Civil Liberties Case Studies

Purpose: Civil liberties are natural rights and freedoms of individuals that cannot be taken away by constitution, law or judicial interpretation without due process; that is, when restricting individuals freedoms for the sake of maintaining order in society, members of government must follow pre-established procedures that have been consented to by the governed.  In this assignment, you will investigate the legal (i.e., Constitutional) situations in which peoples freedom is protected and the circumstances under which government may take action.

CASE STUDY (my topic): The College Student

1.  Read the Simulation Activity: You are a Police OfficerPreview the document. Also found in Unit 4 in Modules here.

While going through the simulation, pay particular attention to the case you were assigned.  To complete this assignment, you must be able to describe the circumstances of the case, identify the legal response to the case, and explain why it is the legal response.
2.  Review the U.S. Constitution and Chapter 4 in American Democracy Now (ADN), focusing on the specific amendments and chapter sections relevant to your assigned case.  You will be required to correctly use specific key terms of the case you have been assigned during the class discussion (see the specific questions below).
3.  Conduct research about previous U.S. Supreme Court cases related to your assigned case (see the specific questions below) by using the following site:

OYEZ: U.S.Supreme Court Multimedia (https://www.oyez.org/ (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.))
At this website, use the search feature in the top right corner to find abstracts for the relevant court cases listed for your assigned case.
Abstracts for each case will include the facts of the case, the question(s) presented to the U.S. Supreme Court and a summary of the Courts decision.

Type your responses to the questions for your assigned case study.  Be prepared to discuss your answers.
NOTE:  It is important to accurately understand key terms, make specific references to the U.S. Constitution and U.S. Supreme Court cases, and to be specific in explaining the logic of the rulings and your conclusions.

For Question #2, be sure to incorporate the following bold terminologies and U.S. Supreme Court cases in your answer for full credit to explain why you arrested or did not arrest in your assigned group above.

The College Student (questions to be answered!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
-A comparison of the standards of probable cause versus reasonable suspicion
-Examples of situations in which the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a warrant-less search may be legal
-References to the facts and rulings in each of following cases:

-Bond v. U.S. (2000)
-Georgia v. Randolph (2006)
-Arizona v. Johnson (2009)

After completing the above directions, similar to the research briefs you have completed, you will use the text box below to answer the three questions. Number your answers from 1 to 3 then type your answers for each question.  Please remember to maintain academic standard of writing and paraphrase your answers. Do not simply cut and paste your answers from the websites. Write your answers with clarity in paragraph form with complete sentences.

1. What is the legal response for your assigned case study based on the Simulation Activity: “You Are a Police Officer” you read above? Only indicate “Arrest” or “Dont arrest” for your answer. (10 points)
2. Why? Write a legal brief (3 to 4 paragraphs) that explains why you arrested or did not arrest. NOTE: Be sure to define all the bolded terms as well reference all the U.S. Supreme Court cases included in your case study.  Failure to include them will result in point deductions. (30 points)
3. Based on your study, do you agree with the Supreme Court’s decisions or established precedent(s)?  Why or why not?  Be sure to explain your justification/rationale clearly. (1 to 2 paragraphs) (20 points)
No plagiarism 

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.