Facts: There is a question of whether the stop and arrest of Sharp was lawful. A DEA agent (Cook) was patrolling an area near Sunset Beach, North Carolina for suspected drug trafficking. They were headed to South Carolina. Agent Cook noticed an overloaded pickup truck with an attached camper traveling in tandem with a Pontiac Bonneville. After observing this he decided to make an "investigative stop" so he radioed a South Carolina Patrol officer who then joined them in the following of the two vehicles. Once they began to make the stop the Pontiac pulled over and the truck kept on going and began a pursuit. Fifteen minutes later the DEA agent joined the highway patrol officer and found a significant amount of marijuana in the back of the truck. The driver of the truck and Sharp were both arrested. .
Issues: In the case of United States V. Sharp the court examines "whether the officer's action was justified at its inception, and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place? Also to assess whether a detention is too long in duration to be justified as an investigative stop, and to examine whether the police diligently pursued a means of investigation that was likely to confirm or dispel their suspicions quickly, during which time it was necessary to detain the defendant.
Decisions: Reversed and Remanded.
Reasoning: 1. The court concluded that given the circumstances given to him, Agent Cooke pursued his investigation in a diligent and reasonable manner.
2. This case does not involve and delay unnecessary to the legitimate investigation of the law enforcement officers.
3. The courts reject the contention that a 20-minute stop is unreasonable when the police have acted diligently and a suspects actions contribute to the added delay about which he complains.
Separate Opinions: The court granted certiorari on June 18, 1984.
Board of Education"" was to the educational system of the United States. ... There were several cases that went before the United States Supreme Court before Brown, and they all had significance in regards to equal right in the education system for colored people. Murry v. ... Canada, Sweat v. ... Sharpe (District of Columbia). ...
Equality for All Since the birth of the United States, African-Americans have continued the fight for equality in America. ... All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. ... The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. ... A companion case, Bolling v. Sharpe (1954), extended the ruling on segregation to the District of Columbia, under...
During the 1950's segregation was still frequent in the United States. ... The United States district court in South Carolina ordered equal funding of black schools but refused to mandate racial integration of the schools. ... Sharpe (District of Columbia). ... Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, decided on May 17, 1954, has come to be one of the most important cases in the history of the United States. ... Segregation still exists in some form today, even with the variety of races and ethnicities in the United States of America. ...