Policy Memo 2 Law Research Coursework Essay Paper Term Paper
This is a continuation of the Disciplinary Assignment Part 1. Students read the following journal articles found in the Reading and Study section of Module/Week 7.
Judge, Lisa A. (November 2005). Disclosing Officer Untruthfulness to the Defense: Is a Liars Squad Coming to Your Town?. The Police Chief, 72(11).
Serpas, Ronal, & Hagar, Michael. (August 2010). The Untruthful Employee: Is Termination the Only Response?. The Police Chief, LXXVII(8).
Copyrights held by the International Association of Chiefs of Police, 515 North Washington Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 USA.
Instructions:
Since 1963, a series of United States Supreme Court case decisions have clarified that in criminal cases, prosecutors must disclose to the defense evidence favorable to the defendant. This includes information that may be used to impeach the credibility of government witnesses, including law enforcement officers. These decisions mean that police officers who have documented histories of lying in official matters are liabilities to their agencies, and these histories may render them unable to testify credibly.
With this in mind, you are the Chief of Police of a municipality. Your Deputy Chief of Police advises you that one of your officers was investigated for inappropriate use of one of the computers in the patrol division. As a result of this internal investigation, it was determined that the officer used this computer to search pornographic web sites. When confronted with this allegation, the officer denied any knowledge of this incident. Upon further investigation, the computer crimes analyst determined that the officer’s logon password was used to enter the unauthorized web sites. The officer then admitted to his wrongdoing and stated it would never happen again. This officer has been with your organization for 15 years, and the only other disciplinary action taken against him was for being involved in an at fault traffic accident 10 years ago. As the Chief of Police, you must decide how you will handle this situation?
Write a professional memorandum outlining and explaining how you will handle this situation. What recommendations would you make?
Use the references listed below to assist and support you in your decision.
You must have at least 2.5 pages and should attach these new pages to Part 1, for a total of 5 pages. Therefore, in Module/Week 7 you will submit the entire Disciplinary Assignment with a title page, and a reference page citing the cases you used, and any outside references.
• Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963)
• Giglio v. United States, 405 U. S. 150 (1972)
• United States v. Agurs, 427 U. S. 97 (1976)
• Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U. S. 419 (1995)
• United States v. Bagley, 473 U. S. 667 (1985)
Note: This is a continuation of the previous memo
Student’s Name:
Institutional Affiliation:
Course:
Instructor:
Date:
Policy Memo 2
From: My Name
To: A note to identify to whom the briefing paper is intended.
Date: 19th/10/2020
Subject: The United States Supreme Court case decisions
In line with the series of U.S Supreme Court decisions that call for the disclosure of evidence against law enforcement officers, any individual with a history of lying or falsifying reports should not work as a law enforcement officer (Judge, Lisa, 2005). The case presented to me was of an officer who denied using their computer to search pornographic websites; however, after further investigation, the officer admitted he was guilty. The officer has worked here for 15 years, and only ten years ago, disciplinary action was taken against him for a traffic accident. This memorandum discusses how to handle this case and the Chief of Police of a municipality’s recommendations.
In the Giglio v. United States, the Supreme Court strongly admonishes non-disclosure of evidence that affects credibility, and government witnesses’ credibility is tested based on the evidence against them. In United States v. Agurs, the Supreme Court calls for disclosure of information even when not requested. The prosecutor would be faulted for not disclosing the material evidence against the victim, in this case, the law enforcement officer. According to the United States v. Bagley case, the material evidence was any information that, when disclosed, would imply the trial or sentencing, even leading to a different outcome. For instance, though the officer admitted later that he was guilty and would not repeat his actions, the court is against bashing the material evidence as it questions the officer’s motives. The Court in Kyles v. Whitley held prosecutors accountable for disclosing all the relevant proof to the defense.
‘Is Termination the Only Response?’ discusses the United States Department for Justice’s instructions on those law enforcement officers who have previous histories of lying at places of work. According to Serpas and Hagar (2010), the argument is that untruthfulness inhibits effective policing, and so the use of untruthful statements to escape disciplinary actions. Dishonest conduct would, therefore, lead to a severe disciplinary action, termination. The officer’s dishonesty would be an issue in the court of law and affect the law enforcement service and should not be treated lightly. However, being this is the first time the officer is caught lying, I would not take adverse measures against the officer. I would use light disciplinary actions to stop the officer from repeating the same offense in the future.
In this case, I would i...
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