PARALEGAL ASSISTING AN ATTORNEY

28 Jun PARALEGAL ASSISTING AN ATTORNEY

paralegal assisting an attorney

You are a paralegal assisting an attorney who is representing an individual who has been convicted of a murder during a home invasion and who was sentenced in state

court to be executed. You are assisting with research for an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. Provide the following information.

1. A brief history of capital punishment in the United States. Include case law.

2. An explanation of the constitutional ban on ?cruel and unusual punishment,? including the four primary dimensions as interpreted by the Court.

3. Discuss an example you found interesting of a right asserted by inmates under the Eighth Amendment?s Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause and the outcome. answer the

discussion questions in 1 page. Please NOTE: DO NOT use any outside source. YOU ONLY use your own thoughts to write the post.

Discussion Topic:

With each passing day, the role and influence of the Internet and the Web on our daily lives and society has gotten pervasive. In particular, over the past few years,

various social media platforms [YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Vine, Instagram, etc.] have further extended their hold on us. How many of you cant resist checking the

“likes” or “followers” on your FaceBook every half an hour or doing “impulse” Tweets to share or tell the world what is on your mind? Consider the following aspects of

its impact on society:

•Marketing consumers vs. producers: one bad tweet can doom a product. Conversely, one viral video can galvanize the masses to record sales. That is instant feedback;

who needs the complaint department anyway?
•Privacy: the recent phone hacking incident of British celebrities, politicians and members of the Royal Family [“Hackgate”, “Rupertgate”, Murdochgate” et al News

Corporation] and the phone hacking of victims of the 7/7/2011 London Bombings.
•WikiLeaks: making governments more transparent and accountable?
•National security: mega trawling of global e-mails and phone calls and even alleged monitoring of such communications of world leaders [Brazil, Germany, et al].

Although nothing new, this has been brought to light in the recent Snowden-NSA incident. To what degree are these actions over-reaching in the name of national

security? …
•… and even United States “spying” on her allies. Twice in 2014, before the year has ended, the U.S. has been accused of spying on Germany. And by the way, vice

versa; just dont get caught doing it.

•Free speech vs. government: not all countries have free speech as part of their individual rights and constitution. In a recent crack-down, a dozen of Vietnams most

prominent news reporter and commentator were rounded up for their Internet postings. And Turkeys National Intelligence Organization (“MIT”) seeks to tighten the grip

on Internet users.
•Free speech vs. misinformation: Similarly, a recent reporter was quickly arrested and confessed to posting misinformation about a Chinese state-owned enterprise with

regard to false reporting of financials and alleged corruption.
•Cyber-bullying: on the teen front, there were a number of incidents which led to suicides when they were bullied by a barrage of nasty postings on their social home

pages.
This is a rich, multi-faceted, and open-ended Discussion with regard to the many aspects of the role and influence of the Internet, the Web, and Social Media websites

on society. We have a diverse and international group of students in our class:

•Although the Internet and the Web is global, the above phenomenon can be local, i.e. connected users from your respective country have found ways in a localized

manner to interact in business, in the society, and promote governance …
•… so, this a great opportunity to share our collective experience and observations to comment any of the above impacts of the Internet on society.
•In what way has it change the way you live, the way a society interacts, the way corporations conduct business, and the way government behaves?
•Good or bad? What worries you looking into the future?
•How have e-businesses, e-commerce, and social networks kept up with the evolving Internet and be in turn be changed by it?
•You may supplement your contribution with events to illustrate your postings.

Fourth Amendment:

search and seizure clause bars government from engaging in unreasonable searches and seizures of persons, houses, papers and effects

warrant provision provides the government must demonstrate probable cause before a warrant will be issued by a judge

grand jury provision requires government to obtain a grand jury indictment in order to charge a person with a capital offense an “otherwise infamous crime”

double jeopardy clause provides that government may not punish a person twice for the same offense

self incrimination provision states that, within a criminal case, a person cannot be forced to provide testimony against themselves

due process clause provides that the federal government may not deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law

speedy trial provision provides right to a speedy trial
public trial provision — individuals are also entitled to a public trial
jury trial clause — right to have case decided by an impartial jury in jurisdiction where crime was allegedly committed
information clause requires government to notify defendants of the nature and cause of the criminal charges
confrontation clause provides accused with the right to confront any witnesses providing testify against them
compulsory process clause allows defendants to compel witnesses to appear on his behalf
assistance of counsel provision provides accused with right to have counsel assist in defending against criminal charges

excessive bail provision states that the amount of bail (the collateral imposed by a court as a condition for pretrial release of the defendant) cannot be excessive

excessive fines provision provides that a fine (a post-conviction punishment in the form of monetary payment) cannot be excessive

cruel and unusual punishment clause provides that government may not inflict cruel and unusual punishment upon individuals

Seizures and Arrest
Determined based on the totality of the circumstances (the overall context of detention)

Assessment of reasonableness what a reasonable person would believe under the circumstances

Need for probable causesufficient and trustworthy information to reasonably believe that a person has committed a crime
Atwater v. Lago Vista (2001)
investigatory detention — a relatively brief stop of an individual for purposes of conducting a reasonable investigation of possible criminal activity

Requires reasonable suspicion — less stringent standard than probable cause

“Terry-stop” stop and frisk

Must have governmental conduct

The person must have a reasonable expectation of privacy

Search must be reasonable
A search warrant is one measure of reasonableness

Kyllo v. United States (2001)

search incident to a lawful arrest
consent searches
plain view doctrine
stop and frisk exception
plain-feel exception
exigent circumstances exception
hot-pursuit rule
automobile exception

Four primary considerations:
whether warrant issued by neutral and detached judicial authority;
whether warrant was based on a finding of probable cause;
whether warrant provides sufficiently detailed instructions to police about person or places to be searched and the items to be seized;
whether the warrant was properly executed.

Good Faith Exception to Valid Warrant
United States v. Leon (1984)
Designed to bar police from employing unreasonable tactics against suspects during custodial criminal investigations

Applies to testimony or statements, not to physical evidence

Applies when police engage in custodial interrogations of suspects
Need for government conduct

Person must be in custody
custodial requirement

Need for interrogation
excludes basic questions asked by police during the “booking” process name, address, age, etc.

Must inform suspects that:
they have the right to remain silent;
anything they say can and will be used against them in court;
they have the right to presence of an attorney; and
if they cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for them.

Prior to or during an interrogation
police must immediately stop questioning person regarding the particular offense for which he is being interrogated

Can restart questioning if:
suspect initiates such questioning on his own;

police seek to ask questions about another offense; or

police “scrupulously honor” the suspects request not to talk, wait a sufficient amount of time before trying to continue the questioning, and not coerce the suspect

into resuming the questioning.

Public safety exception
New York v. Quarles (1984)
Grand jury testimony;
Voluntary (as opposed to involuntary) statements may be used to impeach;
harmless error (an error made during trial that ostensibly does not change the outcome of the case).