A Web Quest by Ed Seidlinger
SEARCH AND SEIZURE:
AN EXTENSION OF
INTRODUCTION
Evidence collected by the police is governed by the search and seizure requirements of the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Thousands of incidents occur each year involving reviewing the traditional use of police power. The U.S. Supreme Court has taken an active role in reviewing police operations. Since the middle of the twentieth century, the Court has used the writ of certiorari to decide which cases it should hear. Under this procedure, the justices have the discretion to select cases they will review for a decision. You are a newest member of the Supreme Court and your vote is the deciding vote to hear a case brought by a writ of certiorari for review.
The Supreme Court is unique in
several ways. It is the only court
established by a constitutional mandate rather than federal legislation. It decides basic political and social issues
of importance to the nation. In reviewing Minnesota
v. Dickerson you and your fellow students will be able to understand the
impact that Supreme Court justices have on identifying the rights and liberties
of
Task
In reviewing the police operations,
you will as a judge decide if the actions taken by the
Use CompuLEGAL to find two precedents to support
your decision
Analyze the elements of the Fourth Amendment
Review the components of warrantless searches
and seizures (spaceship)
Use Ask-A-LEGAL Eagle to ask two questions on
the reasonableness of warrantless searches and seizures
Prepare a 600-900 word legal memorandum supporting or opposing the
constitutionality of the police actions. This memorandum will be typed,
double-spaced using MS Word.
Process
In preparing your legal memorandum for reviewing the police actions, you will be able to:
Form groups to review the constitutionality of
the police actions
Analyze the pertinent facts of the class
Review precedents that support your views. You
will find this on the Compu-legal site.
Review articles on warrantless searches and
seizures and the purpose of the Fourth Amendment
Prepare two questions for the LEGAL Eagle on
warrantless searches and seizures. Use these questions in your memorandum
Write a 600-900 word legal memorandum
supporting or opposing the constitutionality of the police actions using the
information gained from Compu-Legal. For extra credit you may do both.
Resources
The
following resources will be used in preparing your legal memorandum:
1) Internet: TIPS website www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal
2) CompuLEGAL: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/scales/instructl.html
3) Ask-A-LEGAL Eagle: www.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/welcome.html
4) Article: The Fourth Amendment Guarantee by David M. O’Brien (handout)
5) Article: Exception to the warrant requirement by David M. O’Brien (handout)
6)
Case:
Evaluation
The students’ ability to present and discuss their legal memorandum, according to the justices’ criteria will determine their understanding of the topic.
|
RUBRIC |
BELOW STANDARDS |
MEET STANDARDS |
ABOVE STANDARDS |
|
Legal Memorandum |
Not organized |
Exhibits some organization |
Well organized |
|
|
Lacks knowledge of facts |
Some knowledge of the facts |
Clear knowledge of the facts |
|
Lacks understanding of the Fourth Amendment |
Some understanding of the Fourth Amendment |
Clear understanding of the Fourth Amendment |
|
|
No precedents |
Some precedents |
Clear understanding of all the precedents |
|
|
No understandings of the issue |
Some understanding of the issue |
Clear understanding of the issue |
Conclusion
Having successfully completed your assignment on Minnesota v. Dickerson you will now be able to analyze a case while using the Internet. The Supreme Court has established some significant exceptions to the search and seizure requirements of the Fourth Amendment. Your WebQuest will provide the foundation to examine another critical exception in warrantless searches. In Chimel v. California you will have examined a case involving the incident area of arrest. You also now understand how important critical analysis of Supreme Court cases can be and how important Supreme Court decisions are in a democratic society.
Meeting
the
SOCIAL
STUDIES
STANDARD 5: Civics, Citizenship, and
Government
Students will use a variety of
intellectual skills to demonstrate their understanding of the necessity for
establishing governments; the governmental system of the
Standard 1: History of the
Students will use a variety of intellectual
skills to demonstrate their understanding of major ideas, eras, themes, and
constitutional turning points in the history of the
ENGLISH LANGUAGE STANDARDS
Standard 3: Language for Critical Analysis and Evaluation
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for critical analysis and evaluation. As listeners and readers, students will analyze experiences, ideas, information, and issues presented by others using a variety of established criteria. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to present, from a variety of perspectives, their opinions and judgments on experiences, ideas, information and issues.
Standard 1: Language for Information and Understanding
Students will listen, speak, read, and write for information and understanding. As listeners and readers, students will collect data, facts, and ideas; discover relationships, concepts, and generalizations; and use knowledge generated from oral, written, and electronically produced texts. As speakers and writers, they will use oral and written language that follows the accepted conventions of the English language to acquire, interpret, apply, and transmit information.