Ward V Texas Case Study

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Ward v. Texas (1942) I. Synopsis William Ward, an African American male, faced accusations of murder in Titus County, Texas. On the 24th of June, 1939 Levi Brown, a seventy-two year old white male, was found murdered in a field of grass. Brown was last seen in a discussion with an African American female and a petitioner. A medical examiner later identified that the death was due to strangulation by the discoloration on Mr. Brown’s neck and the distention of the eyes II. Content of Litigation Plaintiff William Ward admitted after multiple hours of interrogation that he had an altercation with Levi Brown over an unpaid debt. It was admitted that the two men had an altercation in which Ward grabbed the deceased, choked Brown for several minutes, …show more content…

Johnson (1982) I. Synopsis On the 11th of June, 1982 following the conviction of a criminal offense, Robert Johnson was sentenced to two years probation. The terms of his probation included his person, posessions, and residence being searched upon reasonable request. When a search warrant was executed for Johnson’s roommate, officers testified that with enough reasonable suspicion, they were able to search Johnson’s living area as well. II. Content of Litigation Plaintiff When officers arrived at the living area of Johnson and his roommate, Benner Brewer, they did not have a warrant to search Johnson’s area, which violated his 4th amendment rights against a warrantless search. Defendant Under the California Penal Code, officers are granted permission to search Johnson under the conditions of his probation. While acting upon this, they discovered multiple areas of the house in which controlled substances were hidden. Officers argued that by searching Johnson without a warrant, they prevented the potential destruction of evidence. III. Decision of the Court Officers conducting a warrantless search without suspicion of criminal activity from the probation officer. The original search conducted discovered controlled substances, but the warrant did not include Robert Johnson, only Bennet

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