U.S. Supreme Court Bill of Rights Case

For this assignment, you will analyze one U.S. Supreme Court criminal case decision dealing with a Bill of Rights issue. You must include the facts of the case (i.e., what happened), the holding of the court (i.e., what the court decided), and the reasoning for that decision. Additionally, explain how the constitutional right is practically applied to protect the individual and/or society as a whole. Provide your personal opinion on the relative strength and/or weakness of this constitutional issue moving forward in the 21st century. Select one of the following five options:

• Gideon v. Wainwright (Links to an external site.)
• In re Gault (Links to an external site.)
• Mapp v. Ohio (Links to an external site.)
• Miranda v. Arizona (Links to an external site.)
• Terry v. Ohio (Links to an external site.)

You may examine a different case, but you must obtain instructor approval by Day 3 (Thursday) of Week 2.

Your paper must

• Be three to five double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center (Links to an external site.).
• Include a separate title page with the following:
  • Title of paper
  • Student's name
  • Course name and number
  • Instructor's name
  • Date submitted
• Use at least three scholarly sources in addition to the course text.
• Document all sources in APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.
• Include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Writing Center.

Article

Bentley, C. (2007). Constrained by the liberal tradition: Why the Supreme Court has not found positive rights in the American Constitution.Brigham Young University Law Review, 6, 1721-1765. Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/

• The full-text version of this article is available in the EBSCOhost database in the University of Arizona Global Campus Library. This article explains the concept of “strict construction” of the U.S. Constitution. The rights which protect citizens today must be found in the Constitution or they do not exist.

Legal Materials

Gideon v. Wainwright (Links to an external site.), 372 U.S. 335 (1963).

• The right to counsel in criminal cases. This case can be retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1962/1962_155

In re Gault (Links to an external site.), 387 U.S. 1 (1967).

• Constitutional rights must be afforded to juveniles. This case can be retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1966/1966_116

Mapp v. Ohio (Links to an external site.), 367 U.S. 643 (1961).

• Evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment may not be used in a criminal trial. This case can be retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1960/1960_236

Miranda v. Arizona (Links to an external site.), 384 U.S. 436 (1966).

• Fifth Amendment rights must be read to a suspect prior to custodial interrogation. This case can be retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1965/1965_759

Terry v. Ohio (Links to an external site.), 392 U.S. 1 (1968).

• Reasonable suspicion required for officer to conduct “stop and frisk.” This case can be retrieved from http://www.oyez.org/cases/1960-1969/1967/1967_67

Multimedia

PBS. (2004, June 17). The plea (Links to an external site.)[Television series transcript]. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/plea/

• Examination of plea bargaining in the United States.

Web Pages

Bill of Rights Institute. (n.d). Bill of Rights – Bill of Rights Institute. Retrieved from https://www.billofrightsinstitute.org/founding-documents/bill-of-rights/

• This web page provides information on the Bill of Rights.

United States Courts. (n.d.). History (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.uscourts.gov/FederalCourts/ProbationPretrialServices/History.aspx

• This web page provides a salient overview to the history of probation and post-incarceration release supervision in the United States.

Text

Spohn, C., & Hemmens, C. (2012).  Courts: A text/reader  (2nd ed.). Sage.

• Section III: Prosecutors and Defense Attorneys
• Section VI: Plea Bargaining and Trial Dynamics

Article

Kerr, O. S. (2007). How to read a legal opinion: A guide for new law students (Links to an external site.).The Green Bag: An Entertaining Journal of Law, 11(1). Retrieved from http://www.volokh.com/files/howtoreadv2.pdf

• This article explains the essential elements of reading a published, criminal case.

Web Pages

Cornell University Law School. (n.d.). Bill of rights (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights

• Provides a synopsis of each amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Cornell University Law School. (n.d.). Criminal procedure (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_procedure

• Defines criminal procedure and provides helpful links to other, relevant sources.

Cornell University Law School. (n.d.). Substantive due process (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/substantive_due_process

• Provides a comprehensive definition of substantive due process in criminal law.