawyer. I have nothing to say." So on the way back to the police station, the officers had an idea. One officer said to the other, "You know it's a shame about that old bell being so contaminated it's full of infectious material. The family was just about to get rid of it, because whoever touches it loses their fingers and dies a horrible death!" The other officer said, "Gee, I hope that bell doesn't get into the hands of any kids who play around here. That would be deadly." To this, Lasso said, "Hey, I'll take you to the bell and all the other stuff I stole, but you have to get me to a hospital to get checked out!"

Police recovered the bell, and all other property, and advised Lasso they were just kidding around with each other when they mentioned the infectious bell. Regardless, the evidence was used against Lasso at trial. Lasso claimed the police violated his Miranda Rights, and that the exclusionary rule should nullify his arrest.

Scenario #14

After receiving a call from a neighbor regarding a gunshot heard in an adjacent apartment, police respond to the apartment from which the gunfire was heard. Deshaun Johnson answered the door and said to police, "Somebody just busted in here and killed my girlfriend. They ran out the back, onto the deck and jumped down, and took off running toward the road! I was just getting ready to call you." Johnson said that he and his girlfriend (Rihanna Gray) were just sitting on the couch in the living room when a guy opened the apartment door, which was left unlocked, pointed a pistol at Gray, shot her and ran. Johnson described the suspect, and police began an area search.

Police observed Gray on the couch with a bullet wound to the chest and a pool of blood surrounding her and the couch. The crime scene unit arrived and began their investigation of the scene. While gathering evidence, police observed a small pack, right next to where Johnson was sitting. Johnson walked over and said, "That's my pack, I need it now." Police advised that it was part of the crime scene, and that it would be returned later. Johnson demanded the pack, stating that it was his property. Police unzipped the pack, opened another zipped back inside the pack, and discovered a pistol. The pistol was seized as evidence, and it matched the caliber weapon used to kill Gray. A subsequent ballistics check confirmed it to be the weapon used to murder Gray, so Johnson was arrested for Murder 1st Degree. This turned out to be the key piece of evidence linking Johnson to the murder.

At trial, Johnson's defense team moved that the weapon should be considered an unlawful seizure since no warrant was obtained to search it, nor the apartment. The prosecution stated that since the bag was part of a homicide scene, it was fair game, and should be included as evidence.

Attachment:- Case Review Project.rar