Describe the precedent(s) set in the Court’s decision. How did it affect future cases? Has the precedent been modified or does the precedent no longer hold? If you were a Supreme Court Justice in the case, how would you have ruled, and why?

Criminal Law Final Paper

Assignment: Select one major United States Supreme Court criminal case which you find most interesting. The case you select should also reflect one you can adequately analyze in this essay, so read the parameters of the essay first. The case may NOT be from the Capstone Courses discussed in Complete exercises but may come from your textbook readings. The essay is not designed to simply be a case briefing, although these are helpful and may be used for portions of your essay. For example, if a student chooses Miranda v Arizona, whereas the precedent requires anyone in custodial interrogation be advised of their due process rights, then the student will need to investigate further the actual state law violated, and in which state it happened, and the events leading up to the appeal. Research and scholarly journal articles are expected to ground the essay with a solid and scholarly foundation.

Your essay must include:

An appropriate title page and introductive section
Identification of the perpetrator, the crime committed, and how motive, intent, or opportunity (if applicable) were shown in the criminal trial (Refer to Unit 2: Corpus delecti, elements of offense and Units 5 & 6: Elements of crimes)
An explanation of the defense used during trial (Alibi, excuse, justification, or procedural defense) [refer to Units 3 & 4]. Were the defenses effective? Why or why not? If you were the defense attorney, what would you have done differently?
Describe the precedent(s) set in the Court’s decision. How did it affect future cases? Has the precedent been modified or does the precedent no longer hold? If you were a Supreme Court Justice in the case, how would you have ruled, and why?