POSC 201 Judicial Exercise.
FACTS of the CASE:
On September 11th,
2016, (Patriots Day) Mr. and Mrs. John Smith with their 4 year old son,
Timmy, left from Battle Creek, Michigan, to attend the annual parade held in
Lansing, Michigan. The Smith family
left early enough to “secure a prime spot” to view the parade.
Arriving at 10 am, the Smiths set down their 3 collapsible chairs in
front of the Austin Blair statue (due East of the State Capitol) behind a row of
fellow parade attendees “3 persons thick.”
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By 12 noon (the posted start time of the
parade), the Smith family found themselves in a “tight” crowd estimated to be
around 600 people within a 40 foot
radius around the Austin Blair statue.
To ensure Timmy could see over the crowd of taller
individuals – who were now standing – Mr. Smith place Timmy on his shoulders.
As the first group of military representatives marching in
the parade began their turn off of Michigan and onto Capitol Ave, the defendant
– Mr. Assad Hadeed – separated himself from the crowd, stepped just on to
Capitol Avenue, took a 2ft by 3.5ft US Flag out from under his coat and
proceeded to light the flag on fire with a lighter in his possession.
Mr. Hadeed then screamed something inaudible above the voice of the
crowd. The crowd “lurched” – some
toward Mr. Hadeed, some away in what has been described as a chaotic moment.
In a determination by the lower court, the resulting movement of the
crowd caused Mr. Smith to lose his footing which, thereby, caused his son to
fall from his shoulders. Timmy
Smith hit his head on the concrete base of the Blair statue, and died from the
“blunt force trauma”.
Police officers in the immediate vicinity promptly gained
control of the situation and arrested Mr. Hadeed on a charge of disorderly
conduct. Following the initial
charge, and upon investigation, Mr. Hadeed was additionally charged with
1 count of 2nd Degree Murder
of which he was convicted via a trial by jury.
Mr. Hadeed has appealed this decision citing the exercising of his
constitutional expressive rights and therefore, cannot be charged with this
“crime”.
AS THE CIRCUIT COURT HEARING THE APPEAL:
WHAT SAY YOU?
POSC 201 – JUDICIAL
PAPER:
This paper is about the process rather than the
“opinion(s).” Below is a list of
questions regarding the Judicial Exercise to be completed via one or two
paragraphs (not one or two sentences):
I.
How did your ideology contribute to your initial
“opinion” regarding the guilt/innocence of Mr. Hadeed
(the individual charged with 2nd Degree
Murder in the death of Timmy Smith)?
II.
How did your research support or refute your
initial opinion (include whether or not
you started with your opinion and looked to find precedent to support your
opinion or if you went in with an open, unbiased, opinion and let your research
guide your conclusions)?
III.
Specifically, how did the practice of “Stare’
Decisis” impact your decision?
IV.
What was your final verdict? AND, why would one
conclude your decision to be “Judicial Activism” or “Judicial Restraint
(it will be one of these)?”
Start with a cover page, titled
POSC 201 – Judicial Exercise.
Include your name. Be sure to type your papers in standard font, with
standard margins, and attach any ancillary resources you accumulated over the
course of deciding the case. DO cite your sources or case precedents
within your Opinion/Verdict (ie.
Heller v. U.S. 1998). Bibliographies
are not necessary. There is no length requirement other than to answer each of
the above questions fully.