You are a judge in New York City at the time that the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case is going on. You are familiar and have personally dealt with crimes of racial profiling in the past, but with this recent case, they have become more publicized and prominent. Claims of racial profiling in who was stopped, questioned, and frisked by New York City Police Department officers led to the federal courts adjudicating several class action civil rights lawsuits that ultimately resulted in a settlement involving judicial oversight of police stop-and-frisk activities. Because of this, and the acquittal of George Zimmerman for killing of Trayvon Martin, the Black Lives Matter movement was formed. Your viewpoint of a judge is that stop and frisk would be a helpful and necessary part of keeping
the city safe. With your viewpoint as well as the above information, including recent racial profiling cases, how would you reexamine the use of force being legally justified? How do the facts about a case influence your opinion? Do you agree with the outcome of the George Zimmerman/Trayvon Martin case? Please fully explain.
What will be an ideal response?
Student responses will vary.
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According to the Innocence Project, approximately 350 DNA exonerees have been released after being convicted of crimes they did not commit.
Answer the following statement true (T) or false (F)
If Officer Morris and two witnesses stated that Officer Morris was trying to restrain Betty from continuing to punch Wilma, and the only reason he touched Betty inappropriately was due to Betty's fighting to get out of Officer Morris' grasp, Officer Morris can then raise the defense of
a. probable cause to arrest Betty. b. reasonable suspicion to arrest Betty. c. official immunity. d. None of the answers are correct.
Philosophers Beccaria and Bentham are identified as the core theorists of ___________________
a. criminal atavism b. classical criminology c. Marxism d. social learning theory
The extent to which the community believes that police actions are appropriate, proper, and just is known as __________
a. police legitimacy b. professional era policing c. constitutional policing d. all of the above