1961+Mapp+v+Ohio

Home TIMELINE TOPICS ASSIGNMENT: Who Is A Person In America?

Mapp v Ohio 1961 Stacy G. Place photos or graphics in the table below. Save to desktop, then upload by clicking on "file" on the menu bar (above). Man Signing document (Britannica Image Quest)
 * [[image:http://quest.eb.com/images/154/154_2885/154_2885898-W.jpg?rand=0.10358978096539184 width="299" height="256" caption="Close up of hand signing document"]]

This photo represents a warrant that should have been given to Mapp by police when they entered her home. || Police Raid (Britannica Image Quest)

This photo represents a forceful entrance into a home, like how police entered Mapp's home. ||

Write a journal/newspaper style article in which you take a neutral stance (as a reporter) and give the facts about the actual event. What led up to the event? What happened during the actual event? Did it have an “end” or is it unresolved? You are to write about this event __when it happened__, you are assuming the role of a reporter in 1850, 1920, etc., __not someone looking back from 2011__. You need to cite your sources, and they must include information only available during that time period. At least one source must be primary and/or an eyewitness account. **Important - This work will be submitted to TurnItIn.com. We will provide you information about using this helpful resource**! POST PARAGRAPH HERE
 * TASK I:**

Police Break Law By Violating a Citizen’s Fourth Amendment Right

By: Stacy Gibson

After police entered a home, by force and without a warrant, courts question whether or not unconstitutionally seized evidence can be used in court.

On May 23, 1957 in Cleveland, Ohio, police officers were given information about a potential “person hiding out in [Dollree] [Mapp’s] home who was wanted for questioning in connection with recent bombing” (//Mapp v. Ohio//). Police officers entered Mapp’s home without a proper warrant, violating Mapp’s Fourth Amendment right.

By not allowing Mapp to read the warrant in question, she was denied her right against unreasonable searches and seizures which is a direct violation of the Fourth Amendment. Although, at the end of the police search, instead of finding the supposedly hidden person in Mapp’s home, officers found vulgar, and crude materials in a trunk, and she was “arrested. . . for possession of obscene m aterials” (Paul).

Today, June 19, 1961, Dollree Mapp is on trial for her offense. She argues that due to the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, the evidence against her was found unconstitutionally, without an official warrant, and therefore cannot be used. So the question arises, should the unconstitutionally seized evidence be allowed in court?

If the evidence is used, after being obtained unlawfully, it is thought by the court that the Fourth Amendment will no longer be of “value, and, so far as those thus placed are concerned, might as well be stricken from the Constitution” (//Mapp v. Ohio//). In other words, as soon as a right is denied to a citizen, should there even be a law protecting it?

At the end of the day, it was determined that “the criminal is to go free because the constable has blundered ” (Paul); m eaning that because the government made a mistake, the evidence is unusable, and Mapp is free to go.

__Works Cited:__ Finkelman, Paul, and Melvin I. Urofsky. "Mapp v. Ohio." //Landmark Decisions of the United States Supreme Court.// Washington: CQ Press, 2003. 278. //CQ Supreme Court Collection//. Web. 22 Sept. 2011.

"//Mapp v. Ohio// (1961)." //American Government//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.

Task 1: Mastery Rubric A quality news article will: •open with an attention-grabbing headline •identify the author's name and the date of the publication (in the past) •develop the 5 W's in three power paragraphs •paragraph 1: contain an interesting lead •paragraph 2: correctly cite a secondary source (an indirect quote) •paragraph 3: correctly cite a primary source (eyewitness account) •maintain appropriate journalistic voice •read like an article written in the same time period as the event occurred •be free of mechanics and Works Cited errors

What is the Argument?
 * TASK II**

Is it acceptable for police to violate citizen’s rights, such as the rights found in the Forth Amendment dealing with search and seizure, and benefit off of evidence or information found after the violation?

**PROMPT 1:** Why did the majority of Americans not recognize the rights of members of this group? Rights of citizens of The United States of America, including rights found in the Fourth Amendment regarding search and seizure, are neglected and violated everyday by officers and other government personal. This act of disregarding the rights of a citizen, ultimately questions whether or not that citizen is a person if their rights can be taken from them. In Mapp v. Ohio 1961, Dollree Mapp, a citizen who had her rights violated by local police officers in Ohio, had “evidence seized illegally” (Long), from her home. Her personhood was questioned as soon as policed entered her home without a warrant, because they directly violated the Fourth Amendment right that applies to all persons, including Mapp. At trial, a rule known as the exclusionary rule, which deals with the question, “If police obtain evidence against a lawbreaker but do so by violating constitutional rules, should the lawbreaker benefit,” (Shulman) was discussed. In other words, the exclusionary rule questions whether or not the lawbreaker’s, Mapp’s, personhood rights are more important or less important than the evidence itself.

__Works cited:__

Shulman, William L. "exclusionary rule." //Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.

Long, Carolyn. "Public Response to Mapp v. Ohio." //The Public Debate over Controversial Supreme Court Decisions.// Ed. Melvin I. Urofsky. Washington: CQ Press, 2006. 206-14. //CQ Supreme Court Collection//. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.

**PROMPT 2**: How did advocates for the minority group shed light on this injustice? Advocates shed light on the Mapp v. Ohio injustice by enforcing the exclusionary rule that prohibits the use of any evidence seized unlawfully by police. This rule, according to Adam Cohen, a writer for the New York times, protects the integrity of the judicial system and keeps the law from suffering if a citizen is mistreated. For example, some police “officers [have] [been] lying to obtain search warrants” (Cohen) in order to be able to access a resident or search a property. This is considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment and the exclusionary rule works to check on police officers to make sure they are not able to get away with such actions. Also a an exception to the exclusionary rule, known as the good faith exception, “allows the government to keep the evidence discovered by an officer” (Shulman), even if found unconstitutionally, as long as the officer had good intentions to enter in the first place. This exception permits an officer to use his or her judgment in a reasonable manner based on the situation at hand, while still preserving the integrity of the exclusionary rule itself.

__Works Cited:__

Shulman, William L. "exclusionary rule." //Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society//. ABC-CLIO, 2011. Web. 27 Sept. 2011.

Cohen, Adam. “Is the Supreme Court About to Kill Off the Exclusionary Rule?” //New York Times// 16 Feb. 2009; A22(L). //Gale Student Resources In Context//. Web. 2 Oct. 2011.

(Google Images)
 * TASK III:**

__Paragraph 1:__ Analyze the impact of the literary or artistic work for the minority group and/or American society as a whole.

While police officers tend to follow the rules put forth by the government, at times they forget or choose not to abide by the rules; an example being the court case Mapp v. Ohio where a citizen’s Fourth Amendment rights were violated. This is artistically represented in the political cartoon above by Powell, showing two police officers breaking down the door of someone’s home with a cartoon piece of paper indicating that what they are holding is not a proper warrant. One of the officers states that they are supposed to “knock and announce” their presence before entering, while the other officer says, in a sarcastic way, “yeah, sure” (Powell). In other words, the second police officer’s sarcastic tone conveys that the officer thought it unnecessary to uphold the resident’s Fourth Amendment right by knocking or providing a warrant to enter the person’s home, and that he was allowed to enter whenever he so desired.

__Paragraph 2:__ CLOSING-- How did the event impact the debate on the argument?

The argument over the ability to use unconstitutionally seized evidence in court was impacted by the court case, Mapp v. Ohio; this case addressed a violation of the Fourth Amendment, search and seizure without warrant, and the exclusionary rule, which helps citizen’s rights to be protected against unreasonable searches and seizures. Following the conclusion of Mapp v. Ohio, the exclusionary rule, which ended up being the reason Mapp was to be set free, continues to provide a significant safeguard of the Fourth Amendment protections on crime control in America. For example, in Mapp v. Ohio, the police officer, who denied Mapp of her right, was the one who was punished because the evidence he seized, that normally would cause Mapp to be in trouble, was considered unusable. The fact that the officer was the one punished illustrations how the rule checks on police to make sure they carry out their duties in a proper manner, with citizen’s rights staying intact, and also impacted how government is able to acquire evidence, limiting the ability for the government to blunder and put a citizen in harm’s way unconstitutionally. An outstanding product will. •showcase a work that expresses a profound idea about your event and the argument surrounding it •be the **best** example available, not simply the first one you find •demonstrate your ability to interpret the meaning of the literary or artistic piece In paragraph 1, you seem to suggest that police officers can "get away with" violations of an individuals 4th amendment rights. While this may happen, they certainly do not benefit from evidence seized in this manner. I like how you identify the "sarcastic tone" of the officer in the cartoon. •use the extended power paragraph format as a means to express your understanding of the event, argument, and how art literature and art can reveal emotions and ideas •reference sources accurately You need a complete MLA citation. •mechanics are clean and effective
 * TASK III: Artistic Expression Element Rubric **

An outstanding time line entry includes the following: • Opens by identifying you, the author, and your event with a banner headline (see an example of a banner on the top of this page). • Under the banner, in the table place two graphics or photos that illustrates an important aspect of the event. • Thoughtful responses to each prompt are supported by credible sources representing diverse perspectives on the event. • Each response should be posted in order (follow template instructions), contain few mechanic errors and follow the power paragraph format. • The credibility of each cited source is established and internal citations accurately match the Works Cited. • TASK I and TASK II each introduce and cite two new sources; TASK III cites one new source. • The Works Cited lists 5 credible sources from the LC databases.
 * Rubric for the Time Line Page**