Only eleven days into his new job as a New Jersey State Police trooper, Justin Hopson witnessed an act by his training officer that would challenge his moral convictions and change his life forever. During a traffic stop in March 2002, Hopson watched his partner arrest a woman for drunk driving who had not even been behind the wheel. Throughout the court proceedings in this case, Hopson chose not to violate his principles, and refused to validate his partner’s version of events surrounding the arrest. From that point forward, Hopson was targeted by fellow officers in an effort to silence him about this event, and other alleged police misconduct. Filing a lawsuit against the New Jersey State Police in December 2003,
This case happened on June 19, 1961. The case was about police breaking into Dollree Mapp 's home in Cleveland, Ohio without a proper search warrant. There had been information given that a suspect in a bombing case, as well as some illegal bombing equipment might be found at her home. With this information police decided to go to the house and ask permission to enter, when Mapp refused to let them in, three hours later two of the officers came back with more officers holding a piece of paper, they broke down the door. Police found nothing when they raided the house besides a suitcase full of pornographic material. Mapp said the suitcase was not hers and she had lent it to a boarder. She was arrested, prosecuted, found guilty, and sentenced
As a young african american male, I’ve encountered many challenges and obstacles that has been tough to overcome for any male; especially male of color. Novelist Jennifer Gonnerman shared one forth of what African American males go through on a day to day basis, in her article, “Before the Law,” that sheds light on a particular incident about a kid from Bronx named Kalief Browder; who was falsely accused of taking a backpack from a New York resident on the day of Saturday, May 15, 2010. Kalief Browder spent the next two to three years confined in Rikers Island (Correctional Facility), which is a four-hundred-acre island in the EastRiver, between Queens and the Bronx. Kalief Browder was being charged with many charges such as robbery, grand
An absurd amount of innocent people in the nation, have fallen victim to a disorganized legal system, and are suffering because of it. Dennis Brown, and James Harden, are two examples of this, and can relate because of it. They’ve been falsely convicted, without DNA evidence, but the truth of the case is finally revealed with their release.
Brenton butler, a 15 year old young man that lived in Jacksonville Florida was arrested for committing murder in 2000. A man, Mr. James Stevens and his wife were robbed at gunpoint in front of a Ramada Inn in Jacksonville Florida. During the course of the robbery, the wife was shot and killed in front of her husband. He was able to give a description of the assailant and so he did. The assailant committing this crime has been characterized as a six feet tall skinny black male of age in between 20 and 25 years of age (Mr. Stevens 2000). Although Brenton Butler is much younger than the description given, and Butler is much shorter than the description as well, at least half a decade younger, he was still positively identified as to being the
John Giglio was charged with passing forged money orders and sentenced to five years imprisonment. During the appeal, Giglio counsel discovered new evidence representing that the prosecutors had failed to reveal a promise made to its “key witness” that he wouldn’t be prosecuted if he testified for the government. The Court granted a certiorari to determine whether the evidence not revealed would require a retrial under the due process standards Napue v. Illinoi, 360 U.S. 264 (1959), and Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963). Evidence showed at trial, representatives at Manufacturers Hanover Trust Co. learned that Robert Taliento, key witness and co-conspirator, was a banker teller and also had cashed several forged money orders. He confessed to providing Giglio with a customer’s bank signature card used by John Giglio to forge $2,300 in money orders. Robert Taliento handled and cashed the money orders on his machine. This was the story Taliento gave to the grand jury and John Giglio was prosecuted; Taliento was named a co-conspirator but not indicted on charges. Giglio requested for a new trial was denied by lower courts but The Supreme Court reversed it. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve whether the evidence that wasn’t revealed obligated a new trial under the due process standards that has been created in the Brady v. Maryland and Napue v. Illinois.
Yesterday, Sloan Jackson, age 18 was put on trial for stealing a shirt from Famous Fashions in Merchandise Mall. He supposedly ran out of the store with a lump (which was the same color as the stolen shirt) in his jacket to go to Record Mart because there was a big sale going on. He then was found sitting next to the yogurt stand and the shirt was found in a trash barrel near the yogurt stand. He then ran away from the security guard but he was in the end caught and brought back to the store to return the shirt. At the trial yesterday the jury came to a verdict of being guilty after talking in the jury room for about 10 minutes. He could possibly be sentences to 4 years in prison or he might need to pay a fine of up to $2,000 or both.
On 12/7/16, at 1008 hours, I, Officer Humphries #335, was met in the lobby of the Bladensburg Police Department by a citizen who wanted to file a stolen cellular telephone report.
In Miller v. Alabama, the United States Supreme Court declared that mandatory juvenile life without parole sentencing schemes violated the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment (Rhodes, 2012).
The case of R. V. Askov began in November 1983 when Askov, Hussey, Melo and Gugliotta, were charged with conspiracy to commit extortion against Peter Belmont. On top of Extortion they had multiple existing firearm charges to which they severed 6 months in prison for these offences, and were initially denied bail until May 7th, 1984. After being released, their preliminary hearing for the extortion charge was set in early July 1984. The hearing wasn’t completed until September 1984. The actual trial was then set for the first date available, in October 1985, but in turn got delayed until September 1986 2 years later. When the trial began the accused argued that the 2 year period was sufficient grounds to stay the trial for unreasonable delay,
There comes a time in the criminal justice system where a law that was written to protect us will be challenged through a court case. That case will eventually make history and will become a reference in future cases with similar dilemmas. In 1983, one particular case met the criteria (Arizona vs. Youngblood). In this case, Larry Youngblood was convicted by a jury in Arizona of child molestation, sexual assault, and kidnapping of a ten-year-old boy. Both a criminologist for the State and an expert witness for the defendant testified as to what they believed the results were from the tests that were performed on the samples shortly after they were collected, they also commented on later tests performed on the samples from the boy’s clothing
In 1986, Michael Morton was having a normal life, he had a wife, a kid, and a job. That same year his life change completely. Michael Morton was doing his daily routine, as in going to his job, coming back to his wife, and kid. When he came back from his job, he found his wife murdered in their bed. He was wrongfully convicted of the murder with enough evidence showing his innocence. After spending nearly 25 years in prison for a conviction that he didn’t commit. He was finally released in October 4, 2011 and officially discharge in December 2011.
The author, Arthur Miller, displays a theocracy to demonstrate a court's ignorance towards actual facts. A theocracy is a religion based government. Throughout the novel, The Crucible, the religion of the government corrupts decisions that are made in court. If someone was not a part of the church or did not attend every Sunday they were thought to be a witch, or at least dishonorable. Danforth, deputy governor, brought forth the main issue of the whole novel, "A person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between" (Miller 94). The government puts many people in a crossroad because they are forced to choose between their true beliefs or what the government wants to hear.
In Baltimore County, a car was stopped by a police officer for speeding in the early morning hour. The car was occupied by three men identified as Donte Partlow (driver/owner), Joseph Pringle (respondent/front-seat passenger), and Otis Smith (back-seat passenger). When the officer asked Partlow for his registration, he opened the glove compartment where the officer observed a large roll of money inside the compartment, later confirmed as $763. The officer asked Partlow for consent to search the vehicle, which he consented. During the search, the officer found five small bags of cocaine in the back-seat armrest. When the three men were asked who had ownership of the drugs and money they all denied. The drugs and money were seized and the three men were arrested but Pringle later admitted that the drugs and money were his.
In 1978, Larry Hicks was convicted on two counts of murder and was sentence to death. At 19 years old, Hicks was attending a local party at a neighbor’s apartment. At the party Hicks was spotted waving a knife and it raised awareness by the attendees. As the party continued a fight broke out in the apartment and two men were murdered by severe stabbing with a knife. When law enforcement officials rushed to the crime scene, eyewitness testimony declared Hicks and Bernard Scates as a primary suspects. Scates enmeshed Hicks as his accomplice. While Scates was awaiting trial, his body was found hanging in his jail cell. Hicks maintained his innocence but later was found guilty by a jury of 12 and he received a death sentence. While sitting on death