CJ 100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 34: Warren E. Burger, William Rehnquist, Alan Dershowitz
Criminal Procedure and the Constitution
As far as they were concerned, Clayton Searle, a Los Angeles narcotics detective, and the federal
drug agent with him were just doing their jobs on March 15, 1991, when they noticed a black
man walking toward them. The pair had just arrested a suspected drug courier who they believed
was there to pick up a shipment of cocaine. When the black man was about 40 feet away, he
abruptly turned, set down his attaché case, and walked to a row of pay telephones. The two
police officers moved in and began questioning their new suspect. A heated argument followed,
which ended with the black man falling or being thrown to the floor. He finally was handcuffed
and led off for questioning.
The suspect was Joe Morgan, a broadcaster for ESPN and a former Cincinnati Reds
second baseman who was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Morgan
sued the agents and the city of Los Angeles for false arrest, illegal detention, battery,
excessive use of force, false imprisonment, and intentional infliction of emotional
distress. Morgan claimed the police had unfairly targeted him because of his race and
because he fit the profile of a drug courier. A federal jury awarded Morgan $540,000 in
this lawsuit. After the trial, Morgan told reporters, “I didn't do it for the money. I believe in
law and order, but it has to be applied to the police as well as everyone else.”
The late Justice William O. Douglas would agree with Joe Morgan. “A civilized system
of law is as much concerned with the means employed to bring people to justice, as it is
with ends,” Douglas once said, “A first principle of jurisprudence is that the ends do not
justify the means.”
Criminal procedure
Criminal procedure is a branch of constitutional law concerned with the rules of law
governing the procedures by which authorities investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate
crimes. Specific provisions of the U.S. Constitution restrict the police. In addition, state
constitutions, federal and state statutes, court decisions, and administrative rules
circumscribe how the police gather information and deal with criminal suspects. The
framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to balance the government's interest in crime
control with the privacy and liberty rights of innocent, suspected, and convicted
individuals. Two provisions of the Constitution apply specifically to balancing police
powers and citizens' rights—the Fourth and Fifth Amendments.
The Fourth Amendment: “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.”
The Fifth Amendment: “No person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to
be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without
due process of law.”
Interpretation of the Constitution
Key words and phrases, such as “probable cause,” “unreasonable,” and “compelled,”
need to be interpreted. Usually, the U.S. Supreme Court determines what the Fourth
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Document Summary
As far as they were concerned, clayton searle, a los angeles narcotics detective, and the federal drug agent with him were just doing their jobs on march 15, 1991, when they noticed a black man walking toward them. The pair had just arrested a suspected drug courier who they believed was there to pick up a shipment of cocaine. When the black man was about 40 feet away, he abruptly turned, set down his attach case, and walked to a row of pay telephones. The two police officers moved in and began questioning their new suspect. A heated argument followed, which ended with the black man falling or being thrown to the floor. He finally was handcuffed and led off for questioning. The suspect was joe morgan, a broadcaster for espn and a former cincinnati reds second baseman who was inducted into the national baseball hall of fame.
