Assignment:
1. Can a state give its citizens more rights than the federal government? Explain why or why not.
2. What restrictions does the Fourth Amendment place on private security guards, such as store detectives or private investigators?
3. Rewrite the Second Amendment as though you were asked to address contemporary concerns.
4. Imagine that you are an attorney asked to defend nude dancing as an act of expression that should be allowed in a bar. What would you say to represent your client's interests? Include an explanation of whether nude dancing could be considered "speech".
5. Could a country such as the United States function without a federal constitution? Why or why not? Would it be possible for each state to merely abide by its own constitution? Explain.
6. Draft a scenario in which a routine interaction between a citizen in a public place and the police could result in a continuing escalation from reasonable suspicion to probable cause, and what the results to each party would be.
7. The defendant was playing cards in the garage of a friend's house when the police entered. The police saw the defendant walk to the corner of the garage and reach behind a tool cabinet. The police notice the defendant hands were empty and searched behind the tool cabinet where they found a plastic bag with cocaine in it. The police arrested the defendant and found drug paraphernalia in his fanny pack. The defendant was a short term social guest at his friend's house. Did the defendant have a reasonable expectation of privacy that was protected by the federal constitution? Explain.
8. Presume that the state in which they are located constitution has a provision that is virtually identical to the federal provision. Is the state Supreme Court required to interpret its constitution in the same way the US Supreme court interprets its federal counterpart? Why?