Case Study Sample on Mr. Moore Arrested & Charged Despite No Grounds: Conviction Reversed

Introduction

The police flagged down Mr. Moore for driving while using a suspended license. Virginia stipulates that driving on a suspended license is a class 1 misdemeanor. As such, the police were only required to inform Mr. Moore of the offense and let him go. This was, however, not the case, he was arrested, and a search was conducted, which led to the acquisition of cocaine. He was subsequently charged with the intent of distributing the cocaine. The conviction was later reversed by both the Virginia Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, with the premise of the police violating the Fourth Amendment (Ryan, 2008). The case later took a different course when the U.S. Supreme Court got petitioned by the attorney general to consider the case, and the Supreme Court ruled the arrest of Mr. Moore on the probable cause while also reinstating that the search was legal and was not in contravention of the fourth amendment. It, however, maintained that the arrest violated state law. As such, the paper is premised on how the case was handled with the view of racial profiling claims. It goes further to validate if the arrest was justified, as will be noted herein.

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The Illegality of Racial Profiling

Racial profiling has been a common discourse in the United States, with claims about the unwarranted arrest of Blacks. At times, the action of arrest is justified, but in other cases, the arrests are not warranted. Again, the excessive use of force has also been an issue of debate with the recent case of George Floyd that went global. Racial profiling is illegal when the reason for arrest and conviction is associated with racial stereotypes. Arrests and conviction must be done following the law and should be defended objectively. The case of Mr. Moore began from a racial front to the realization of the class 1 misdemeanor, and a citation was not served (Virginia V. Moore, 2007).

The Justification of the Action of the Officer

I do not agree that even if the officer was racially profiling, if the stop was on the grounds of motor vehicle violation, then there was no issue. I would approach the issue from the dimension of how the officers are supposed to get equipped in the maintenance of law and order (Virginia V. Moore, 2007). Officers must be trained to treat people from all races equally, and if possible, persons joining the police units should represent the diversity of the United States. As such, considering that the officer was racially profiling, he failed to act in good faith, as noted in the subsequent actions that followed.

The legitimacy of Racial Profiling at the Stage of Investigation

There is a legitimate reason for racial profiling, looking at how the case was handled. Firstly, the motor vehicle violation was a class 1 misdemeanor; as such, the violation was only to be cited, and Mr. Moore left to go. This was not the case because of racial stereotypes. The search that was conducted was also ruled earlier to have contravened the Fourth Amendment.

Impacts of Pro-racial Policies

Pro-racial racial policies will have a negative impact on the community. People will continue to endure racial abuse and stereotypes. As such, the applicability of the law will be selective.

Conclusion

In summary, the case of Virginia v. Moore reveals how the law is selectively applied. The offense that he committed did not warrant the force that followed. The law should be objectively used, and police officers should conduct themselves per the law.

References

Ryan, J. (2008). Supreme Court Decides Incident to Arrest –Vehicle Case. https://www.llrmi.com/articles/legal_update/Virgina-v-Moore-Decision/Virginia V. Moore. (2007). Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164 (2008)

https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/553/164/Virginia v. Moore. (2008). Supreme Court of The United States. https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/553/164/