Unit 2 Assignment CJ320-8 Ethan Bish
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Jan 9, 2024
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Running head: UNIT 2 ASSIGNMENT
1
Case Research
Ethan Bish
Professor Brown
CJ320-8
On April 22
nd
, 1984, A diabetic man named Dethorne Graham asked his friend Berry to drive him to a local convenience store to buy some orange juice. At the time Graham was having an insulin reaction and needed to orange juice to counteract it. When Graham rushed into the store, the store was extremely busy, so Graham hurried out of the store intending to go to a nearby friend’s house instead. A nearby officer Connor watched Graham rapidly enter and exit the store, and then followed Berry’s car for a short time before pulling the car over. Officer Connor then ordered them to wait there with his backup whilst he went and found out what happened at the store. At this point Graham had passed out from his insulin reaction. The back-up officers handcuffed the unconscious Graham and when he woke up ignored his attempts to explain what had happened. The officers then picked Graham up off the ground and shoved his head into the hood of Berry’s car. During the encounter Graham sustained various injuries such as a broken foot, cuts on his wrists
, a bruised forehead, and an injured shoulder; he also claims to have developed a loud ringing in his right ear that continues to this day. Officer Connor then found out
Graham had done nothing wrong, and the other officers drove him home.
UNIT 2 ASSIGNMENT
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Graham then filed a suit in the District Court under 42 U.S.C 1983 against the officers. Graham stated that the officers had violated his fourth amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. The District Court ruled in favor of the officers stating that their intentions where not malicious but, to restore discipline. Graham then petitioned and the U.S Supreme Court picked up the case. The U.S Supreme Court ruled in favor of Graham stating
that the officers had violated his fourth amendment. The U.S Supreme Court applied the objective reasonableness section of the fourth amendment to determine if the officer had used excessive force. This standard required the court to look at the totality of the situation. The court looked at the severity of the alleged crime Graham was stopped for, and whether he posed a threat to the officers, and the court then determined the officer’s action were unreasonable under the circumstances. In this case I agree with the Supreme Court’s ruling and am surprised that the District Court ruled in the officer’s favor. By reading the circumstances of the case I find it readily apparent that Graham’s rights had been violated. If I were the judge in this case, I would have ruled in Graham’s favor based on the fourth amendments protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
References
Graham v. Connor. (n.d.). Graham v. Connor | Cases | North Carolina | Westlaw (lirn.net)
Retrieved November 12, 2023,. U.S. Constitution - Fourth Amendment - Library of Congress. (n.d.). https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-4/
UNIT 2 ASSIGNMENT
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