Criminal Justice Coursework Example

Criminal Justice
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Institutional Affiliations:
Criminal Justice
A District Judge Shira Scheindlin issued a 198-page ruling which found the stop and frisk street patrol method unconstitutional. The ruling is highly criticized because it conflicts with an individual’s constitutional rights. Looking at the Judge Scheindlin’s judgment, one small portion shows that she made decisions according to her personal views, irrelevant to the case’s facts. Evidently, she quoted a partisan for Trayvon Martin in a context unrelated to New York City’s frisking program (Rudovsky & Rosenthal, 2013). She relied solely on her opinion that any stop and frisk is an intrusion, even though she confessed the intrusion is marginal. Consequently, she overlooked the Supreme Court directives when she declined to judge the stop and frisk program’s effectiveness.
Stop and frisk program is not always constitutional. New York City has faced an allegation of unconstitutional policing against using race as a criterion for search and seizure. The Federal rule of civil procedure 24(b) gives for intervention as of right (Rudovsky & Rosenthal, 2013). The failure of applicants to timely file an application, demonstrate an interest in the action and show that the interest may be impaired by the disposition of the action made the District court conclude that police union failed to meet the requirements. Judge Scheindlin ruled that the city’s law that required citizens to be frisked was in violation of the law.

A ruling was reached after a study was conducted which showed that more than 4.4 million people were stopped. 80% of the pedestrian stops were of Latinos or African Americans (Bellin, 2014). The study showed that most of the stops were conducted without enough evidence of suspicion, and were significantly higher than the constitutionally allowed stops. Moreover, the city had a policy and custom of fourth amendment violation.
Studies indicate that the association between citizens and the police is negatively affected by the program. Module 6 highlights the role of the program in controlling crime in cities. The module is also clear on the responsibility of the police in controlling crime among citizens. Officers should undergo training to enable them to conduct stops lawfully and with respect. Consequently, stops should be conducted only when they are justified. Typically, filing a report is a requirement describing the cause for stop and context of the stop together with the consequences (Bellin, 2014). When people are treated respectfully by the police, there is a likelihood that those people will view their handling as unbiased, irrespective of the consequences.
References
Bellin, J. (2014). The Inverse Relationship Between the Constitutionality and Effectiveness of New York City Stop and Frisk. BUL Rev., 94, 1495.
Rudovsky, D., & Rosenthal, L. (2013). Debate: The constitutionality of stop-and-frisk in New York City.