Whren vs. United States. June 10, 1993 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Whren vs. United States. June 10, 1993 - Essay Example As the police officers in an unmarked car made their first pass, they noticed that the Whren and Brown were in a dark colored Pathfinder truck with temporary license plates, and the driver, Brown kept looked downward to the lap of Whren in the passenger seat. The police officers then made a U-turn towards the Pathfinder, when all of a sudden the Pathfinder suddenly turned right without signaling, and sped off at what the officers describe an "unreasonable speed." Thus the police officers continued pursuit, and in a short while caught up with Whren and Brown at a stop light. The officers identified themselves and as the approached the driver side window, saw that the Whren had in his hands two large plastic bags of crack cocaine. They were subsequently arrested and charged with federal drug charges. At the pretrial suppression hearing, Whren and Brown filed a motion to suppress the evidence on the ground of an illegal search and seizure surrounding the circumstances of the case. They alleged that the police officers used the traffic violation as a pretext for stopping the truck due to the lack of any reasonable suspicion or probable cause to stop them on suspicion of drug dealing. Court Decisions: The District Trial Court denied the motion and conducted trial, resulting in the conviction of Whren and Brown. On appeal to the Court of Appeals their conviction was affirmed. Thus, Whren and Brown brought this case to the Supreme Court on certiorari. Issue: Whether or not the police officers conducted an unlawful search and seizure in this case. Whether or not the police officers violated the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution proscribing unlawful searches and seizures. Ruling: No on both issues. In a unanimous decision the Supreme Court held that as long as police officers have reasonable cause to believe that there had occurred a traffic violation, they may stop any vehicle. In the case at bar, the police officers had reasonable cause to stop Whren and Brown on the basis of a traffic violation because they had made a turn without signaling and sped away from a stop sign at an unreasonable speed. Hence, an actual traffic violation was committed by Whren and Brown, and the resulting search and seizure of the Pathfinder was reasonable, regardless of what other personal motivations the officers might have had for stopping the vehicle. Also, the Supreme Court discarded the allegations of Whren and Brown that they had suffered from anxiety, confusion, and haste which they experienced from the stop and search procedure outweighed the government's interest in traffic safety. Indeed, while the Fourth Amendment requires a balancing test between the benefits derived from a search-and-seizure and the harm it may cause to the person, this test only applies to unusually harmful searches and seizures. In the case at bar there was nothing unusually harmful about this traffic stop. Personal Opinion: With reference to the case at bar, I am in total concurrence with the manner in which the legal and procedural issues were resolved by the Supreme Court. The Constitutional right against unreasonable searches and seizures embodied in the Fourth Amendment has to be taken in accordance with the underlying circumstances in the case. The evil sought to be prohibited is that of abuse on the part of the arresting officer, in making any search or seizure of a individual's person, house, papers and effects. Indeed, a number of Constitutional doctrines have already held that the applicable case law. Delaware vs. Prouse, United States vs. Martinez Fuerte and United States vs. Brignoni Ponce were all mentioned

The rise of the Second Klan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The rise of the Second Klan - Essay Example It is believed that it had enlisted more than 30 million people by mid-1920s of which 43% belonged to the protestant church (MacLean, 7). It was against the Catholics, Jews, immigrants and the African Americans who were giving the whites a run for the available housing and jobs. They also aimed at restoring social order. This paper will examine the issues that gave rise to the Klan, the role played by class, gender and race as well as the complex forces that gave rise to the invisible army. The rise of the second Klan can be attributed to many factors as outlined by MacLean (1-97). The first factor responsible for the rise of the Klan was the famous film â€Å"The birth of the Nation† by D.W Griffiths which depicted black men as beasts and the white men as saviors of American civilization (12). The film had lots of praises for the first Klan in their advocacy for restoration of the white rule after the civil and the reconstruction thereafter. As such, it was very influential a mong the whites. Simmons and his friends took advantage of this platform to preach their ideologies and recruit thousands of members. Another significant event that gave rise to the second Klan was the lynching of a Jewish man namely Leo Frank. This individual had been convicted of murdering Mary Phagan a white factory worker. He had been handed a death sentence but the Georgia governor commuted the sentence (12). The white men were very angry with the governor’s action that they decided to hang him and the place he was hanged became the podium for launching the Klan organization. This was the beginning of the recruitment drive for the Klan. It established links with the press to champion their course and attract more people to the Klan through propaganda. These helped the Klan to infiltrate even the high levels of government since those who were against the fraternity would be threatened and blackmailed (88). The role of government officials was to ensure security for member s; since it comprised of governors, mayors, lecturers, and judges the chances of prosecuting errant members were slim. This is why the organization managed to thrive for long and expand despite its activities. The Klan also ensured most of the lay leaders of the protestant churches were Klan men. This enabled them to paint a good picture of the Klan despite their violent acts. They also infiltrated the fraternal organizations such as the woodmen of world and Elk and used them to recruit more members and as a channel for communicating its agenda. Those who joined were initiated through an oathing ceremony whereby they paid initiation fees as well as buying Klan costumes which comprised of hoods, robes, and terrifying masks (MacLean, 7-15). According to MacLean’s â€Å"The vice of modernity,† the rise of the second Klan was also prompted by economic and social factors. The main issue that led the whites to revive the Klan was fear of losing the white supremacy due to the economic and social changes that were occurring. They felt that these shifting lines of race, class, religion and gender were threatening social order and it was its role to maintain order in society (MacLean 32). Due to industrialization there was rapid urbanization which changed the lives of Americans. Most people were involved in cotton farming among other farming activities with the whites