Case Study: The Kennedy V. Louisiana

The importance of this case is due to the Supreme Court’s landmark decision that held the Eighth Amendment’s Cruel and Unusual Punishments Clause. This does not permit a state to punish the crime of raping a child with the death penalty if the death of the victim was not intended. This resulted in death penalty only being used for crimes against the state, such as espionage or treason. On Kennedy’s appeal, the Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed. Additionally, he petitioned for a certiorari. This was granted to him, and eventually the U.S. Supreme Court reversed and remanded.

Capsule Summary: Seizing a person’s luggage for an extended period until a warrant is obtained violates the Fourth Amendment as beyond the limits of a Terry stop, but, a sniff by a narcotics dog does not constitute a search for Fourth Amendment purposes.

In the case of Riley V. California, Mr. Riley was stopped on a traffic violation, which led to his arrest on weapons charges. The officer searching Riley’s incident to arrest seized a cell phone form Riley’s possession. There was information on the phone and repeated use of a term associated with a street gang. Hours later a gang detective examined the phone’s digital contents and based in part on photographs and videos found, the State charged Riley in connection with a shooting that occurred a few weeks earlier. They sought an enhanced sentence based on Riley’s gang membership. He was ultimately charged with connection to an earlier shooting, firing at an occupied vehicle, assault with a semiautomatic firearm, and attempted murder. Riley

A case study includes analysis of a particular criminal case or event that took place and is significant due to a number of reasons. A case study helps us learn about a particular type of case and how such a case is to be approached , how the results of the case are obtained and what it’s final outcome in terms of legal decisions is. A case study helps us form a more practical idea of theoretical things by giving us an example of a real life scenario. The following is a case study to make us understand about the importance of DNA sequencing to solve a crime case.

What is the value of a life? Do family members always have the patients’ best interest in mind when making medical decisions? Who should ultimately make the decision of life or death for patients that will never leave a permanent vegetative state?

In a 5-4 opinion the Supreme Court decides that the Governments use of a thermal imagining device that is not available to the public to gather information of a home that would be unknown without using the device is a violation of the Fourth Amendment search and is deemed unreasonable. The majority opinion argued that a person has the right to privacy in their own home. This argument is then rejected. Judge Scalia argued that there is a fine line when it comes to the Fourth Amendment and because they did not “enter” the home, it was not an invasion of privacy. The Dissent judges presented that, although a thermal imaging device was used, the tool did not invade Kyllos privacy as it only gathered heat

The court case Roper vs Simmons was one of the most influential Supreme Court cases that dealt with the issue of whether or not juveniles should receive the death penalty if they were under the age of 18 at the time they committed the crime. In this case, Simmons and a group of his friends planned to commit a burglary and a murder. On the night of the crime, “Simmons and his two friends entered the home of Shirley Crook. Simmons recognized Crook from a car accident they were involved in before; he “later admitted to the police that “this confirmed his resolve to murder her.” Simmons and his friends tied Crook up and put her into the truck of her car. Then the defendants took her to a bridge and threw her off where she drowned. The day following the crime, the police came and arrested Simmons and his friends and charged them with burglary, kidnaping, stealing, and murder in the first degree.” (Roper v Simmons-No. 03–633. Supreme Court of Missouri. 1 Mar. 2005. Print.). The jury found Simmons guilty and sentenced him to

John F. Kennedy once said that "it ought to to be possible... for every American to enjoy the privileges of being American without regard to his race or his color." The Civil Rights Movement, which began when the infamous Rosa Parks was harassed by the police when she refused to give up her seat on the bus to a white passenger, was just one campaign that fought to bring Kennedy 's views to life. The Supreme Court also had a hand in the equalization of the races in America, but it was not always positive. The Supreme Court has influenced the views of civil rights advocates throughout the years: Dred Scott vs. Sanford, Plessy vs. Ferguson, and Loving vs. Virginia.

Thurgood Marshall was born on July 2, 1908. In 1930 he states for to the University of Maryland Law School but was denied because of him being black. However years later when he applied to Howard University when he graduated, he opens up a small law practice in Baltimore. Marshall won the first Major case in civil rights was due to the precedent of Plessy v Ferguson where it states racial segregation laws for public facilities under the doctrine of "separate but equal", where he sued University of Maryland Law School to admit a young African American named Donald Gaines Murray. With his well-known skills as a lawyer and his passion for the civil rights Marshall because the chief of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,

Recently, state-issued photo ID has been required in order vote since the law passed in the Texas legislature. This law has caused controversy as it brings up the question over the state’s power in the regulation of elections. “While pending review within the judicial system, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Shelby County v. Holder, which effectively ended all pending litigation. As a result, voters are now required to present an approved form of photo identification in order to vote in all Texas Elections” (votetexas.gov). The U.S. Supreme Court struck down on Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in the Shelby County v. Holder case. Because of this decision, Section 5 was no longer enforceable, allowing states to pass

In case of McCulloch vs Maryland is a landmark case that questioned the extent of federal government 's separation of power from state government. A problem arose when the Second Bank of America was established. With the War of 1812 and it’s financial suffering in the past, the government sought to create a bank with the purpose of securing the ability to fund future wars and financial endeavors. Many states were disappointed with this new organization, one of them being Maryland. In response to this, “The Maryland legislature responded to this action by levying a tax on all branches of banks “not chartered by the legislature”—a move aimed at destroying the Baltimore branch of the Bank of the United States."1James McCulloch who was a banker at the branch in Baltimore refused to pay the annual tax. He was convicted by Maryland state court and fined a total of 2,500 dollars. Losing at the state

In September 1976, during the course of ten days, the respondent, Strickland, planned and committed three groups of crimes, including three brutal stabbing murders, torture, kidnapping, severe assaults, attempted murders, attempted extortion, and theft. His two accomplices were arrested, and the respondent surrendered to police. He provided a voluntary statement and confessed to the third murder. He was indicted by the State of Florida for kidnapping and murder and was appointed an experienced criminal attorney to represent him.

After reviewing Justice Brennan’s dissenting opinion, I cannot agree with his argument that a conducting a protective sweep surpasses the purpose of the Terry v. Ohio decision. Justice Brennan agreed that a protective sweep was not a full-blown search, but it was much more intrusive than a limited pat down for weapons or the frisk of an automobile (Sifferlen, 1991). Also, Justice Brennan also stated he believed officers’ should possess probable cause to initiate a protective sweep of a home (Sifferlen, 1991). The Terry v. Ohio decision permits law enforcement officers to perform a pat down of the outer clothing, when the officer has reasonable suspicion to believe the subject he or she is dealing with, is armed and dangerous (Hall, 2015). The main purpose of Terry v. Ohio decision is to locate weapons that may be used to hurt the

The Dred Scott v. Sandford case had the greatest impact on Race Relations in America because it created a legitimate definition of the citizenship. Scott, a former slave, stated that because of his occupancy in a free state, he is a free man. The other side argued that Scott was still a slave and according to the fifth amendment, no person (master) can be deprived of their property. The initial impact of the case was in favor of the slave owner but this decision was overturned by the adoption of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendment. The thirteenth amendment ended slavery and the fourteenth amendment granted citizenship to everyone born or naturalized in the United States included former slaves who had been freed after the Civil War.

Is there any sort of consequences to someone if they burn the American Flag? In the U.S Supreme Court case “Texas v. Johnson”, Johnson was jailed by the start of Texas due to the desecration of the American Flag. The U.S. Supreme Court accepted his case, and the majority opinion of the case decided it was not a criminal offence to burn a flag because of the First Amendment. We the dissenting opinion believe that the burning of the American Flag should be a criminal offence. We believe this because the desecration of the flag tarnishes its value, the flag is our very own unique symbol, and it is the symbol that change 13 fledging colonies into a world power.