{"id":440,"date":"2025-04-21T14:45:47","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T14:45:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/?p=440"},"modified":"2025-04-21T14:58:16","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T14:58:16","slug":"crjs-assignment-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/2025\/04\/21\/crjs-assignment-1\/","title":{"rendered":"CRJS Assignment 1"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Responding to merchant complaints about addicts congregating by fancy stores, the legislature passed a new law making it a crime\u00a0\u201cto be addicted to the use of illegal narcotics.\u201d\u00a0Walking on the public street, Ms. Tres Belle was seen by a police officer walking unsteadily.\u00a0 The officer approached Ms. Tres Belle and asked her if she was okay.\u00a0 Ms. Tres Belle responded,\u00a0\u201cNone of your business.\u201d\u00a0The officer observed fresh needle marks on Ms. Tres Belle\u2019s arm while she said,\u00a0\u201cI need my stuff, don\u2019t arrest me.\u201d\u00a0Ms. Tres Belle was arrested and charged with violating the new law.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0The question is, can Ms. Tres Belle be successfully convicted?\u00a0Choose the correct answer from the options below<\/strong>\u00a0(10 points<\/strong>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Yes, the officer\u2019s observations are sufficient evidence to convict Ms. Tres Belle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Yes, the officer\u2019s observations, coupled with Ms. Tres Belle\u2019s statements, are ample evidence to convict.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. No, a conviction would violate Ms. Tres Belle\u2019s constitutional rights.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. No, Ms. Tres Belle\u2019s statement cannot be used against her.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

     Could Ms. Tres Belle be prosecuted for the crime of being under the influence of narcotics while in public?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. No, a conviction would violate Ms. Tres Belle\u2019s constitutional rights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the circumstance where the legislature passes a new law that states it is illegal to be addicted to the use of illicit narcotics, it would likely be deemed unconstitutional. According to a previous case, Robinson v. California (1962) (Samaha, 2016, p. 68), it is unconstitutional to punish someone who is an addict because it is a condition or \u201cstatus\u201d rather than an action. It falls under the protection of the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, which center around the right to avoid cruel and unusual punishment. Since the new law in this case makes it illegal to be addicted rather than punishing specific actions (like using or carrying drugs), it\u2019s the same issue as in Robinson. That means charging Ms. Tres Belle would be unconstitutional.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    On the other hand, Ms. Tres Belle could be prosecuted for being under the influence in public. In a similar case, Powell v. Texas (1968) (Samaha, 2016, p. 111), it was okay to punish public intoxication because that\u2019s an action, not just a condition like addiction.\u00a0 The law prohibiting public intoxication did not punish Powell for his alcoholism, but for his being drunk in a public location. If the law said Ms. Tres Belle couldn\u2019t be high in public, she might be guilty. Though this circumstance isn\u2019t about public intoxication, it is about addiction, which cannot be prosecuted constitutionally.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Works Cited:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Samaha, J. (2016). Criminal law (12th ed.). Cengage Learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Responding to merchant complaints about addicts congregating by fancy stores, the legislature passed a new law making it a crime\u00a0\u201cto be addicted to the use of illegal narcotics.\u201d\u00a0Walking on the public street, Ms. Tres Belle was seen by a police officer walking unsteadily.\u00a0 The officer approached Ms. Tres Belle and asked her if she was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29606,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","wds_primary_category":0},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29606"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":441,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions\/441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wp.odu.edu\/lexibowman\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}