Law – criminal assignment 530

CJI 0530: Legal Issues in Criminal Justice (Summer I Term 2023)
FINAL EXAM: INSTRUCTIONS

Your exam is due by Sunday, June 25, 2023 at 11:59 pm Eastern Time.
The final exam covers material from the entire course.
I have limited time to submit final grades so your exam must be submitted on time.

The format of the exam is ESSAY.
You are responsible for reading all assigned readings in preparation for the exam.

There are 2 essay questions you must complete, each worth 100 points for a total of 200 points.

Your essay responses must be uploaded in Canvas ONLY, which will run the TurnItIn program
and provide your results. Please also re-read the handouts on plagiarism in the course
information.

You must include textbook citations and a minimum of two (2) outside scholarly sources
per essay question.

• Appropriate scholarly sources include articles from academic journals, textbooks,
Supreme Court cases, appellate cases, and government reports (e.g., National Institute of
Justice).

• Magazines (e.g., Newsweek) and open-source websites (e.g., Wikipedia) are NOT
suitable sources for the final exam. The use of such sources will decrease your score.

I am NOT looking for your unsupported opinions – your cites to the text book, court cases, and
outside scholarly sources will be the support for your answers. For example, the bare statement
“I don’t think plea bargaining is fair because it encourages innocent people to sometimes admit
guilt” will get no credit. However, if you can support that statement with scholarly references
and give specific documented examples, you will do fine. It will require research, so please give
yourself enough time.

Begin each essay on a new page and have a separate reference list for each essay. You must
provide specific page numbers to your cites, it is never okay to cite to a source generally without
pinpointing where you found your support.

Combine all essays into a single Word or PDF document. TurnItIn will not allow you to
submit a separate file for each essay. All submissions must be original and completed for the
first time, for this term and course. You must complete the exam individually. You are NOT
permitted to collaborate with other students. Preparing your exam as a group or sharing
responses is strictly prohibited. Always please remember, especially as current and future
criminal justice professionals, ethical behavior is of paramount importance to your employability
and to the public trust.

FINAL EXAM TIPS

1. Primarily rely on, and be sure to fully incorporate, the assigned course materials.
− However, you must also be sure to use outside sources that supplement and enhance your

responses.
− Remember: The outside sources you choose must be academic and scholarly.

2. Write in your own voice.
− Sparingly use direct quotes (especially long ones), and paraphrase more often.
− YOUR understanding of the topics—not the textbook’s author—is most important for your

grade.

3. Read the instructions and be sure to be responsive to the questions.
− Even the most well-written essay will not receive full credit if it does not properly address all

the issues and concepts.

4. Proofread before submitting.
− It may be helpful to proofread out loud to make sure that your writing flows properly, is clear

and well-organized, and is grammatically correct.
− It may be helpful to outline your essays before you begin writing.

Question 1:

Please review the sequence of events in the criminal justice system. I have also included this chart in
the Canvas Week 8 Module to be sure you can zoom in to see it clearly. Choose two (2) steps along
the process and explain reforms that have occurred, or reforms that have been proposed, that would
address underlying concerns. Please make sure to identify the underlying problem that the reform
seeks to address, and include any discussions of applicable Constitutional rights we have discussed
in this class. Remember to cite to the text book and two scholarly sources, which would include
court cases.

Question 2:

A lone gunman robbed a jewelry store. The store’s video camera captured the robbery. The tape
was broadcast on the internet by the local law enforcement agency. Shortly thereafter, an
anonymous caller contacted the police saying she saw the footage of the robbery and reported
that the robber appears to look like Aaron Suspect. He’s a 21 year-old employee at the local gas
station.

The next day, two police officers took the taped footage to the gas station and showed it to the
manager, who reported it could be Aaron, but he was not entirely certain because the footage was
grainy. The footage was also shown to Aaron’s landlord who said it could be Aaron, but she also
could not say for sure.

Later that day, the police officers went back to the gas station when Aaron was working. They
asked the manager if they could talk with Aaron, who was called to the manager’s office. The
police introduced themselves to Aaron and simply said they had some questions for him. They

walked with Aaron into the manager’s office and closed the door. One police officer questioned
Aaron from behind the manager’s desk, and the other officer sat near the door. Both officers
were fully uniformed with their pistols visible. Aaron was positioned between them seated in a
folding char. The manager’s office measures nine feet by twelve feet and has no windows.

The police officers told Aaron they wanted to ask him some questions about the jewelry store
robbery that occurred the day before. Aaron said he did not have any such knowledge about the
robbery. He continued to deny that he had any knowledge of the robbery for approximately 30
minutes. Aaron did not ask to leave, and neither police officer specifically told Aaron he was
free to leave.

After the first 30 minutes of denials, the police officers told Aaron that they had a videotape of
the robbery and that they had shown it to three people, all of whom positively identified Aaron
as the armed robber. Aaron said nothing for a few minutes. One of the police officers then added
that if Aaron were to cooperate, he would put a good word in with the prosecutor, and that she
may go easy on Aaron. The police officer added that the local prison was not a good one,
housed a lot of hardened criminals, and that it was a frightening place to be locked-up. Aaron
then exclaimed that he did commit the robbery but that the gun was simply a child’s water pistol
that only appeared real.

Immediately after Aaron made that statement, the police officers informed Aaron that he was
under arrest for the armed robbery of the jewelry store. The police officers read Aaron his
Miranda rights. Aaron stated he understood his Miranda rights, and he told the police officers he
would then remain silent. The police officers placed Aaron in handcuffs and took him to the
police station where he was processed for the charge of armed robbery.

If the police brought this case to you to prosecute, would you move forward with the case
based on the available evidence?

Your response should include an analysis of the following:
1. The role of prosecutorial discretion
2. Identification of possible charges, (NOTE, you do NOT need to identify the official

charge, and you do NOT need to research state statutes. A general identification is fine).
Address the strengths and weaknesses of the possible charge.

3. Identify whether there were any violations of Aaron’s: A. Fourth Amendment rights; B.
Fifth Amendment rights in reference to Miranda; C: Fifth Amendment rights as to the
voluntariness of a confession; D: Potential exclusion of evidence; and E: Any other
significant Constitutional issue that you believe applies.

4. Would you engage in plea negotiation with defense counsel? Explain, and make sure
you identify defense counsel’s obligation if he/she receives a plea offer.

NOTE: When explaining the issues in reference to paragraph 3 above, make sure that you
provide a thorough analysis of each issue. For example, when addressing 4A issues, you
should identify the issue, state the rule, and apply the rule to the facts of your case. You
should be able to explain when a 4A issue is triggered, what the 4A rule stands for, and
then apply it. Follow the same outline for each constitutional issue.