Assignment 2: Constitutional Rights

Constitutional Rights
Student’s Name
Institution
Constitutional Rights
Steve Penny was arrested on October 17, 2018, for tampering with evidence. The former USA Gymnastic president was accused of tampering with evidence in a case involving imprisoned Larry Nassar, the former doctor of the USA Gymnastics team (Macur, 2018). A grand jury in Walker County had earlier indicted penny for allegedly ordering the removal documents from the national team’s training center after finding out that Nassar’s behavior on the site was under investigation. The Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force carried out the arrest in Tennessee, where Penny had gone for a vacation with his family.
The four elements of arrest related to the case of Penny include seizure and detention, the intention to arrest, arrest authority, and understanding by the Penny (Carmen, 2014). Seizure and detention is the first element of arrest, and in the case of Mr. Penny, there was there a constructive seizure as he did not attempt to avoid the service of process. As informed by Carmen (2014), constructive seizure takes place without physical holding, grabbing, or the use of force. There was an intention to arrest Penny given that armored marshals arrived at his vacation cabin before conducting the arrest. The officers had an intention of arresting Penny since he had earlier been indicted in a case involving Mr. Nassar. The element of arrest authority separates arrest from the deprivation of liberty (Carmen, 2014). An arrest is considered valid if there is proper authorization. The Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force that arrested Penny had authority given that their primary mission is to find and arrest individuals whom federal arrest warrants have been issued against (US Marshals Service, n.d.). Lastly, there was the element of understanding by Penny that he was being arrested. According to Carmen (2014), the arrestee can be informed that he or she is being arrested through words or actions. In the case of Penny, it is not indicated whether he was informed that he was being arrested. However, given that it is standard procedure, he was probably informed that he was being arrested.
In order for search and seizure with a warrant to be valid, four requirements have to be met. First, there has to be a probable cause, meaning that the facts and circumstances have to be sufficient enough to warrant a search (Carmen, 2014). Second, there has to be a supporting oath or affirmation, meaning that the affidavit has to present for a warrant to be issued. It is issued by a magistrate only if he or she is satisfied that there is a probable cause for a warrant. Third, a valid warrant must describe the place to be searched and the items to be confiscated. Fourth, for the warrant to be valid, it must have a magistrate’s signature. It is mandatory that the warrant is issued only by a neutral judge, one who is not aligned with the government (Carmen, 2014). In the case of Mr. Penny, a warrant of arrest was issued in Texas. There was a probable cause since he had been indicted earlier by a grand jury in Walker County in Texas. With the indictment, there were enough facts for a magistrate to issue a warrant of arrest. It is deducible that a warrant of arrest and n...