Description
Your paper should be 8 - 10 pages. Here are some general guidelines. Please use 12 font and one inch margins. Please include page numbers. Please double space. Recommend using topic and sub topic headings to organize your paper.
It is fine for the total paper to be at 10 pages which would include title page, abstract and references. That being said, if the paper is 10 pages in length and then another few pages with those items - that is fine too. What I'm really looking for in the paper is graduate level cohesive writing where you research and analyze primary legal sources such as case law, statutes and the US Constitution.
Please refer to the rubric attached to this assignment.
Please use the Blue Book or APA citation format to list your references. Information on this format can be found in the Resources or at this link
http://www.law.cornell.edu/citation/.
Please remember to USE FOOTNOTES!! Footnotes are sequentially numbered starting with 1. No two have the same number even if they refer to the same source. Please also include a reference section at the end where all sources are listed in proper format.
1. Write an introduction, which clearly identifies the topic of your report and the issues, which you seek to illuminate. The introduction should include the thesis or basis of your report, and a very preliminary overview of the evidence you will use to support it. Finally, the introduction should include a statement that identifies what your paper contributes to our understanding of the law of Homeland Security (in other words, why is the topic of your report important?).
2. The body of your report should be dedicated to support your thesis with claims gleaned from your research (into what others have written on the topic; data that you have gathered), readings from the course text, forums, and/or case law, law review articles. Please cite your references at the end of your paper in full Bluebook format.
3. Conclude your report by recapitulating your thesis and explaining in greater detail the significance of your findings. If you would like, include in your conclusion some questions or claims about the topic and/or specific which you've written. If you believe more research needs to be done on your topic, be specific about what kind of research and how you think it ought to be done.
Recommend that you proof read your paper several times to ensure that you have no spelling, grammar or punctuation errors and to ensure that your paper flows well and is organized.
*** Please note that the research paper for this class must be your original work. It is against the APUS plagiarism policy to use work that you may have submitted in a previous or simultaneous class. There have been some instances where APUS students were taking multiple graduate level courses and submitted the same paper for more than one course. This is against the APUS policy. Please review the policy at:
Your paper will automatically go through Turnitin. Please review your report - if it is yellow, orange or red you may need to insert some additional citations or paraphrase some material. If you do have a red or orange report, you should include a note to your instructor explaining why and how you mitigated it with citations, etc.
Your research papers are due at the end of week 6. Recommend starting work on them in this first week of the course as this paper will take some time to complete.
You may write your paper on one of the following three topics.
1. An in-depth analysis of United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. ___ (2012) and the Fourth Amendment case law leading up to Jones. Specifically what cases did Jones overturn, either entirely or in part. How does Jones impact, affect the applicability of the Fourth Amendment?
2. Research the case law and statutory law behind self-defense and the use of deadly force. What does the case law reveal that an average citizen can use in terms of self-defense and deadly force? How is that different than a law enforcement officer? Provide a detailed analysis of the case law where the court's have grappled with these issues. Focus primarily on the Supreme Court cases on this issue.
3. Research, summarize and analyze the most recent US Supreme Court Opinions that address criminal law matters. Some hot topics for 2018 included ineffective assistance counsel and probable cause and Fourth Amendment challenges. Of these cases decided by the Supreme Court most recently, what cases will be overturned? How has the case law lead up to this point and how might it be affected in the future. What are the practical implications of these recent Supreme Court decisions.
4. Finally, if you are very interested in researching another criminal law topic, please send me a message by the end of week 3 to seek approval for your topic. Otherwise, please choose from the 3 above.
Upload your papers in the Assignment section of the classroom. Your paper will automatically be processed through Turnitin.
Your paper is due at the end of the 6th week of the course. Week 6 will be here before you know it. I will take points off for late submissions so please turn your paper in by midnight on Sunday of week 6. I will also do my best to grade the paper asap as they come in so if you want to turn your paper in early, I'll do my best to grade it quickly.
Explanation & Answer
Attached.
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SELF-DEFENSE AND THE USE OF DEADLY FORCE
Name
Institution
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Course
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Introduction
It is generally approved standard that an individual may secure themselves from danger
or injury under suitable conditions. This also applies to appropriate situations where that
behavior would usually comprise a crime. Under the US legal system, every state permits a
defendant to assert self-defense where the defendant is accused of a violent offense. This is also
the case for the federal government. Self-defense and defense of others are affirmative defenses
and criminal defenses can be used where the defendant believed that he was justified to do so.
However, the rules that determine self-defense often vary from one state to another. Whereas the
United States legal system widely prevents people from applying violence or force against other
persons, the US courts, through various criminal case laws, have acknowledged that every person
has the right to safeguard themselves from injury or death, and as such, may apply reasonable
force in order to defend themselves. In claiming self-defense, an average citizen can use deadly
force where the threat involves a deadly force. However, this is different from the law
enforcement use of deadly force. In recent years, self-defense laws have sparked a national
debate within the US regarding their necessity and implications. An analysis of case laws and
statutory laws reveals the common elements of self-defense and the controversy self-defense
laws pose to the US legal system.
Self-defense
Self-defense is referred to as the right to avert suffering danger or violence via the
application of an adequate degree of counteracting violence or force.1 Self-defense is a form of
affirmative defense applied to evade the legal implication of an ordinarily violent action. A self-
1
Oscar Schachter, Self-Defense and the Rule of Law, 83 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW 259–277 (1989),
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defense claim recognizes that a violent action took place, however, it justifies the crime on the
argument that the act was reasonably necessary to prevent someone else’s’ application of
criminal force. Hence, self-defense is an affirmative defense grounded on justification. At
common law, the right to self-defense constitutes three aspects. The right to self-defense permits
an individual to use reasonable force to defend themselves from harm. It can be used as a defense
to criminal homicide, battery, and assault. Another aspect is that it permits the application of
reasonable force to prevent harm on another individual. Thirdly, the right to self-defense permits
an individual to apply reasonable force in defending their property.2
Furthermore, in most of the states, the right to self-defense constitutes a statutory defense.
But, the right to self-defense may be amended by US courts on a case-by-case basis. Whereas the
rules that ascertain the claim of self-defense differ from state to state, the elements required are
largely the same.
Imminent Threat
As a common rule, the right to self-defense allows for the use of force where such a force
is applied in reaction to an imminent attack. In this sense, the criminal defendant should not
apply any level of force to protect themselves, with the exception that the defendant encounters
an immediate threat. An imminent threat involves a threat that is immediate- an attack that would
not take place in the future.3 Where the criminal defendant is threatened with a future danger, the
use of deadly force does not excuse self-defense. Similarly, where the attack took place in the
past, the claim of self-defense fails due to lack of imminence. If a criminal defendant applies
force to respond to a previous threat, the claim of self-defense fails because such an attack is
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3
Oscar Schachter, Self-Defense and the Rule of Law
Self-Defense and Defense of Others, JUSTIA,
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regarded as retaliatory. Thus, the application of force on the grounds of self-defense fails its
justification where the attack has stopped. Also, the attack may be verbally provided that it
places the targeted victim in an imminent fear of bodily harm. But, offensive words in the
absence of associ...
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