Application essay: Search and seizure in criminal justice

1. Can you seize the marijuana plants at that time? If yes, what is your legal justification for doing so? If no, what legally prohibits you from doing so? What biblical principles should you be considering?

Police searches and seizures are provided for and governed under the Fourth Amendment to the US constitution where police are allowed to engage in reasonable searches. Basically, police are required to obtain search warrants from the judge when they have a probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime will be found at a place. A warrant allows the police to search a residence but police can search a place without a warrant in cases such as where the owner gives consent where during a search that already has a warrant there is plain view of crime that may need search beyond the area covered in the warrant or in exigent circumstances (US Constitution). In the case, the police officer should ask the owner for permission to search the premises and if the owner refuses the police officer should seek a warrant before seizing the Marijuana.

According to David Barton, the constitution is grounded from Christian teachings and principles. Barton provides that the US is a Christian nation by the mere fact that Christianity has molded and shaped its constitution (Barton, 2011). The consideration of biblical principles in criminal justice cases illustrates the significant role of Christianity in the US as a nation. The biblical principle is that every soul or body including the government operates under a higher power and that government should act in humility (Rom 13:1-4).

2. Based on your observation of the marijuana plants, do you need a search warrant to enter and search the house and the resident? If yes, what is the basis for this legal requirement? If no, what is the justification for this exception to the search warrant requirement? What biblical principles should you be considering?

The police officer needs a search warrant to search the house and the resident since the initial report was of noise and did not give him the warrant to search the premises in the first place. Search, and seizure in case of the plain view of the evidence is only allowed when there is a prior warrant to search certain places and in the process plain view of the evidence is identified.  The underlying Biblical principle is that a man’s home is his castles and should not be intruded without a legal warrant (Deut 24:10-11). Also, another biblical principle to be considered is adherence to covenantal principles (Fisher, 1998). The law is a covenant between the people and the government and the law enforcement as a representative of the government should uphold their end of the covenant by ensuring right against unlawful search and seizure is respected.

3. If you enter the residence and seize additional evidence inside and that search and seizure is later deemed illegal, would the additional evidence be admissible in court? Why or why not? What legal ruling(s) should you be considering? What biblical principles should you be considering?

If the police enter and seizes evidence without a warrant the evidence is not admissible in court because the evidence is against a person’s right against unlawful search and seizure. The criminal justice is founded on a balance between crime control and due process thus the need to follow the due process and the rule of law to ensure the fight against crime rightfully approached and facilitated (Bohn and Haley, 2014). The evidence obtained without a warrant can, however, be used by police to obtain a warrant and search the place for more evidence.

References

Bohn, R & Haley, K (2014). Introduction to Criminal Justice. McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Retrieved 30 March 2019.

Fischer, Kahlib J., “Biblical Principles of History & Government” (1998). Faculty Dissertations. 37.  Retrieved on 30 March 2019 from https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/fac_dis/37

Barton, D (2011). Was America Founded On Christian Principles?

US Constitution. The Fourth Amendment. Retrieved on 30 March 2019 from https://constitution.findlaw.com/amendment4.html