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Cupp Versus Murphy Brief Essay

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Criminal Justice I. Brief Cupp v. Murphy 412 U.S. 291, 93 S.Ct. 2000, 36 L.Ed.2d 900 (1973) Merits: The respondent, Daniel Murphy, was convicted by a jury in an Oregon court of the second-degree murder of his wife. The victim died by strangulation in her home in the city of Portland, and abrasions and lacerations were found on her throat. There was no sign of a break-in or robbery. Word of the murder was sent to the estranged husband, Daniel Murphy. Upon receiving the message, Murphy promptly telephoned the Portland police and voluntarily came into Portland for questioning. Shortly after the respondent’s arrival at the station house, where he was met by retained counsel, the …show more content…

Id., at 1007. The U.S. Supreme Court granted the State’s petition for certiorari. Issue: Whether respondent’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment Rights were violated when he was subjected to a search of his person, albeit under probable cause, without a warrant and prior to a formal arrest. Argument: Reasoning: 1) “Nothing is more clear than that the Fourth Amendment was meant to prevent wholesale intrusions upon the personal security of our citizenry, whether these intrusions be termed ‘arrests’ or ‘investigatory detentions.’ ” Davis v. Mississippi, 394 U.S. 721, 726-727. 2) …the search of the respondent’s fingernails went beyond mere “physical characteristics…constantly exposed to the public,” United States v. Dionisio, supra, and constituted the type of “severe though brief intrusion upon cherished personal security” that is subject to constitutional scrutiny. Terry v. Ohio, supra, at 24-25. 3) The Court recognized in Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, that the scope of a warrantless search must be commensurate with the rationale that excepts the search from the warrant requirement. Chimel authorizes a search of incident to arrest for (1) weapons or (2) incriminating evidence. Further, Chimel limited the scope of a search incident to arrest to the person placed under arrest and the area “into which an arrestee might reach.” 395 U.S., at 763. Application:

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