be sure to name the homework file you upload to blackboard:
last name_first two letters of first name_assignment number

(example: if Albert Einstein were submitting homework #3, his file name would be Einstein_al_3.docx)

This assignment can be revised for a new grade with certain conditions; see the class policies handout. This assignment can be turned in late with penalties; see the class policies handout.

In Episode 3 of Season 1 of The Wire at around 44:00, Omar breaks into a stash house and seizes drugs hidden under the unit’s kitchen sink.

Imagine, however, instead of Omar grabbing the drugs, they were instead seized by the local police and that Bodie and the entire “crew” of Stringer‘s employees in the courtyard/pit also find themselves arrested.To be clear: just the crew working the courtyard/pit gets arrested; other, bigger fish in Stringer‘s operation remain both out of sight and beyond the reach of the law. So, Stinkum does not get arrested; Wee-Bay does not get arrested etc.

FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS ASSIGNMENT ASSUME THAT BALTIMORE POLICE HAVE CCTV VIDEO OF THE ROUTINE DRUG TRANSACTIONS IN THE COURTYARD.

Imagine, further, that you are an assistant to the Baltimore D.A. in charge of the case. Your boss would like to link the drugs to as many of the arrested as possible. Her legal strategy pivots on the concept of “constructive possession” that you read about this week.

Your boss has asked you to write a brief of 350 – 450 words  (about 1.25 – 1.75 pages of 12-point, double-spaced text) that explains the relevant case law based on precedents and how, specifically, that case law could be applied to those arrested for narcotics possession in light of their actions recorded on CCTV video.

Thinking about (A) the legal logic of “constructive possession” as described in the reading for this week as well as (B) the mechanics of the narcotics distribution business portrayed in episodes 1, 2, and 3 of The Wire, write a brief for your boss that explains who legally might be considered in “possession” of the drugs found under the kitchen sink–more importantly–why?

Writing Requirements

1.  Be sure your discussion of addresses more than just the boys in the stash house to include the whole courtyard crew.

2.  When making your arguments, be sure to ground those arguments in specifics. For the CCTV video of the drug dealing, simply cite with a time stamp (example: “Ep: 1: 44:00”) the action you are referring to; for legal specifics from relevant case law from the readings for this week, be sure to use direct quotations

3. When using direct quotations from the legal cases in the readings, be sure to use method 3 or 4 from HW 1 and also be sure to reduce your quotations to ten for fewer words.

4.  Be sure to provide a page number citation for your quotations (you don’t need a full cite, just a page number)

5.   Be sure in those paragraphs where you make points from evidence to organize those paragraph in the familiar cl/ev/wa format from HW 1 and that you put a (CL) in front of your paragraph’s claim, an (EV) before the evidence, and a (WA) in front of the warrant.  (Keep in mind (A) not all paragraphs should be in cl/ev/wa format–just those that make a point from evidence.  Also keep in mind (B) that the cl/ev/wa format is for organizing individual paragraphs rather than for organizing whole papers. A strong paper will likely have a series of cl/ev/wa paragraphs as well as a number of paragraphs that are not in that format.)