Assignment 2: Constitutional Rights. Literature & Language Essay

Constitutional Rights
Your Name
Subject and Section
Professor’s Name
December 16, 2019
Due process is one of the most valued and protected rights that any American citizen is entitled to. It assures the people of the proper imposition of justice and acts as a safeguard against any abuses that can be committed on the part of the State. Accordingly, search and seizures form a significant part of the due process clause. No less than the US Constitution itself provides that due process must be observed in order for an arrest to be valid upon the person who is accused. In this article, the elements and procedures of a valid arrest would be discussed in relation to both the law and jurisprudence. To illustrate this, the author would use the case of Nieves v. Bartlett, which was a civil rights case (stemming from a criminal case) decided by the US Supreme Court in May 2019. Specifically, the succeeding sections would discuss about the process starting from the arrest up until his trial in court. All in all, the author argues that by understanding the validity of an arrest a greater understanding and appreciation of the justice system could be gleaned.
Nieves v. Bartlett
The case at hand stemmed from an arrest conducted by petitioner police officers Luis Nieves and Bryce Weight against respondent Russell Bartlett in the State of Alaska. During the time of the arrest, Nieves claimed that they apprehended the private petitioner, together with several other teenagers, who seemed to be drunk while driving. As they tried to confront the teenagers, the police officers alleged that Bartlett shouted at them. Subsequently, the police officers also claimed that Bartlett went out of the car and stepped towards Officer Weight thereby forcing the officer to push him back. It was after then when officer Nieves “initiated the arrest”, and forced the teenager to the ground since “he was slow to comply”. Accordingly, the respondents invoked a negative defense by denying all of the allegations of the police officer CITATION Sur19 \l 1033 (SupremeCourt.Gov, 2019).
Four Elements of Arrest
Every valid arrest must conform to the elements provided in the law and jurisprudence. Accordingly, these elements are (1) Intent, (2) Authority, (3) Seizure, and (4) Understanding CITATION Cornd1 \l 1033 (Cornell University, n.d.).
First, Intent refers to the officers’ certainty that the act of the person who is about to be arrested will lead to a specific outcome that is illegal. Going back to the case at hand, it could be said that the intent refers to the ‘subjective intent’ of Police officer Nieves with regards to the possible commotion or the possible ‘assault’ that Bartlett would commit against officer Weight, as could be gleaned from his act of stepping outside of his car and walking towards him.
Second, Authority refers to the capacity of the officer to conduct an arrest pursuant to the laws of the state or the place where he exercises jurisdiction over. It must be noted, however, that authority refers not only to the capacity of the officer to make an arrest, but also to the validity of their arrest relative to its constitutionality. Going back to the case at hand, it could be ...