Topic Selection Refinement

Part 1

On April 23, 2008, the United States Supreme Court, without dissent, determined in the case of Virginia v. Moore that despite unprofessional conduct on the part of the police, there was no violation of Mr. Moore’s civil rights when the police profiled him because they knew that he was driving under a suspended license. A subsequent arrest and search for the suspended driver’s license resulted in the finding of controlled substances and additional charges. Essentially, the court ruled that if the police knew a defendant was committing a motor vehicle violation, regardless of their personal bias, then they had the right to stop that person and check to see if probable cause existed to arrest him or her.

Write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

· Under what conditions do you think, if any, racial profiling should be clearly illegal? Explain your position.

· What is your opinion about the decision that even if an officer was racially profiling, if the stop was based on a motor vehicle violation, then there is no issue?

· Is there a legitimate reason at any stage in an investigation for racial profiling? Explain.

· What impacts on the community do you think can pro racial profiling policies have? Explain in detail.

Part 2

At least 3–4 pages

Consider that you are working toward a final capstone project position paper, and research and analyze your second topic.

Tip: If your second topic is somehow related to your first topic, then you will be ahead of the game. By selecting integrated topics, you may ultimately combine your position papers into a document that will be part of your capstone final project.

Assignment Guidelines

Address the following in a literature review of 2 pages:

What second topic have you selected for this assignment? Explain.

How did you select the topic that you are researching? Explain.

Now, select 8–10 scholarly sources, and conduct a literature review for this second topic.

Address the following in 1–2 pages:

Why is this topic important to the criminal justice system and the citizens of the United States? Explain.

What are the various topic issues, problems, or policies associated with your selected topic? Explain in detail.

What do you propose as the changes to these topic issues, problems, and policies? Explain in detail.

Defend your changes with articulated support from legitimate peer-reviewed reference sources. This is absolutely critical for your paper to be taken seriously. 

Tip: The defense of your paper cannot be stressed enough. You must take care to support factual statements with valid reference material.