18 Unit 1 The Legal Environment
5. Shawn was caught stealing letters from mailboxes. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to two
months’ in prison and three years’ supervised release. One of the supervised release conditions
required him to stand outside a post office for eight hours wearing a signboard stating, “I stole mail.
This is my punishment.” He appealed this requirement on the grounds that it constituted cruel and
unusual punishment. Do you agree?
Answer: The appeals court affirmed the sentence on the grounds that it did not violate standards of
Discussion Questions
1. Under British law, a police officer must now say the following to a suspect placed under arrest: “You
do not have to say anything. But if you do not mention now something which you later use in your
defense, the court may decide that your failure to mention it now strengthens the case against you. A
record will be made of anything you say and it may be given in evidence if you are brought to trial.”
What is the goal of this British law? What does a police officer in the United States have to say, and
what difference does it make at the time of an arrest? Which approach is better?
Answer: Answers will vary. In both British law and American law, the police may not force a
2. ETHICS You are a prosecutor who thinks it is possible that Naonka, in her role as CEO of a
brokerage firm, has stolen money from her customers, many of whom are not well-off. If you charge
her and her company with RICO violations, you know that she is likely to plea bargain because
otherwise her assets and those of the company may be frozen by the court. As part of the plea bargain,
you might be able to get her to disclose evidence about other people who might have taken part in this
criminal activity. But you do not have any hard evidence at this point. Would such an indictment be
ethical? Do the ends justify the means? Is it worth it to harm Naonka for the chance of protecting
thousands of innocent investors?
3. Van is brought to the police station for questioning about a shooting at a mall. The police read him his
Miranda rights. For the rest of the three hour interrogation, he remains silent except for a few one
word responses. Has he waived his right to remain silent? Can those few words be used against him in
court?
Answer: In Berghuis v. Thompkins,130 S. Ct. 2250, the Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that to maintain
4. Police arrested Bennie on a warrant issued in a neighboring county. When they searched him, the
police found drugs and a gun. Only later did the police discover that, when they had used the warrant,