Within our contemporary society, the Bill of Rights serves as symbol of the basic American freedoms and protects individuals from irrational government policies, which are not explicitly stated in the Constitution. In the Supreme Court case Maryland v. King, the culprit, Alonzo Jay King, utilized the Fourth Amendment after Maryland police arrested him for first and second-degree assault and swabbed his mouth to collect his DNA in order to check for any previous crimes committed. King argued that the practice of collecting DNA was unconstitutional because Maryland did not have a definite reason to analyze his DNA, as this intruded his privacy and that law enforcements would abuse the collection of DNA in order to convict people of unrelated …show more content…
For example, King states that intrusions into the body go beyond what is protected by the Fourth Amendment, as DNA analysis can reveal one's medical history, age, ethnicity, intelligence, and "propensity for violence and addiction". One is able to comprehend that King believed that his privacy interests outweighed the government's interests, as DNA tests can reveal private information that is not necessary to identify an individual and their prior crimes. Moreover, King considers the state's interest in decreasing crime rates, but argues that the government may only collect and analyze DNA of arrestees if they are convicted and if the collection would assist law enforcement in connecting the arrestee to the crime they were arrested for. The reader is able to identify that King states these two circumstances in order to implicitly convey that his situation is different and that the state has failed to show how DNA collection helps to solve crimes. Therefore, King effectively persuades the court by showing the significance of one's privacy over the interests of the …show more content…
For example, Maryland believed that DNA analysis helps to identify suspects more accurately and reduce future crimes, which would boost the public's confidence in law enforcement. The State even claimed that without the DNA Collection Act, which enabled the police to cheek swab from King, they would not have connected King to the sexual assault that he was ultimately accused of. Nevertheless, there is a risk in allowing Maryland to enforce its DNA Act for the purpose of only removing violent offenders. King actually acknowledges that DNA collection is beneficial because arrestees are more likely to have committed other crimes but hypothesizes that this logic can also be applied for other subgroups as well. For instance, young men, residents of particular neighborhoods, individuals from particular socioeconomic or educational backgrounds, or any other group that has a high incidence of criminal activity can be accused. King admits that while DNA testing helped solve a horrible rape in his case, Maryland should not be able to undergo warrantless searches, which would invade an individual's privacy. Therefore, considering one's privacy is more important than the objectives of the government in order to truly protect the
Muculloch V Maryland was a significant court decision because it established a new principle. The Landmark court decision had shown the importance of the Supreme court and how the Supreme court choose to interpret an existing law. The Bank during the time period is depository of federal funds. States saw the bank as having a privileged position in which they were having resentment. When State banks began to fall into the depression in 1818 they decided to blame the troubles they were having on the bank.
McCulloch v Maryland Facts of the Case In 1819 the United States had a federal bank, the Bank of the United States. The state of Maryland taxed every person that did business with banks out of the state. Also they decided to tax the federal bank to impede their operation. They prohibited the issuing of all bank notes except the ones issued by the state. There were fees and penalties established if this regulation was violated.
During the United States history, there have been events that have impacted the course and development of politics, becoming part of what is currently, and the McCulloch v. Maryland case has been one of the most influential events in the economic area. In addition, I believe that the courage that McCulloch had to refuse to pay the taxes imposed by Maryland was an elemental key part to continue with the processes of the growth of the United States National Bank and the regulation of the coin produced by the state banks; bringing at the end a financial balance. Furthermore, in a deeper insight, it promoted the analysis of the power of the Congress and the Constitution, because at the beginning the Constitution was taken as a literal explanation
Mucolly The Supreme Court settles yet another argument; this time, it is MuCulloch v. Maryland. The end decision helped broaden the roles of the federal government, but not necessarily supplied the government with more power. It also shows that activities that fall into the federal category are taken care of seriously and with a reason.
Marbury versus Madison was one of the most controversial court cases in the Supreme Court history. The overall decision of the court case was a landmark decision that would carry on into setting up boundaries between the executive and judicial branches of government. The case was brought to trial on February 11, 1803 and the final decision was made February 24, 1803. The case included William Marbury and James Madison. Marbury was appointed by President John Adams to be the Justice of the Peace.
These actions did not go by what was established by an earlier, similar case, and by performing the scan with no warrant, the government did not allow DLK to conduct private activities in his own home. Although some argue that the government’s actions were acceptable because they only scanned what was visible to the public, they still used a device not readily available to the public to see inside DLK’s home. The government’s actions were unacceptable, and a warrant should have been obtained prior to performing the search in order to make it
For example, in the past, DNA testing did not exist. Nowadays, DNA testing helps identify criminals after it is
The District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) considered the constitutionality of The District of Columbia law banning the possession of handguns. The Court upheld the federal appeals court decision, striking down both elements of the D.C. gun law. In addition, the Court broke down the Second Amendment into two different views. The operative clause and the prefatory clause assisted Justice Scalia in the Courts opinion and Justice Stevens in dissent. I agree with Justice Stevens’s dissented opinion for several reasons.
We see multiple successes of voting equality attempted through amendments, however, the Supreme Court’s decision on Shelby County v. Holder has pushed back years and years of effort for voting rights. Supreme Court’s 5-4 ruling was in Shelby County’s favor, stating that the Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional along with Section 5. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr, who wrote the majority’s opinion, said that the power to regulate election was reserved to the states, not the federal government. As a result to the court’s decision, the federal government can no longer determine which voting law discriminates and can be passed. After the case, many states had freely passed new voting laws; the most common voting law states passed
The duty of any criminal prosecutor is to seek justice. A conviction is the end of justice being served prior to sentencing; however justice cannot be served if an innocent person is found guilty. Even though the prosecutor(s) are there to represent the public and has the duty to aggressively pursue offenders for violations of state and federal laws, they shall never lose sight or their own moral compass of their main purpose is to find the truth. In the pursuit of truth, the United States Supreme Court has developed or made rulings in reference to several principles of conduct which have to be followed by all prosecutors to assure that the accused person(s) are allowed the proper procedures and due process of the law granted by the 14th Amendment.
To begin, we need to understand the fourth amendment. The fourth amendment was created to prevent the government from breaching into our homes and convicting us of crimes based on evidence they discover within our homes. It was vital to state unreasonable searches in the constitution, and an unreasonable search is a search done without
The “Nothing-to-Hide Argument” Analyzed: In this rhetorical analysis, I will be taking a look at Daniel J. Solove’s essay “The Nothing-to-Hide Argument,” which is about privacy in the context of personal information and government data collection (Solove 734). Solove’s main argument in his essay is that the general public has a narrow perception of what privacy really is. The purpose behind his main argument is to expose the problems with the nothing-to-hide argument while presenting a way to challenge it for his target audience, government officials. Solove’s argument to his target audience is effective through his exemplary use of substance, organization, and style in his essay.
1. First and foremost, in regards to the case of Brady v. Maryland (1963), prosecuting attorneys withheld information from the courts in the conviction of Brady and Boblit for first degree murder. Boblit had written a confession before the trial stating he had committed the murder on his own, but due to the prosecution withholding exculpatory evidence, Brady was also convicted of the same murder. Brady petitioned the courts and the Supreme Court Ruled in favor of Brady, stating his rights of “due process” had been violated by the state of Maryland. It is from this case that a defendant may request Brady disclosure.
The samples from one victim were too deteriorated to be conclusive, but the samples from the other victim’s vaginal swab and underwear were subjected to PCR based DNA testing and it showed no match to Richard Cotton. At the request of the defense, the results were sent to the State Bureau of Investigation’s DNA database, containing the DNA patterns of convicted felons in North Carolina prisons. The DNA proved to be a match for the convict who earlier confessed that he was the one who actually committed the
DNA Forensics is the application of DNA technology and the knowledge of DNA genetics to the practice of forensic investigation and to the power of legal process. It involves various analytical techniques that can be used for the analysis of DNA. It helps in cases like personal identification, paternal dispute, Sexual assaults, etc. It is one of the most important and reliable process in Forensic Science. Law enforcement, evidence technicians, prosecutors, and others concerned in bringing justice to crime victims are at the front position of the DNA revolution.