Research and write on Analysis of a Supreme Court Case (Student can select any US Supreme Court Case that impacted police producers or protocols)
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
Sample Answer
Sample Answer
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued numerous landmark decisions that significantly impact police procedures, shaping the legal landscape for law enforcement. Here are some of the most influential cases:
Use of Force
1. Graham v. Connor (1989)
– Holding: The “reasonableness” of a particular use of force must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight[2].
– Impact: This case established the “objectively reasonable standard” for evaluating the use of force by police officers.
2. Tennessee v. Garner (1985)
– Holding: Police officers may not use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing felon unless the officer has probable cause to believe that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others[3].
– Impact: This decision has informed the creation of use-of-force policies across the country, emphasizing the need for officers to articulate probable cause for using deadly force.
Search and Seizure
1. Riley v. California (2014)
– Holding: Without a warrant, the police generally may not search digital information on a cell phone seized from an individual who has been arrested[1].
– Impact: This ruling protects the privacy of digital information on personal devices, requiring law enforcement to obtain a warrant before conducting such searches.
2. Florida v. Jardines (2013)
– Holding: Using a drug-sniffing dog on a homeowner’s porch to investigate the contents of the home is a search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment[1].
– Impact: This decision clarifies that certain investigative actions, such as using drug-sniffing dogs, are considered searches and must comply with Fourth Amendment protections.
3. U.S. v. Jones (2012)
– Holding: The government’s attachment of a GPS device to a vehicle, and its use of that device to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment[1].
– Impact: This ruling extends Fourth Amendment protections to include surveillance methods involving GPS tracking.
4. Arizona v. Gant (2009)
– Holding: Police officers with probable cause to search a car may inspect passengers’ belongings found in the car that are capable of concealing the object of the search[1].
– Impact: This decision provides guidance on the scope of vehicle searches, allowing officers to search areas where evidence might be hidden.
5. Knowles v. Iowa (1998)
– Holding: The authority to conduct a full field search as incident to an arrest should not be extended to situations where the concern for officer safety or destruction of evidence is not present[1].
– Impact: This ruling limits the scope of searches incident to arrest, ensuring that such searches are not overly broad.
Other Significant Cases
1. Miranda v. Arizona (1966)
– Holding: Police must inform suspects of their rights before questioning[3].
– Impact: This case established the requirement for Miranda warnings, ensuring that suspects are aware of their rights during custodial interrogations.
2. Terry v. Ohio (1968)
– Holding: An officer can briefly detain a person based on reasonable suspicion of criminal activity and conduct a limited pat-down search for weapons[3].
– Impact: This decision allows for stop-and-frisk procedures, providing a balance between public safety and individual rights.
3. Mapp v. Ohio (1961)
– Holding: The exclusionary rule applies to the states, meaning that evidence illegally obtained by the government cannot be used in court against the accused[3].
– Impact: This ruling ensures that evidence obtained in violation of the Fourth Amendment is not admissible in court, promoting compliance with constitutional protections.
Sources:
– [1] supreme.justia.com
– [2] www.police1.com
– [3] www.caselaw4cops.net
– [4] www.uscourts.gov
– [5] www.police1.com
