Preview

Violations of an Amendment

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
949 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Violations of an Amendment
How would you feel if a state officer pulled you over for driving two miles above the speed limit? As you wait on the side of the road, the cops search your car and every motorist stares. Unfortunately if you grew up in New Jersey, had a parent with a license and you’re African American you have most likely experienced this reality and do not have to imagine, for it has created a vivid image that has stained your memory. “In New Jersey the data showed that only 15% of all drivers on the New Jersey turnpike were racial minorities, yet 42% of all stops and 73% of all arrest were black motorist. Despite the fact that blacks and whites violated traffic laws at almost exactly the same rate.” (Alexander 133) As researchers examine traffic laws and drug laws many gathered data concluding that most of these laws are violated equally among racial minorities and whites but for some reason African Americans make up the largest percentage of people affected by these laws. “Truth is Supreme Court has actually granted the police license to discriminate.” (Alexander 130) The system reinforces racial caste by accepting legal violation of the fourth amendment targeting African American Men.
The reinforcement of racial caste by violating the fourth amendment allows several individuals to realize the issue because many experience unjust intervention in the enforcement capacity. “Police departments believe that racial profiling exists only when race is the sole factor. Thus, if race is one factor but not the only factor, then it doesn’t really count as a factor at all.” (Alexander 131) This logic negates the truth and allows perpetuated stereotypes to encourage law enforcement to target African American Men. Unethical practices derived from racial profiling such as search and seizure are ramped in America although it is illegal.
“The Fourth amendment states : The right of the people to be secure in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    case study

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Case Signifance: The 4th amendment prohibits the unlawful search and seizure of resident belonging to citizens of the United States of America.…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Our forefathers with great fortitude put together a document that would be forever known as the constitution. This document addressed the rights of the citizens of the newly formed states. One amendment has been a focal point of discussion in recent weeks with the leakage of NSA protocol. The fourth amendment states, “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place…

    • 2530 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Govt201 Unit 1 Amendment

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages

    4th Amendment - Prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures and sets out requirements for search warrants based on probable cause as determined by a neutral judge or magistrate…

    • 446 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Stop and Frisk” is a program put into effect by the New York Police Department that basically grants an officer authority to stop and search a “suspicious character” if they deem him/her to be as such. They don’t need a warrant, or see you commit a crime. 5They simply need to deem you “suspicious” to violate your 4th amendment rights without repercussions. Since its inception, New York City’s stop and frisk program has drawn much controversy stemming from the disproportionate rate of arrest. While the argument that the program violates an individual’s 4th amendment right of protection from unreasonable search and seizure could absolutely be made, that argument pales in comparison to the argument of discrimination. A disproportionate number of African Americans and Hispanics are unreasonably stopped and searched simply for looking suspicious. The original intention of this program was to reduce the level of crime (which it has) and to crack down on illegal weapons. It has now become an excuse for police to play with their authority and target innocent people.…

    • 1516 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the article, “Arrested Development” by James Forman Jr., he presents “The conservative case against racial profiling”. The article revolves around the idea that racial profiling contravenes most of conservatives’ fundamental beliefs.…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides for the protection of citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Because of this, our legal system requires that a warrant be obtained prior to a search of people or their homes or property. Without this provision, citizens would be subject to invasions of privacy without probable cause. While the idea behind the protection from unreasonable searches and seizures was well-intentioned, in practice it did not immediately live up to its aims. “For more than 100 years after its ratification, the Fourth Amendment was of little value to criminal defendants because evidence seized by law enforcement in violation of the warrant or reasonableness requirements was still…

    • 605 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the United States of America racial discrimination still exists to this day. Minorities in our country are not seen as equal people. When a person is deprived of their human rights it makes them feel degraded and troubled. In order to become a more civilized country, we must forget the color of our own skin and live with each other as one. In the article “Why Racial Profiling is a Bad Idea” by Tom Head, discusses the way cops pay more attention to those of minority races and how they usually find them guilty of crimes they didn’t commit. Even though many officers will deny their participation in this type of profiling, a lot use this tactic to pull over and arrest Minority races. The article “Racial Profiling Lives On” by Devon Carbado, Cheryl Harris and Kimberle Crenshaw, also displays examples of how racial profiling continues to this day. There are many ways cops can search/arrest African Americans or other Minorities for no reason and still keep from breaking the Fourth Amendment and the authors of “Racial Profiling Lives On” supports there claims with emotional examples that appeal to a pathological type of audience.…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    “The Fourth Amendment explicitly affirms the ‘right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures.’ The Fifth Amendment, in its Self-Incrimination Clause, enables the citizen to create a zone of privacy which government may not force him to surrender to his detriment. The Ninth Amendment provides: ‘The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Stop and Frisk for Law

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Ethnicity and Stop and Frisk laws have become a topic of concern because it questions the constitutional right of the fourth amendment. Police Officers are said to abuse power given their authority to stop and frisk a person under the “reasonable suspicion” clause of the fourth amendment. This research will argue that reasonable suspicion is subject to personal interpretation of police officers and perjury may be involved. With that being said minorities of Black and Hispanic backgrounds are the targeted population for this course of action.…

    • 1231 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    A controversial topic in American Policing is the issue of racial profiling. Many people have different views when it comes to this subject matter. Many people believe that racial profiling is a myth or ploy and is ultimately nonexistent. Others feel that racial profiling does exist and is a key contributing factor that law enforcement officers use to determine whether to perform law enforcement. The topic of Racial Profiling has been passionately debated among citizens, law enforcement officials, policy makers, and legislators at various levels of government. These debates has led to a large number civil lawsuits nationwide, court-ordered data collection, investigations into certain law enforcement agencies, and the passing of various laws mandating cultural diversity training and prohibiting racial profiling practices in various law enforcement agencies. Still, the following questions have not been thoroughly answered: Are African-Americans and other ethnic groups stopped by police because they are more likely to have committed certain types of traffic violations? Is race a significant predictor of being “pulled over”, cited or search by police? Does law enforcement officials target motorists based on race? This research paper will emphatically prove that African-Americans and other ethnic groups are disproportionately cited for traffic violations more often than whites.…

    • 1595 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. " In other words, it protects citizens from searches and seizures by the government that are not supported by probable cause or by a warrant that details what the extent of the search will be. However, this definition is rather vague and ambiguous, as evidenced by the various interpretations of the amendment over time. Originally, these privacy…

    • 1508 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    4th Amendment Essay

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The 4th Amendment deals with protecting people from searching their homes and private property without properly executed search warrants. This amendment is important because without it, the government or authorities would be…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the United States, ‘The land of the Free’, racial profiling of minority groups seems all too common. Many Americans believe that law enforcement as well as many other people often discriminates on minority groups simply because of their color of their skin. Civil rights activist and many leaders of minority groups are pressuring Enforcement agencies to eliminate racial and ethnic profiling during traffic stops and supposed random pedestrian stops. However, many law enforcement representatives claim that the complaints about these activities are overstated and are simply in the heads of the accusers. As a nation with a history of racial slavery and racial segregation, particularly towards any group that is not Anglo-American or fair skinned, African-Americans have long complained of racial profiling. Although racial slavery has been over for over one hundred years, and segregation that ended over fifty years ago, there is still tension between many people over race. Hispanics and Muslims are two other ethnic groups that feel the racial profiling, often being suspected of being terrorists or being illegal immigrants.…

    • 1618 Words
    • 47 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial Profiling Research

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A Utah detective Douglas Fackrell received an anonymous call about drugs being sold in a residence, so he decided to survey the area and assumed there was drug activity taking place. Detective Fackrell saw Joseph Strieff, Jr exiting the residence and stopped him for questioning. Fackrell discovered Strieff had a warrant and made an arrest. In addition, Fackrell found meth and a drug pipe on Strieff’s possession. The district court ruled that, Fackrell didn’t have enough evidence to make an investigatory stop. In the constitution, the Fourth amendment prevents police officers from taking advantage of conduct. This case discourages racial profiling, because in both incidents the law enforcers were found guilty for their actions. According to Reason-Rupe poll (reason.com), the latest poll finds fully 70 percent of Americans oppose the use of racial profiling in police departments, while 25 percent support this practice. The 14th amendment provides United States citizens the right to be treated equally. Personally, I believe that racial profiling is wrong and unacceptable. All people should be treated fair and should not be discriminated by their race, gender, origin, and religion. It is unnecessary that law enforcers use their power to degrade or discriminate anyone to carry success with their jobs. Their motto is “to protect and to serve’, which means protecting every citizen regardless of race. Black lives matter as well as all lives matter. Racial profiling and excessive force by police are unconstitutional; however, it’s still happening.…

    • 627 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Racial profiling by police officers has affected the lives of multiple minorities across the globe. The fourth amendment states that the people have the “right to be secures in their persons, house, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized” (Legal Information Institute). Numerous people have lost loved ones because police have thought of a suspect to be a huge threat because of their ethnicity. Therefore, they abuse their authority and take excessive measures when taking out the “threat”. As stated in a reading by Kindaka…

    • 598 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays