Chimel v. California Supreme Court Case, Arguments, Impact

In Chimel v. California (1969) the Supreme Court ruled that an arrest warrant did not give officers the opportunity to search the arrestees entire property. Under the Fourth Amendment, officers are required to obtain a search warrant specifically for that purpose, even if they have a warrant for arrest. Fast Facts: Chimel v. California Case Argued: March 27, 1969Decision Issued:  June 23, 1969Petitioner: Ted ChimelRespondent:   State of CaliforniaKey Questions: Is a warrantless search of a suspect’s home constitutionally justified under the Fourth Amendment as incident to that arrest?Majority Decision: Justices Warren, Douglas, Harlan, Stewart, Brennan, and MarshallDissenting: Justices Black and WhiteRuling: The Court determined that searches incident to arrest are limited to the area within the immediate control of the suspect, so according to the Fourth Amendment, the search of Chimel’s house was unreasonable. Facts of the Case On September 13, 1965, three officers approached Ted Chimels house with a warrant for his arrest. Chimel’s wife answered the door and let the officers into their home where they could wait until Chimel returned. When he returned, the officers handed him the arrest warrant and asked to â€Å"look around.† Chimel protested but the officers insisted that the arrest warrant gave them the authority to do so. The officers proceeded to search every room of the house. In two rooms, they instructed Chimel’s wife to open drawers. They seized items that they believed related to the case. In court, Chimel’s attorney argued that the arrest warrant was invalid and the warrantless search of Chimel’s home violated his Fourth Amendment right. The lower courts and the appeals courts found that the warrantless search was â€Å"incident to the arrest† which was based on good faith. The Supreme Court granted a writ of certiorari. Constitutional Issue Is an arrest warrant sufficient justification for officers to search a house? Under the Fourth Amendment, do officers need to get a separate search warrant to search the area around someone when placed under arrest? The Arguments Attorneys on behalf of the State of California argued that the officers correctly applied the Harris-Rabinowitz rule, a generally applied search and seizure doctrine formed from U.S. v. Rabinowitz and U.S. v. Harris. Together the majority opinions in those cases suggested that officers could conduct searches outside of the arrestee. In Rabinowitz, for example, the officers arrested a person in a one-room office and searched the entire room, including the contents of drawers. In each case, the Court upheld the officer’s ability to search the place where the arrest was made and seize anything connected to the crime. Chimel’s attorney argued that the search violated Chimel’s Fourth Amendment protections because it was based on an arrest warrant and not a search warrant. The officers had plenty of time to get a separate search warrant. They waited several days before acting on the arrest warrant. Majority Opinion In a 7-2 decision, Justice Potter Stewart delivered the opinion of the Court. The search of Chimels home was not incident to the arrest. The Supreme Court rejected the Harris-Rabinowitz rule as a violation of the fundamental intent of the Fourth Amendment. According to the majority, officers violated Chimels Fourth Amendment protections against illegal searches and seizures when they went room by room, searching his residence without a valid search warrant. Any search should have been more limited. For example, searching the subject of the arrest for weapons that might be used to get free from an arrest is reasonable. Justice Stewart wrote: There is ample justification, therefore, for a search of the arrestees person and the area within his immediate control—construing that phrase to mean the area from within which he might gain possession of a weapon or destructible evidence. However, Justice Stewart wrote, any further search infringes upon the Fourth Amendment. Officers must always take circumstances and the total atmosphere of the case into account but within the limits of the Fourth Amendment. The Fourth Amendment was ratified to protect members of the colonies from the warrantless searches they had experienced under British rule, according to the Justices. The probable cause requirement ensured oversight and aimed to curb police abuse of power. Allowing officers to search without probable cause because they have a search warrant defeats the purpose of the Fourth Amendment. Dissenting Opinion Justices White and Black dissented. They argued that the officers did not violate Chimels Fourth Amendment protections when they searched his home after arresting him. The Justices were concerned that the majority opinion prevented police officers from conducting an emergency search. If police were to arrest someone, leave, and return with a search warrant, they would risk losing the evidence or collecting evidence that had been altered. An arrest creates exigent circumstances, which means that the arrest creates a situation where a reasonable person would believe that immediate action needs to be taken. In addition, the Justices argued that a remedy to an unreasonable search is quickly available to the defendant. After an arrest, the defendant has access to an attorney and judge which is satisfactory opportunity to dispute the issues of probable cause shortly thereafter. Impact In their dissenting opinion, Justices White and Black noted that the term incident to arrest had been narrowed and expanded four times over the course of 50 years. Chimel v. California became the fifth change. Overturning the Harris-Rabinowitz rule, the case limited incident to arrest to the area surrounding the person under arrest, to ensure that the person could not use a concealed weapon on the officers. All other searches require a search warrant. The case upheld the exclusionary rule in Mapp v. Ohio which was both recent (1961) and controversial. Police power to search during an arrest was revised once more in the 1990s when the court ruled that officers may make a protective sweep of the area if they reasonably believe that a dangerous person might be hiding nearby. Sources Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (1969)â€Å"Chimel v. California - Significance.†Ã‚  Jrank Law Library, law.jrank.org/pages/23992/Chimel-v-California-Significance.html.

Myth of Propaganda in the Balkans and Rwanda Essay

Mass Manipulation and Genocide: The Myth of Propaganda in the Balkans and Rwanda War and conquest have been among the most enduring traits of humankind throughout the ages. While we would all like to believe that we are, by nature, a peaceful species, we still understand there are some things worth fighting for, and given the appropriate context, there are some things worth killing for. As reasoning beings, we hope that if violence is the only option it is for a clear and legitimate purpose. That is why it was so confounding to hear of such heinous acts of senseless violence as stories from Germany began to emerge after World War II. The world shuddered as the actions of Hitler’s henchmen attempting to eradicate entire ethnic groups†¦show more content†¦Indeed, the propaganda employed through various media was instrumental in the rise of nationalism and the fomenting of fear and ethnic hatred in the Balkans and in Rwanda. It is clear that propaganda is a powerful tool and its implementation played a significant role in these conflicts, but the ext ent of that role is less certain. Does propaganda alone have the power to incite genocide and ethnic cleansing? Are certain media more effective in achieving extremist goals than others? Could we stop genocides before they start by identifying and targeting outlets of propaganda? As this paper will demonstrate, the social, political and economic climates of nations in question—in this case, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia—determine how effective state-sponsored propaganda is at crystallizing divisions among people and inspiring one group to attempt to eradicate another. Before we can understand how propaganda operates, it is important to define exactly what we mean by â€Å"propaganda.† The term itself dates back to 1622 when Pope Gregory XV established a papal bull with the title Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fedei, an effort to counter the Protestant movement. Thus from its inception, propaganda was employed to establish a sense of otherness within populati ons, inspiring negative reactions among Protestants and positive feelings amongShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pageswars, Morrow not only compares the two conflicts in detail, but also approaches each war and its linkages from a thoroughly global perspective. This combination of rigorous comparison and breadth allows him to repeatedly challenge longestablished myths, provide alternatives to narrowly conceived interpretations, and offer quite an original take on the most extensively covered conflicts in human history and the decades of unprecedented global violence they framed. Morrow’s contribution here, as

Perception and reality of technology Free Essays

Perception and Reality of Technology Nowadays, technology is popular in our lives and greatly improves as time is passing. Technology has brought many benefits, but in reality, many people perceive technology as having negatively impacted our lives. There are three things of technology which can provide to us a better knowledge; faster ways of locomotion and communication are smart phones, computers, and televisions. We will write a custom essay sample on Perception and reality of technology or any similar topic only for you Order Now The perception is everyone knows smart phones can make life easier in many ays; Smart phones support a wide variety of other services such as text messages, emails, the Internet access, games, and photography; they allow us to reach anyone all around the world. By using smart phones for voice calls or video calls and text messages, people are able to keep in touch with others in a long distance. Today, with the development of cell phones, we can use them for our entertainment such as surfing the Internet, sending photos or downloading videos and games. Additionally, GPS in smart phones becomes an important part of our life. People use GPS in smart phones to find their way to home, work, restaurants, or shopping centers. Although we already have classical GPSs, smart phones are usually lighter, smaller, and faster than the classical GPSs. That is why smart phones are used by many people in around the world. According to a research, the number of people accessing the web through smart phones is increasing to over 17. 4% of worldwide internet usage (Fox). In the reality, smart phones have negative effects to students in the education environment. They distract students from their lessons and make them miss important notes. As students often text messages to each other; they may also interrupt other students. Most people do not control how much time they should use smart phones, they waste their time on smart phones: playing games, watching movies, and news updating. Moreover, smart phones disturb people when they focus on driving; and they have to take their eyes off the road to talk or text. It is very risky and dangerous to everyone in and around the car. According to a report in 2009 in he U. S, there were a reported 5,474 people killed by distracted drivers; 995 of those were considered killed by drivers distracted by smart phones (Distracted Driving 2009). Next, in perception, that is the computer is one of the important features of technology, which is very useful for people in order to widen their knowledge. Our current development is due to computers in many areas. People consider that computers provide better education; they provide as with many distant learning courses and online testing like McGraw-Hill Connect and MyltLab. Also, computers furnish a lot of necessary access to information such as news and emails. Moreover, people use computers to keep in touch with entertainment, looking for friends; or watch Glee comedy and America’s Next Top Model shows. On the other hand, in reality, people sometimes abuse computers. Playing games on computer do not have benefit to adults and children; it wills a cause bad effect on people such as eye strains, wrist, neck and back pains. People, who use computers too otten in a long time, should take a snort break atter 1 or 2 hours. Computer can affect our mental health with the large amount of bad knowledge on the Internet; especially children and teenagers. They enjoy play video games and watch violent movies; it may also affect their psychologist and make them become a murder in school. According toa research in 2011 in the U. S, the Supreme Court struck down California’s law did not allow to sale or rental of violent video games to people under 18 (Beresin). In perception, television is another kind of popular technology which many household have. They can be operated either by battery or electronics. Furthermore, television can improve vocabulary and language skills for people who want to learn second languages. After a long day of work, people love to spend time watching TV with their family members. With the help TV, people may learn more about different countries culture from entertainment, educates, and informs all functions of mass media. The reality is the disadvantage of televisions; they often stop people from following other good habits like reading books and socializing. How to cite Perception and reality of technology, Papers

The Evolution of Black Hair free essay sample

Abstract African-American, or Black, hair is very diverse. It ranges from extremely thin and straight, to extremely thick and curly. Throughout history, it could be seen as a gift and a curse. Hair in previous and modern times is seen as a sign of beauty, but all races are not always treated equally. Problems with identity and the struggle to conform caused many African-Americans to be ashamed of what they were born with. Even today, evidence of the struggles are still present. In the project we hope to learn how the views and opinions have changed throughout history. We would also like to educate others about African-American hair and inform them on the common misconceptions. Ms. Miller Social Studies 8 March 2012 The Evolution of African American Hair African-American hair has a history as long as the term itself. From desperate attempts to cope to an inability to maintain, Africans and African-Americans, when it came to hair, were seemingly â€Å"forced† into hiding or altering their hair to conform to what society saw, at the time, as â€Å"normal†. What made life that much easier at the time, made it a struggle to break away from that dependence or constant attempt to be normal or to fit in. In a world today where individuality is just beginning to be embraced, people must look back in history to see where some of the stereotypes and feelings come from, so that they may understand why people do the things that they do. The first African slaves were brought into Jamestown in 1619, but soon after, African language, culture, and grooming habits began to disappear. Without the privilege of access to hair grooming tools, items like butter, kerosene, and bacon grease were used as conditioners and cleaners (Naturallycurly. com). These products were usually excess items that the slave owner, or master, didn’t use in his home. Pictures from this period would depict female Africans or African-Americas with scarves or cloth on their heads. Several sources say that they were symbols of enslavement and subordination. In fact, there were laws passed in the South that said female slaves must wear the head wraps. Other sources say that it was a misconstrued sign of rebellion, adapted from African culture (The African American Womans Headwrap: Unwinding the Symbols). While the head wraps protected the hair from the elements and protected them from lice, they bonded them to slavery. With nothing to care for their hair, they covered it up to hide it. The pressure to change didn’t stop there. Slaves with lighter skin and straighter hair were worth more at auctions. This led many to believe that the slaves with darker skin and curlier hair were less attractive and worth less. Although several years after the end of slavery, skin bleaching products were released. African-Americans, who styled their hair like, or closely resembled, white people, were respected even though they were not seen as equals. The end of slavery bought new challenges for everyone, and the same feelings and views associated with African or African-American people before, were still there (A Look Back at the Black Hair Story). Hiding out of embarrassment did not last too long. Garrett Augustus Morgan, the child of two former slaves, noticed that certain chemicals he used at the clothing factory he worked at could not only straighten fabric, but also hair (Taylor). After his first successful live experiments, first on the naturally curly fur of an Airedale dog and later on himself, he opened the G. A. Morgan Hair Refining Company in 1913 and began to straighten hair in his home workshop. The chemicals he used were very strong could never touch human skin. The alkaline and lye chemical mixture strips the hair of proteins and removes the curl permanently. In order to maintain the chemically straightened hair, the relaxer would have to be reapplied every six weeks, or every time the curly hair began to grow back. Stemming from the time of slavery, many African-Americans found it hard to manage their hair. Relaxers supposedly made their hair more â€Å"manageable† and caused them to be widely accepted. Years later, African-Americans who used relaxers saw the harmful effects that lye had on their hair. It could cause burns, hair thinning, and hair and skin loss. No-lye relaxers were made to reduce those results. In relaxers today, chemicals a lot less than harmful lye, such as potassium hydroxide and lithium hydroxide are used. Despite the harmful effects, African-American women who styled their hair like white women, whether it was with chemical straighteners or straightening combs, were seen as â€Å"well-adjusted† and more widely accepted in the white community although African-Americans even though blacks were not seen as equals (Little-Known Black History Fact: Hair Relaxer). Years later, in the twentieth century, the nineteen-sixties were a time of change or transition. In the early part of the decade, the Black community still tried hard to be accepted, or to feel normal. The surge of Civil Rights and â€Å"Black power† fuelled a sort of rebellion for many Black people. Relaxers fell out of style, and many African-American leaders urged people to return to their â€Å"roots†. Black pride was centered on political and social issues, but it could be evident in appearance. Many African-American men and women began to â€Å"go natural† and wear their hair in large afros. The afro was not an only a political symbol, but also a huge milestone in fashion. Soon after this style came to be, many white people began to copy the style as well. The tables had turned. Instead of looking for normalcy or acceptance in the way the blacks wore their hair, it was the other way around. This marked a huge step in the acceptance of African-American independence and their hair (Civil Rights New Zealand). People from all races began to go natural, but the question is â€Å"what is natural hair? † The answer is clear and simple. Whenever a person is born their hair is natural. Natural hair can have no curl, a slight curl, or be completely curly as long as the texture it is not chemically altered. After Garret Morgan invented the relaxer, several African-Americans, men and women, straightened their hair permanently to be accepted by the white community. After their hair was previously straightened, it was no longer natural. Even though they had a relaxer applied, their hair would always grow back curly even if the hair that was relaxed never did. So basically, if they stopped getting a relaxer, the straight hair would remain, but their naturally curly hair would grow from the roots. Many, though, did not stop there. Several African-Americans continued to get a relaxer to maintain the straighter look. The Civil Rights and Black Power era caused many African-Americans to stop getting relaxers, or to â€Å"go natural†. Whenever they felt they were ready, they would cut of the straight, relaxed and let the rest of the curly hair grow. At the time black natural hair was a trend, a large part of fashion during the time, but like every trend it had to come to an end (The Truth About Hair Relaxers). Hair extensions have had a checkered history in the African-American community. Women of all races have used wigs, weaves, and other types of extensions, but there is sometimes a certain stigma tied with them and African-American women. Hair weaves are applied by braiding the hair and long wefts or tracks of hair are sewn with needle and thread to the braid. The hair can be human, synthetic, long, short, straight, or curly. Most of the controversy comes from this. Some women African-American women wear weaves all the time so that they can look more professional and others wear them for convenience. Some will even wear them for the transitioning to natural period. Many women are penalized for wearing weaves or extensions of any kind because others see them as fake. Weaves or extensions are one of the most common forms of hair styling seen in the African-American, or Black, community, almost tying with braiding with extensions (Fashion-Era. com). Now that African Americans have gone through these changes and experiences through the years how has it changed since today’s era? The twenty-first century brought new changes to the way the African-American hair was viewed. The Civil Rights era was a huge leap towards equality, and even though people of all races still fight towards equality every day, it was an important part in America’s history. However, history does tend to repeat itself. The relaxer made its way back into African-American homes. Many people believed that natural hair was, once again, unmanageable and unprofessional. Also, pressure from friends of other races to be more â€Å"normal† could push African-American women to straighten their hair. The end of the decade, however, brought new changes. More and more people are â€Å"going natural†, and proving the stereotypes wrong. This will produce a whole new generation of African-American females with new feelings and ideas about their own hair. America was built on the principles of opportunities and freedom from persecution. Anyone who knows American history knows it was never that easy. Even today, equality in all aspects of life is a goal we will always try to obtain. The past is full of memories, some that we may not remember, ones that we cannot forget, and even those that we are ashamed of, but in order to learn to make a better present and promising future, we must remember the past (Black Hair). Conclusion Learning about the history of African-American hair and how it has evolved was a tough, but interesting process. The history was filled with struggle. The struggle to become what was believed to be normal, and the struggle to break away from it. We were surprised to find out what products were used during the slave era and also that many other races began to copy the afro during the Black Power Movement. We were amazed at the transformation African-American hair has gone through throughout the years. We hope that our project will enlighten others, just as it has enlightened us.