Civil Liberties Essay

Total Length: 716 words ( 2 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 2

Page 1 of 2

Civil Liberties:

Jones case is one of the major recent cases regarding civil liberties that basically examined whether the government requires a search warrant before placing a GPS device on a vehicle and tracking the movements of that vehicle. The ruling by the Supreme Court in this case upholds the extensive right for citizens to be free from unreasonable searches. However, the ruling on the case also demonstrated the struggle within the Supreme Court to balance the objectives of law enforcement with privacy concerns. Generally, the Supreme Court has continued to explore the limits of civil liberties, especially in light of the liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights.

This case can be traced back to when Antoine Jones was arrested on October 24, 2005, in possession of drugs. The law enforcement officers had attached a tracker to his Jeep albeit without judicial approval and followed Jones for a month ("United States v. Jones," par, 1). The police had suspected the defendant of drug trafficking and obtained a warrant to place a tracking device on a car registered to Jones' wife in the District of Columbia.
The law enforcement officers installed the GPS tracking device 11 days after receiving the warrant while the vehicle was parked in one of the public parking lots in Maryland. After tracking the car for 28 days and gathering evidence from the device, the government charged the defendant and others for conspiracy to traffic drugs.

Jones was not found guilty on all charges except conspiracy that the jurors hang on in the district court. As the district prosecutors were upset at the loss, they re-filed a single count of conspiracy against the defendant and Maynard, his business partner. However, the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia decided that the use of a beeper to track suspects was not a justification of a 24-hour surveillance without a warrant.

The case was taken by the Supreme Court in order to resolve the split in the circuit courts since some of these courts had found the use of the tracking device lawful while others found that there was no reasonable….....

Show More ⇣


     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Civil Liberties

One of the fundamental issues taking place in the United States in the present day encompasses the aspect of civil liberties and civil rights for all individuals and groups. A particular aspect in consideration is the lack of fairness and equity for black people in the United States. In the contemporary, there continues to be heated debate and arguments made regarding how the African-American group of people are being treated in the nation. In particular, the issue in this regard encompasses the recent verdict made by a jury ruling that Jeronimo Yanez, a police officer in Minnesota was not guilty for shooting and killing Philando Catile. Imperatively, castile was… Continue Reading...

Civil Rights and Civil Liberties

2017). Describe how the event is directly related to the study of civil liberties or civil rights and how one may better understand these topics by attending a similar event This event is directly related to the study of civil rights or civil liberties in the sense that it outlines the need for equality amongst all people in the United States and the speech against discrimination. In the contemporary society, LGBTQ people are deprived of numerous of the basic rights that most of the American citizens revel and enjoy. Without a doubt, the LGBTQ movement for full and similar equality has come… Continue Reading...

The Right to Privacy

right of liberty guaranteed by this document. In particular, privacy is a manifestation of the civil liberties which all citizens are assured of in the U.S. Constitution. The preamble to the constitution states this fact. The preamble reveals the Constitution was created in part to “secure the Blessings of Liberty” (Founding Fathers). The blessings of liberty quickly become a curse if there is no privacy. If people were able to see and become cognizant of everything everyone did, then people are not necessarily free or experiencing a state of liberty. Privacy, therefore, is implicit to liberty, which is why the constitutional defense of this concept… Continue Reading...

Governments Right to Spy

and when shall the Americans say enough is enough. Do these surveillance programs violate the Citizen's civil liberties? The government draws a lot of powers from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. It uses the powers to monitor communication from its citizens. In fact, it is now true that the NSA's activities are dangerous and jeopardizes democracy in America (Schneirer). After conducting investigation concerning intelligence abuses that were perpetrated in the previous decades, the church committee opined that the democracy of America and its fundamentals were under serious threats because of government surveillance. The opinion is more relevant in the modern society. In the recent decades, NSA… Continue Reading...

Team America Surveillance and Espionage

the Internet (Dinev, Hart, and Mullen). The only other means to resist unlawful surveillance is to ensure that civil liberties organizations like the ACLU remain well-endowed and able to protect the rights of citizens. Most Americans would agree that some government surveillance is necessary and desirable in the interests of national security and would gladly sacrifice a small amount of personal privacy in the interest of protecting the country. However, few Americans would agree to allow the contents of their minds be made public, really or symbolically through monitoring of individual social media accounts. What the government views as being "unreasonable search and seizure" under the Fourth Amendment… Continue Reading...

Racism in Birmingham Alabama

civil liberties of African Americans were regularly being violated (Garrow). The Southern Christian Leadership Conference had identified Birmingham as a potential place in need of support, as blacks were extremely underrepresented in law enforcement—i.e., there were no blacks on the police force in a city that was half African-American (Garrow). Blacks were routinely paid less than whites in the city; their churches were being bombed on a regular basis and had been so for two decades running (Branch), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) had… Continue Reading...

State Attributes and Structures

WTO $132.9 billion, rank 80 Transparency CPI score - 47 GDP per capita - $11,900 Literacy - 99.8% Longevity – 78.8 FH Freedom rating – 6.5/7 Civil Liberties score – 6/7 FH Political Rights score – 7/7 Central African Republic location – Central Africa, north of Democratic Republic of the Congo Area – 622,984 sqkm, rank - 46 Population – 5,625,118 rank - 115 Government— presidential republic International – WTO, WHO, ACP, AfDB GDP - $3.395 billion, rank - 185 Transparency CPI score - 159 GDP per capita - $700 Literacy - 36.8% Longevity – 52.8 FH Freedom rating – 7/7 Civil Liberties score – 7/7 FH Political Rights score – 7/7 Iran Location – Middle… Continue Reading...

Police Brutality Essay

blacks are approximately three times as likely to be arrested for marijuana usage than whites (American Civil Liberties Union, 2016). These disparities exist at all levels of the criminal justice system; African Americans are more likely to be investigated by police, arrested, charged, convicted, and receive longer sentences than non-black offenders (Nellis et al., 2008). While evidence of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system does not, on its own, suggest that African Americans are also disproportionately victims of police brutality, it does suggest that, through more frequent contact with the police than non-blacks, African Americans are at greater risk of being targets of police brutality.… Continue Reading...

Global Comparisons in Workplace Discrimination

give the impression of a repudiation of particular civil liberties, neglectful treatment, deliberate undervaluing of an employee's character or work outcomes and attainments. Workplace discrimination is not only done by the employee but by the fellow employees or peers and other superiors as well. Workplace discrimination, although often not as blatant as in previous periods, continues to proliferate across organizations and on a global level. Fittingly regarded as modern discrimination, discriminatory behavior in the present day is time and again categorized by elusive and clandestine behaviors that can edge below regulations and organizational guidelines (Marchiondo et al., 2015).… Continue Reading...

Criminal Process from Arraignment to Pre Trial

served as the chief justice of the Supreme Court, the court expanded civil rights, judicial power, civil liberties, and the federal power in dramatic ways. Of interests to this paper are civil rights and liberties. The court determined that as a result of the sixth amendment, it was required that all defendants of criminal proceedings receive publicly funded counsel, and the right to an attorney. Conclusion To date, defendants' rights have been held as the majority of Americans have come to accept the dramatic decisions of the Warren court. The modern day American court has continued to uphold these rights. However, and with the changing face… Continue Reading...

Democratization of the Bahamas

between that document and the one existent in America. Both of these documents have strict provisions regarding civil liberties as they relate to the the media, speech, and religious freedom. In forms of government that are not democratic, these liberties do not exist or, if they do so, are extremely limited… Continue Reading...

A Strong and Clear Boundary Between Church And State

measures (Mendelson, 1962). In the constitution of the United States, the first amendment entails protection of American civil liberties as well as amendment of any law concerning an initiation of a federal or state religion, hindering the freedom of speech, right to assemble peaceably and the freedom of the press. US is deemed to be a religious country and all religions should be granted the chance they deserve (Curry, 1987). Despite the fact that citizens are given some freedom, they are not permitted to infringe onto the freedom and rights of other people. This case applies to religions. The law is believed to serve everyone equally and… Continue Reading...

Texas Constitution

comes to the people versus the government. Secondly, constitutions have the duty of narrowing the overall power of government by establishing civil liberties held by the people that the government dare not breach. While the Texas Constitution technically fulfills its essential duties, the mistrust of government that pervades within the state lineage and culture ensures that the creation of government policy is a difficult task. One of the more striking elements about the Constitution of Texas is that it contains a striking mistrust of government and a marked resistance to change. One of the ways that it manifests its mistrust of government and change is the sheer size of the document.… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Civil Liberties" (2012, October 27) Retrieved May 4, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/civil-liberties-76157

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Civil Liberties" 27 October 2012. Web.4 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/civil-liberties-76157>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Civil Liberties", 27 October 2012, Accessed.4 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/civil-liberties-76157