Immigrant Case Study: New Jersey V. Cocuzza

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a relatively new diagnosis that was associated with survivors of war when it was first introduced. Its diagnosis was met largely with skepticism and dismissal by the public of the validity of the illness. PTSD was only widely accepted when it was included as a diagnosis in 1980 in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) of the American Psychiatric Association. PTSD is a complex mental disorder that develops in response to exposure to a severe traumatic event that stems a cluster of symptoms. Being afflicted with the disorder is debilitating, disrupting an individual’s ability to function and perform the most basic tasks.

The insanity defense has been quite a controversial subject. It has been used by some of the most baleful criminals in history. Its controversy derives from the belief that people who plead insanity are excused from the fault of their crimes. Surprisingly however, this defense is rarely used because of how hard it is to prove legal insanity. Less than one percent of criminals choose to plead insanity and of those who choose to plead insanity the success is quite low at 25 percent.( Rolf. p. 2) This defense has been around for centuries. It can be dated back to the 14th century. Kings were willing to pardon crimes to those who were deemed “mad”. By the 18th century the “ wild beast” test was developed by some English courts. However, the

What the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the government cannot compel a government employee to self-criminate themselves. What the court also ruled was, the police department had no right to terminate those individuals who decided to use their fifth amendment right (Justia, 2016). The court had asserted that “the option to lose their means of livelihood or pay the penalty of self-incrimination is the antithesis of free choice to speak or to remain silent. (Taylor, 2009). With this being the main concern to the court the courts decided not to reach the question on deeming the voluntariness of the statements as the only issues that was presented. Garrity v. New Jersey was based upon if the officers of his or her own free choice to admit,

Although posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is sometimes considered to be a relatively new diagnosis, as the name first appeared in 1980, the concept of the disorder has a very long history. That history has often been linked to the history of war, but the disorder has also been frequently described in civilian settings involving natural disasters, mass catastrophes, and serious accidental injuries. The diagnosis first appeared in the official nomenclature when Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-I was published in 1952 under the name gross stress reaction. It was omitted, however, in the next edition in 1968, after a long

Introduction Of Case: New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985) is a court case heard and ruled on by the Supreme Court of the United States. The case dealt with the constitutionality of the search of a public school student after she had gotten caught smoking in a public school bathroom. The search provided evidence of drug paraphernalia, marijuana, and the intent of sale of drugs. The student fought the charges, stating that the search violated her Fourth Amendment rights. The United States Supreme Court ruled 6-3, that the search was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment.

Trauma, a severely distressing or disturbing experience, can lead to Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is a type of anxiety disorder that results from experiencing extremely emotional trauma or situation in which the individual felt at risk of injury or death. According to Putts (2014), both trauma and PTSD are going unrecognized in clients experiencing psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depressive disorders although a majority of clients diagnosed with psychotic disorders experience symptoms that meet the criteria for PTSD (p. 83). Putts (2014) believes the phenomenon could be a result of the challenge a clients in a psychotic state presents

Even though post-traumatic stress disorder can be treated, a person who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder can have symptoms such as uncontrollable thoughts about the event, severe anxiety, nightmares, and flashbacks. This means that the person with PTSD may be involved in an incident where they may commit a crime unexpectedly because of a certain flashback they might have had at a specific moment and time. Sometimes it can be a simple situation where he or she may be forgiven due to the fact that they have a mental condition but this is not always the case. What happens when the incident is major enough to the point that the criminal justice system is involved?

New Jersey v. T.L.O, a supreme court case that took the stands in 1985, involved a fourteen year old freshman in highschool and a New Jersey public high school in which the minor attended. The minor by which public record only shows her by her initials T.L.O, was caught smoking cigarettes with another student in her high school’s bathroom during the school day. This act of smoking in the bathroom was against school policy as it was only seen fit to smoke in the school’s designated smoking areas. This court case was used to argue students rights in searches in public schools.

PTSD is listed among a group called Trauma-and-stressor-Related Disorders. For a person to be diagnosed with PTSD, they must have been exposed to, witness, or experience the details of a traumatic experience (e.g., a first responder), one that involves “actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” (APA, 2013, p. 271). (PRU, 2016, p. 66). The aforementioned definition of PTSD relates to soldiers; the manifestations and causes experienced with traditional PTSD can look somewhat different. Obvious causes of PTSD in soldiers stem from exposure to stressful circumstances within combat, exposure to the suffering and death of others, destruction, personal danger, and injury. A study on Vietnam soldiers provides insight on less obvious causes of PTSD. The study suggests

In the case of New Jersey v T.L.O a high school student was suspected of trying to hide cigarettes in her bag. An official searched the bag and found cigarettes,marijuana, and a list of names of students who owed T.L.O. money, she argued that her Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches was violated. She was then charged with possession of marijuana and sentenced to one year of probation. Before trial, T.L.O. wanted to suppress the evidence discovered in the search, but the Court denied her motion. The supreme court said school administrators don't need to have a search warrant or probable cause before conducting a search because students already have a reduced expectation of privacy when in

Before PTSD became an official diagnosis, various other traumatic stress syndromes such as dissociative flashbacks and survivor guilt were used as criminal defenses for both violent/nonviolent crimes as well as a basis for successful insanity defenses. Initially PTSD raised concerns about its potential misuse in criminal courts, however, there were certain incidences where PTSD was found to be a legitimate phenomenon. Case in point, New Jersey v Cocuzza (1981). In this case, the defendant was a Vietnam veteran who was found not guilty for reason of insanity when he assaulted a police officer. Mr. Cocuzza’s defense was that at the time of the incident, he believed that he was attacking enemy soldiers. His claims were supported by the officer when he testified that Mr. Cocuzza was holding a stick as if it were a rifle.

Accurately determining ones mental health is a big issue in the United States when it comes down to convicting individuals of crimes they have committed. “Not guilty by reason of insanity”, an overused vague statement used to defend those of their gruesome actions and lessoning their sentencings all together. The Insanity plea needs to be reexamined due to the fact that it is used to get criminals lesser penalties, if the plea was to be used, that it must be through medical determination rather than a legal statement, and that once those who were claimed to be insane have been helped by proper psychiatric help, that they should face the full penalty to the crime that they had committed.

Morris states that PTSD is often thought of as being a syndrome of remembering things too well. He adds that “the ones who ‘forget,’ they suffer later” (Morris 35).

While PTSD was not yet defined it was clear that these symptoms were caused because of the disturbing things that had been seen. With no treatments available and a stigma that the effected persons were cowards or scared soldiers were often sent home with no supervision. During World War I physicians began calling it “shell shock” or “combat fatigue”, they believed that concussions caused by the impact of shells disrupting the brain caused the symptoms. Treatments included hospitalization and electric shock therapy. By World War II medical personnel noticed that soldiers that were engaged in longer more intense fighting had much higher levels or psychiatric disturbances and started using the term battle fatigue or combat exhaustion. Soldiers were being labeled as fearful and lacking in discipline and PTSD was still not fully recognized as a disorder, at this time treatment included barbiturates.

A little background: PTSD is a psychological disorder formed from traumatic experiences that involves physical harm or the threat of physical harm that make the person feel stressed or frightened when they are no longer in danger. Signs and symptoms of PTSD can be grouped into three categories: Re-experiencing symptoms, avoidance symptoms, and hyper arousal symptoms . The main treatment for this is psychotherapy or