Week 5 discussion (capstone) | Criminal homework help

• The Fourth Amendment of our U.S. Constitution states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”   Considering the Fourth Amendment and the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of the amendment, does an individual who places their garbage bags outside have a reasonable expectation of privacy when it comes to the contents of the garbage bags?  Why or why not?
• Then, respond to the posts of at least two (2) other peers with comments that continue to drive the discussion.

Week 5 Hot Topic: Extra Credit:

A Louisville police officer who was shot during the botched raid that killed Breonna Taylor is suing her boyfriend claiming Kenneth Walker caused him “severe trauma,” according to reports.

Louisville Metro Police Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly who authorities say was shot in the thigh and needed five hours of surgery to repair his femoral artery after the March 13 raid  filed a countersuit against Walker alleging battery, assault and emotional distress, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported late Thursday.  Mattingly’s civil suit claims Walker’s response to officers barging into Taylor’s apartment on a no-knock warrant as part of a narcotics probe was “outrageous, intolerable and offends all accepted standards of decency or morality,” the newspaper reported.

“Sgt. Mattingly was shot and nearly killed by Kenneth Walker,” the sergeant’s attorney told the Courier-Journal in a statement. “He’s entitled to, and should, use the legal process to seek a remedy for the injury that Walker has caused him.”  Mattingly’s countersuit seeks a jury trial, as well as damages and attorney fees, according to the report.

The countersuit is a response to a lawsuit filed by Walker, 28, against Louisville police, the city and others this summer seeking immunity from prosecution based on Kentucky’s “Stand Your Ground” law. He also insisted in September that he didn’t fire the bullet that nearly severed Mattingly’s femoral artery.  Breonna Taylor’s boyfriend says he didn’t wound cop during shootout.

Walker, a licensed gun owner, was initially arrested for attempted murder and assault for allegedly shooting Mattingly, but those charges were later dropped. Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has said the six shots Mattingly fired into Taylor’s apartment was a “justified” response to him being shot during the raid.  Detective Myles Cosgrove and former Detective Brett Hankison also opened fire, squeezing off a total of 32 rounds and striking Taylor six times, killing her in her apartment. No drugs were found inside the apartment, police later said.

Walker’s attorney, meanwhile, dismissed Mattingly’s countersuit as a “baseless attempt to further victimize and harass Kenny,” Attorney Steve Romines said Walker is “immune from both criminal prosecution and civil liability” since he was acting in self-defense in his own home.  “One would think that breaking into the apartment, executing his girlfriend and framing him for a crime in an effort to cover up her murder would be enough for them.  Even the most basic understanding of Kentucky’s ‘Stand Your Ground’ law and the ‘Castle Doctrine’ evidences this fact,” Romines told CBS News.

What are your thoughts?  Does the officer have a legitimate case, or is it frivolous?