...to protect him or herself with self defense if they feel their life is at stake or going to be subjected to serious bodily harm. With many positives and negatives to this law it should not be passed in Massachusetts and be removed from all states where this law exists. The ‘Stand Your Ground’ law promotes vigilantes to conjure up crimes through loopholes, allows people to commit crimes based off of prejudicial profiling, and is misunderstood and used improperly so law enforcers don’t know when to act on the law and when to enforce it. As it stands now there are twenty four states in the United States that hold the 'stand your ground' law in which each state has its own definition. With the recent case Florida vs. Zimmerman in Florida, where Zimmerman killed a boy Martin without good reason, the law is being questioned on its definition and misuse. Currently Florida statutes chapter 776 defines justifiable use of force. In the subset .012 it states a person is allowed to use force, except deadly force, against another person when that person believes that it is necessary to defend him/herself. However, they are allowed to use deadly force and can't retreat if one believes that it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to him or herself (State of Florida). Another state that holds the 'stand your ground' law is Arizona. The Arizona state legislature states a person is justified in threatening to use or using...
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...Alice Niako English 15.6 Racial Profiling refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targets of targeted individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual’s race, ethnicity, and religion or nation origin. I am against racial profiling, it is typical practiced by police upon reliance on a group of characteristics deemed to be associated with crime. In 2000, 20 state legislatures considered legislation which would require compiling records on police stops according to the journal article Racial Profiling by Baltimore: Prejudice Institute. Some proposals include fining police officers who engage in profiling and withholding state funds from offending police departments. According to the article Trayvon Martin case highlighted as radical profiling by Senate panel, “4.3 million street stops done by the New York Police Department from 2002 to 2011 disproportionately targeted black and Latino residents and that just 12 percent of total stops resulted in an arrest or summons.” This demonstrates the concept of racial profiling being abused, in these stops along with the Trayvon case “stereotypes played a role,” said Anthony Romero. Countless accounts have been made by activists regarding to this sensitive and controversial topic of racial profiling. “There is a real tension between black boys and the police. Not perceived but real. If you walk into any inner city school in the African American community and ask students, Have any of you ever been racially...
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...Police Discretion Case Analysis Albeiro E. Florez Law Enforcement Administration CCJS 340 Due by 13 October 2013 Author Note Albeiro E. Florez, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland University College. This report is a response to Professor Jeffrey B. Bumgarner’s project 2 directives. Correspondence concerning this report should be addressed to Albeiro E. Florez, Department of Criminal Justice, University of Maryland University College, Adelphi eCampus, Adelphi, MD 20783. Contact: florezalbeiro87@gmail.com Police Discretion Case Analysis People make decisions on a daily basis to decide what we should do in any given situation. Having the knowledge to differentiate between what is appropriate or inappropriate is what gives us the freedom to make this decision with the correct judgment. In law enforcement, sworn officers are taught to face any situation by employing good judgment and making the best decisions by themselves or with little to no supervision. This is what we know as police discretion (The Rynard Law Firm, 2007). The Merriam-Webster dictionary describes discretion as “the quality of being careful about what you do and say so that people will not be embarrassed or offended” (Merriam-Webster, 2013). Although systematic routines and protocols need to be followed by officers to ensure they abide by the law as well as to enforce it, often circumstances will show up and force officers to make a decision based on what they feel is right...
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...not have to be the smartest human being on earth to understand that the phrase explains that black lives also do matter. “All Lives Matter” helps to show that no life is more important than another. The Civil Rights movement “Black Lives Matter” originated in 2013 after George Zimmerman was found not guilty on second degree murder of Trayvon Martin (Black 1). George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida, called 911...
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...In response to the act of violence done towards Trayvon Martin, President Obama explains, “When Trayvon Martin was first shot I said that this could have been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could have been me 35 years ago… I think it’s important to recognize that the African American community is looking at this issue through a set of experiences and a history that doesn’t go away”. The history of the African American community in the United States that President Obama is mentioning is the concept of the construction of whiteness and how that “whiteness” has been used repeatedly against the Black community. Trayvon Martin is not the first nor the last victim of this history and stand your ground culture which Kelly Douglas explains in her book, Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God. Then the question comes to us when we observe these acts of violence, who or what is responsible for the acts of violence in the world like the murder of Trayvon Martin? Do we blame the murderer, George Zimmerman, who felt that Trayvon Martin was a...
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...Getting away with Murder There are different laws in each state that allow citizens to protect themselves against a criminal. However, Florida’s law Stand your ground is giving todays citizens a right to kill. Every day we read about a new case where this law justifies the killing of another person. This law was made up to protect criminals and people who choose to kill when they could have easily avoided the whole situation. Shoot first and ask questions later should have been the name of this law. Walking home from the convenient store, playing your music in your car at a gas station, or even going to the movies and asking someone to keep it down has become a scary task. How is it possible that you run the risk of getting shot or killed by doing these everyday normal tasks and the person responsible for your death gets off Scott free with no repercussion for their actions? Having the right to protect yourself when you are seriously in harm’s way is necessary, but useless acts of violence is what todays people are doing and justifying it in court with the Stand your Ground law. This is turning innocent people into targets for angry individuals to take their frustrations or dislikes out on. I want to have the right to walk down the street with a hoodie on and not fear for my life. Gun laws have been restricted over the U.S since the Sandy Hook shootings; however Florida still hasn’t caught up with these actions and still provides an out for over zelles gun toting...
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...knowledge in what is going on within racial communities, and the Black Lives Matter movement tries to shine light on the iniquity in the black community. August 28, 1955, Emmett Louis Till was kidnapped, beaten, and shot in the head. He was only 14 years old. Four days before his death, Till reportedly flirted with a white cashier in Money, Mississippi. His corpse was found in the Tallahatchie River beaten and shot. His death sparked national outrage and served as a stimulant for the civil rights movement. Although the United States tries to forget its past atrocities, the pain of the past is not dead. Author Gordon Marino, wrote an article called, “All Lives Matter vs Black Lives Matter,” where he...
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...Similarly to the unequal representation of the Trayvon Martin case, the corporations that run the media are predominantly white. According to the U.S. census data, “with a growing number of non-whites in America, fewer people of color are in decision-making positions at daily newspapers, television and radio stations, and online news organizations.” (Sanders) Clearly, not only is the media controlling the outcome of court cases in America, but the media itself is controlled in favor of whites. This obvious domination of the media inevitably creates racist, biased, and white-washed reports that factor into the oppression of the black community. Even the prestige of Harvard University has found this discrimination to be true. In Harvard’s Project Implicit, researches found that “88 percent of white Americans...
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...CRIMINAL JUSTICE MAY 29, 2014 I have chosen the State of Florida vs. George Zimmerman as the first part of this paper. Why was Zimmerman charged and tried at the state level, and then face the possibility of Federal charges? Is this not “double jeopardy”? The court that will try a case is decided by jurisdiction, jurisdiction being defined as “(1) the legal authority of a court to hear and decide a certain type of case; (2) the geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases “ (Definitions, n.d.). Also we must clarify state and federal jurisdiction. Federal court jurisdiction is limited to the types of cases listed in the Constitution and specifically provided for by Congress. For the most part, federal courts only hear cases in which the United States is a party and cases involving violations of the U.S. Constitution or federal laws. There are others, but those are the ones relevant to this paper. State courts have much broader jurisdiction, they preside over cases most individual citizens would be involved in and most criminal cases involve violations of state law and are thus tried in state court. Being as Zimmerman was charged with second degree murder, he was tried in a state court. Zimmerman was found not guilty by the jury, so case closed, correct? U.S. Attorney General Holder stated that after the trial that the Federal Government would investigate the possibility of charging Zimmerman with a civil rights violation, or the Federal “hate crime” law....
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...Racially Biased Policing Turns Fatal B.J. Johnson English 102 December 2014 This past summer on August 9th, in Ferguson Missouri, Officer Darren Wilson heard a dispatcher report of a stealing in progress. Following protocol, Officer Wilson radioed in to offer help to the officers searching for the suspects in question. Wilson’s offer wasn’t needed due to the fact that the suspects had disappeared. Moments later Wilson drove past two young black males and ordered them to move off the street. After a second look, Wilson realized one of the young men matched the description of the stealing progress. Wilson radioed for backup and in little over minute and young man lay dead at the scene. He was unarmed. That young man was Michael Brown; the 18-year-old black boy who’s shooting this past summer sparked a major controversy and raised a lot of questions about Police Shootings in the U.S. and their undeniably pattern of racial issues. Currently young black males risk of being shot by police officers is 21 times more likely greater than young white males (Staples). Due to police tactics motivated by racial profiling, racially bias news and media that enhance minority stereotypes, United States law enforcement is targeting minorities that results in Police Shootings caused by racism. After Michael Brown’s tragic death, many realized that our country had seen similar circumstances like this before. A young, unarmed, black male shot dead, taking with him, the alternative...
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...DOUBLE JEOPARDY A review of the Law Lovetta Smith CJUS 220 Professor Jeff Sexton October 13, 2013 INTRODUCTION This essay will provide detailed information on the Fifth Amendment which is very important in the United States. It will explain and give understanding of the importance of the Double Jeopardy Amendment and how it is used in the system of Law. Also it will discuss case in which involved the Fifth Amendment and how it was used to protect the citizens of several cases and how the people were protected with the Fifth Amendment rule inside the system of law. Double jeopardy is a procedural defense that forbids a defendant from being tried again on the same charges following a legitimate acquittal or conviction. In most countries with the common law rule most criminals are allowed to enter a plea of not guilty or autrefois acquit, which is a French law meaning a person has been found not guilty of the same charge in a previous trial with the same evidence and cannot be retried for the same crime regardless of what new evidence that has surfaced. Double Jeopardy is a procedural defense that protects a person from being tried again for the same crime. Double Jeopardy is the oldest legal concept of western civilizations. Double jeopardy is the prosecution of a person for an offense for which he or she has already been prosecuted. The double jeopardy clause, which is in the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution, was designed to protect an individual...
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...Tobias Powell December 9, 2013 Modern Hist. of Hawaii Period 1 Racism In Hawaii Nei Unity is something that is appreciated by every individual on this planet as it is help to those from different cultures, religion and race to overcome their differences and to work side by side with understanding and devotion. Acceptance plays an enormous role but as soon as an individual is tolerant to these differences, a great amount of possibilities is opened for him. But what if someone is unable to withstand or accept these changes? This is where the more serious issues rise. ‘Racism is the incapability to accept others for who they are’, which leads to some serious consequences such as prejudice, hate crimes, and could end in assault leading to death. Racism is a worldwide issue in today’s society and most people are trying to fight against it. My essay is composed of racism in Hawaii to which I believe to a certain extent there is. As human beings we are all entitles with the basic rights of living which includes food, shelter, clothing, health care, education and freedom of socializing. Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the slave era and most of our country’s founding fathers have tried to work against it. Hawaii is known for its Aloha spirit to which basically means to love one another as if you were family but what nobody realizes is the amount of hate some people have towards other races on the Hawaiian Islands. ‘Stupid Haole’ is a term used by many locals...
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...Punishment vs Rehabilitation Alana Plummer AJS/502 The way our society is set up it is expected for the criminal justice system to either punish or rehabilitate an individual that commits a crime. Punishment is a condition to refer to any change that occurs after a behavior that reduces the likelihood that that behavior will occur again in the future. Rehabilitation is a treatment and training to an offender so that he or she is made capable of returning to society. There are differences between the effectiveness of punishment compared with the effectiveness of rehabilitation of convicted offenders in prison and under community supervision. Punishment and rehabilitation both are effective with the deterrence of crime, effects on victims and offenders, society and the fiscal effect on society. Deterrence Deterrence is the act of preventing a particular act or behavior from happening. In the criminal justice system deterrence is used to prevent an individual from committing a future crime. Punishment can be an effective deterrence when an individual is sent to jail. Prison is a form of punishment. Prison is a temporary solution while the offender is incarcerated. The highest form of punishment in the criminal justice system is capital punishment. The death penalty is used to deter people from committing crimes. Capital punishment is defined as a form of putting one to death because of a crime a person has committed. The seriousness of the crime determines the punishment...
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...Lavon Whitter CCJS 230 6380 Criminal Law in Action (2148) Project 1 O.J Simpson Case Analysis September 7, 2014 "No one enters suit justly, no one goes to court honestly; they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies, they conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity."— Isaiah 59: 4,9-11, 14-15. The O.J Simpson trial was one of the most publicized criminal trials in American history. America’s beloved professional football star O. J. Simpson, was tried on two counts of murder when his then ex wife Nicole Brown Simpson, and waiter Ronald Lyle Goldman were found dead. Enough evidence was gathered to prove guilt against O.J, and Under the California State Penal Code Section 187A, O.J Simpson was charged with murder. The prosecution did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that O.J Simpson was guilty because the evidence was circumstantial and not definitive enough for a conviction. The O.J Simpson trial was pivotal because it shed light upon the racial inequality and prejudice in the United States. After the Rodney King riots in LA, America took a very cautious approach to racial injustices. Prosecutor Christopher Darden wasted no time in using the psychological approach to appeal to jurors, by portraying O.J Simpson as a jealous and abusive husband to ex-wife Nicole. To the contrary, defense lawyer Johnny Cochran, focused on the ambiguous time line and O.J Simpson’s deteriorating health. The prosecution gathered multiple witnesses that testified against O. J Simpson. Nicole’s...
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...on the screen or printed page of such transmission. The JSTOR Archive is a trusted digital repository providing for long-term preservation and access to leading academic journals and scholarly literature from around the world. The Archive is supported by libraries, scholarly societies, publishers, and foundations. It is an initiative of JSTOR, a not-for-profit organization with a mission to help the scholarly community take advantage of advances in technology. For more information regarding JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. http://www.jstor.org Thu Dec 20 00:11:25 2007 T H E ACCOUNTING REVIEW Vol. LVIII, NO. 1 January 1983 The Methodology of Positive Accounting Charles Christenson ABSTRACT: Jensen, Watts and Zimmerman (referred to hereafter, following Jensen [I 9761, as "the Rochester School of Accounting") have charged that most accounting theories are "unscientific"...
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