Discuss the value of impressions as class evidence and their ability to provide evidence of possible suspect(s) and crime-scene events. Discuss three ways dental impressions provide information during a forensic investigation and its reliability as evidence in criminal proceedings.

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Week 7 Writing Assignment

1. Discuss the value of impressions as class evidence and their ability to provide evidence of possible suspect(s) and crime-scene events.

2. Discuss three ways dental impressions provide information during a forensic investigation and its reliability as evidence in criminal proceedings.

3. Discuss the advances in analyzing impression evidence.

4. Discuss how tool mark evidence analysis has changed in the last 50 years.

5. Discuss how forensic investigators analyze evidence from tools and tool marks to help solve crimes.

To what extent should the Commerce Clause be used by the federal government to achieve noncommercial purposes?

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Paper

Papers that use in-text citation will automatically fail. Use author note format for footnotes according to the Chicago Manual of Style.

No outside research is required; however, if you choose, you may include secondary scholarly (read: peer reviewed) literature. Do NOT cite wikipedia, oyez, or similar websites. These sites can be useful starting points or resources to aid in understanding, but it’s not scholarly to cite them. So don’t.

To what extent should the Commerce Clause be used by the federal government to achieve noncommercial purposes?

Use at least three of the following cases in your paper:

  • U.S. v. E.C. Knight, Hammer v. Dagenhart,
  • NLRB v. Jones & Laughlin Steel,
  • Heart of Atlanta v. U.S., U.S. v. Lopez,
  • Gonzales v. Raich.

What topics stood out to you? What was your perspective on class topics prior to class discussion? How did class discussion impact that stance? How do you feel like we should move forward to reduce harm and hold individuals accountable?

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Seminar in Corrections Reflection

In no less than 5 double-spaced pages (not including title or reference list), discuss how your perspective on carceral systems has changed or expanded over the course of the semester.

While you can use “I” statements, ensure that each written sentence is complete and has purpose. Cite and engage with at least 5 sources from class- this can include, articles, text chapters, podcasts, videos, or guest speakers.

What topics stood out to you? What was your perspective on class topics prior to class discussion? How did class discussion impact that stance? How do you feel like we should move forward to reduce harm and hold individuals accountable?

Conclude the paper by discussing how your current perspective may inform your next steps, decisions, the way you speak, and future conversations.

What is the jurisdiction of the department? How big is the department? How big is the jurisdiction? How does the department deal with neighboring jurisdictions?  For example, small communities (or college campuses) within a larger city may have their own police force.  What issues does that create and how are they resolved? What are the different divisions? Who is the chief of the department? Describe the chain of command from a front line officer to the chief.  Include the names of individuals as appropriate.

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Law enforcement agency

If you are interning with a local law enforcement agency, your paper might address some of the following issues:
What is the jurisdiction of the department?
How big is the department?
How big is the jurisdiction?
How does the department deal with neighboring jurisdictions?  For example, small communities (or college campuses) within a larger city may have their own police force.  What issues does that create and how are they resolved?
What are the different divisions?
Who is the chief of the department?
Describe the chain of command from a front line officer to the chief.  Include the names of individuals as appropriate.
How are the shifts organized for divisions that operate on a 24-hour cycle?
What are some of the most common offenses the department deals with?  What are the likely ways those cases are resolved?
How are entry level officers recruited and trained?
What are the usual and routine duties of entry level officers (or other employees you interact with on a regular basis)?
On what basis are entry level officers evaluated and promoted?
Are there any special or unique challenges the department faces? How is the department responding to these challenges?
Are there any special projects or initiatives being implemented by the department?  What are they and what are their goals?
If you are interning with a secure detention facility such as a jail or a prison, your paper might include some of the following:
What populations does the facility detain?
Is it a federal, state, or local institution?
Do they hold adults or juveniles?
How big is the facility?
What is the jurisdiction? Do they hold inmates from other jurisdictions?
How is the facility constructed? Linear, or pods, or dormitories? Does the facility utilize direct or indirect supervision?
Have the inmates all been convicted of a crime, or are there inmates awaiting trial? Does the facility hold some other population, such as undocumented migrants?
Are there any treatment programs in the facility? Job training? Substance abuse? Mental health services?
How are health care services provided?
How are the other daily needs of the inmates met? Food? Hygiene? Laundry? Religious services?
Are there different wings or sections for different populations? For example, men and women must be housed separately.  But what about other groups? Veterans? Gang members? Mentally ill inmates? Other groups?
Is there a structured daily routine? If so, what is it?
How are entry level staff recruited and trained?
On what basis are entry level staff evaluated and/or promoted?
If you are interning with a community corrections program, you could discuss the following:
Is it a federal, state, or local agency? Adult or juvenile?
What is the jurisdiction of the agency?
How are the probationers or parolees assigned to the agency?  In other words, when a defendant goes to court for a charge, is tried, convicted, and sentenced to probation, what happens next?
How big is the agency? How many probation or parole officers are there in the office?
How many probationers or parolees does the agency supervise? What is the average caseload for a probation or parole officer?
What are some of the more common charges offenders on supervision are convicted of?
How are cases divided up between the officers?  Geographically? By type of offender (drug offender, sex offender, etc)? Evenly, so all officers have the same size caseload?
How often do probation or parole officers make contact with their clients? Are there levels of supervision that require more or fewer contacts?
Is there an intensive supervision program?
What do the probation or parole officers do to supervise their caseload?  Home visits? Drug tests? Job counseling? Electronic monitoring? What circumstances justify the use of these interventions?
How are entry level staff members recruited and trained?
On what basis are staff members evaluated and/or promoted?
If you are interning with a court, these are some of the issues you could discuss in your paper:
Is it a federal, state, or local court? Describe the jurisdiction.  Remember, jurisdictions can be geographic, but they can also refer to the types of cases the court handle.
Is it a specialty court, like a drug court?
Who is the judge or judges in the court?  If there are several judges, is there one judge that takes a leadership role in the administration of the court?
How many cases are scheduled on an average day?  Or how many cases are on a docket on an average day?
What kind of hearings does the court conduct? First appearances? Pleas? Trials? Competency hearings? Sentencings?  What happens in the hearings the court conducts? What are the issues or legal questions that get resolved?
Describe the court schedule.  Are certain kinds of hearings held on certain days?
Describe the relationship between the various court officers.  Is it an adversarial relationship, or cooperative?  You might want to read up on the concept of the “courtroom work group.”
Who are the other support personnel in the court? What are their roles?
What does the court clerk do? What is the clerk’s role outside of the actual courtroom?
When the judge makes a ruling, or gives an order, whose job is it to make sure that ruling gets carried out?  How does that happen?
If you are interning with a law firm, you should probably discuss:
Whether the firm deals with civil or criminal cases, or both.
Whether the firm represents clients in federal, state, or county court.
Areas of expertise or specialization, such as family law, business law, arbitration, tax law, immigration law, environmental law, disability law, or some other field.
The role of the lawyers in your office. For example, do they only handle cases that are going to court? How often do they settle out of court? Do they give legal advice to people and firms to help them remain law abiding? Some other role?
How big is the firm?  Are there partners? How does one become a partner? Is there a tiered partnership structure?
If it is a small firm, tell me about the lawyer or lawyers. Where did they go to school? What made them want to be lawyers?
The office staff. What are their roles?
The importance of legal research.  What is it? Why is it important? How does one conduct legal research? How is legal research different than academic research?

Research evidence from the autopsy that might provide evidence as to where each person was sitting at the time of the accident. Based on the information you located, is further information needed to determine where each person was sitting? What information would you need to know in order to determine where each person was sitting?

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Billy Martin Discussion

On December 25, 1989, New York Yankees manager, Billy Martin, died in a single vehicle car accident. Martin was found driver seat and his injured friend, William Reedy, was found in the passenger seat of the vehicle. Both men had been consuming alcohol prior to the accident. Reedy originally told police he was the driver of the vehicle. Reedy later recanted his statement, saying he lied to protect his friend. There were also rumors that Martin was not driving the vehicle and Reedy moved Martin’s body to the driver seat of the vehicle to protect himself from being arrest for driving under the influence.

Answer the following:

Research evidence from the autopsy that might provide evidence as to where each person was sitting at the time of the accident.
Based on the information you located, is further information needed to determine where each person was sitting?
What information would you need to know in order to determine where each person was sitting?

Is the article made by a public or private entity? Who is the author trying to reach (audience)? Are they playing more to one specific ideology and if so, what ideology is it? Looking at the article as a whole, and based on what you have found in your analysis, do you believe that this article is a credible source? Why?

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2016 presidential election

Locate an article that covered the 2016 presidential election. Look for evidence in the article for priming, framing, and slant. Make sure to include in your assignment:

Name of the article and its author

Is the article made by a public or private entity?

Who is the author trying to reach (audience)?

Are they playing more to one specific ideology and if so, what ideology is it?

Looking at the article as a whole, and based on what you have found in your analysis, do you believe that this article is a credible source? Why?

TERMS:

slant

imbalance in a story that covers one candidate or policy favorably without providing similar coverage of the other side

priming

influence on the public’s general impressions caused by positive or negative coverage of a candidate or an issue

framing

influence on public opinion caused by the way a story is presented covered, including the details, explanations, and context offered in the report

The officer involved in the Michael Brown shooting was not indicted by the grand jury that heard the case. Why? Do you think that the officer who shot Brown had other options available to him? What would they have been? If other options were available, why didn’t he use them?

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The Case The Michael Brown Shooting

Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed by a white Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, Darren Wilson, on August 9, 2014. (See also “the Ferguson effect,” the opening story in Chapter 6 Lig). Just before noon that day, Brown and a friend, Dorian Johnson, left a nearby convenience store. Surveillance video showed Brown stealing some cigarillos. Minutes later, Officer Wilson pulled his cruiser alongside the two young men. Upon noticing that Brown fit the description of the suspect in the convenience store theft, he asked Brown and Johnson to move to the sidewalk. An altercation ensued, then two shots were fired from inside the vehicle. Officer Wilson claimed that the shots were fired when he and Brown struggled over his service weapon. One bullet grazed Brown’s thumb. Brown then ran east and Wilson gave chase. Brown stopped, turned around, and reportedly moved toward Wilson. Officer Wilson then shot Brown several times, fatally wounding him.
As with many police-citizen altercations where force is used, the details surrounding the Michael Brown shooting are cloudy. Some witnesses reported seeing Brown reach through Wilson’s car window and punch him. Others said Brown never laid a

Robert Cohen/St. Louis Post-Dispatch/MGT/Tribune Content Agency LLC/Alamy Stock Photo
hand on Wilson. Likewise, some witnesses reported that Brown never moved toward Wilson before he was shot. Others said he did. Officer Wilson testified that Brown charged at him. In the end, a grand jury decided not to indict Wilson. The announcement set off a wave of street protests, and rioting ensued. Since then, all police shootings, especially of minority suspects by white officers, have received intense criticism and scrutiny.
The Case of Michael Brown raises some interesting questions:

  1. The officer involved in the Michael Brown shooting was not indicted by the grand jury that heard the case. Why?
  2. Do you think that the officer who shot Brown had other options available to him? What would they have been?
  3. If other options were available, why didn’t he use them?

Describe the role of a probation officer. What are the norms and values associated with this work? Include those that can be regarded as legitimate, as well as, those regarded as illegitimate. What are the sources of these norms and values? How do education, training and the work experience influence them?

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Role of a probation officer

Describe the role of a probation officer. What are the norms and values associated with this work? Include those that can be regarded as legitimate, as well as, those regarded as illegitimate. What are the sources of these norms and values? How do education, training and the work experience influence them?

What are some major problems with implementing the ideas of a human service model of employee supervision in criminal justice organizations? How do you think employees would react to such a supervision model?

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Employee supervision in criminal justice organizations

What are some major problems with implementing the ideas of a human service model of employee supervision in criminal justice organizations? How do you think employees would react to such a supervision model?

What type of supervisor do most employees like to work for? Would they select a traditional, innovative, or supportive supervisor? Do you believe that employee personalities may influence what type of supervisor is favored?

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Type of supervisor

What type of supervisor do most employees like to work for? Would they select a traditional, innovative, or supportive supervisor? Do you believe that employee personalities may influence what type of supervisor is favored?