"99 Problems" Used to Teach 4th Amendment

jono
jono Members Posts: 30,280 ✭✭✭✭✭
edited August 2012 in The Reason
The rapper Jay-Z can teach students, police and drug
smugglers quite a bit about fourth amendment case law,
according to Southwestern Law School professor Caleb
Mason.

An essay written by Mason and published recently in the
St. Louis University Law Journal provides a line-by-line
analysis of the second verse of the song “99 Problems,”
by Jay-Z, from the perspective of a criminal procedure
professor.

“In one compact, teachable verse (Verse 2), the song
forces us to think about traffic stops, vehicle searches,
drug smuggling, probable cause, and racial profiling,”
according to Mason.

The lesson for cops, concludes Mason, is that traffic law
can be used as a pretext for catching drug smugglers, but
only through a labor intensive process that can include
having a K-9 unit on scene or impounding a suspect’s
vehicle. The lessons for criminals include: refuse to
provide consent for searches, know basic reasonable
suspicion rules and make a record of the encounter.
Source > http://www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-criminal-justice/2012-08-using-jay-z-to-teach-the-fourth-amendment
Link to essay (for nerds like me)> http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2128852&

http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=US&hl=en&client=mv-google&v=RON8rlBIb_s

Comments

  • CeLLaR-DooR
    CeLLaR-DooR Members Posts: 18,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
    And they say Jay doesn't have 'content'
  • jono
    jono Members Posts: 30,280 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Jay is thin on content but looking a the verse critically its true that it can be used as a lesson in constitutional rights:

    99 Problems: [Verse Two]
    "The year is '94 and in my trunk is raw
    In my rear view mirror is the mother ? law
    I got two choices yall pull over the car or
    bounce on the double put the pedal to the floor
    Now I ain't trying to see no highway chase with jake
    Plus I got a few dollars I can fight the case
    So I...pull over to the side of the road
    And I heard "Son do you know why I'm stopping you for?"
    Cause I'm young and I'm black and my hat's real low
    Do I look like a mind reader sir, I don't know
    Am I under arrest or should I guess some mo?
    "Well you was doing fifty five in a fifty four"
    "License and registration and step out of the car"
    "Are you carrying a weapon on you I know a lot of you are"
    I ain't stepping out of ? all my papers legit
    "Do you mind if I look round the car a little bit?"
    Well my glove compartment is locked so is the trunk and the back
    And I know my rights so you gon' need a warrant for that

    "Aren't you sharp as a tack are some type of lawyer or something?"
    "Or somebody important or something?"
    Nah I ain't passed the bar but I know a little bit
    Enough that you won't illegally search my ?

    "Well see how smart you are when the K-9's come"

    I got 99 problems but a ? ain't one
    Hit me"

  • DaBull
    DaBull Members Posts: 9,261 ✭✭✭✭✭
  • CirocObama
    CirocObama Members Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2012
    Yeah Jigga def dropped some gems on it. The credit for the saying "I got 99 problems but a ? aint 1" should go to Ice-T tho cuz he's really the one who said that and made that joint back in like 1993.
  • dalyricalbandit
    dalyricalbandit Members, Moderators Posts: 67,918 Regulator
  • JokerzWyld
    JokerzWyld Members Posts: 5,483 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Kinda. Cops don't need warrants to search vehicles, they only need probable cause. Everything else is pretty spot on though. The only thing about that song that wasn't realistic is the cop explaining himself. Cops rarely give answers to any questions. You should just tell them that you don't consent to searches and seizures and keep it moving.
  • almighty breeze
    almighty breeze Members Posts: 1,928 ✭✭✭✭✭
    jono wrote: »
    jono wrote: »
    Jay is thin on content but looking a the verse critically its true that it can be used as a lesson in constitutional rights:

    Jay is thin on subjects. not content
  • jono
    jono Members Posts: 30,280 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I suppose its fair to switch it. Thin on subjects sounds more appropriate..
    JokerzWyld wrote: »
    Kinda. Cops don't need warrants to search vehicles, they only need probable cause. Everything else is pretty spot on though. The only thing about that song that wasn't realistic is the cop explaining himself. Cops rarely give answers to any questions. You should just tell them that you don't consent to searches and seizures and keep it moving.

    Correct. Cops typically tell you why they pulled you over though.
  • SuperSoaker
    SuperSoaker Members Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭✭✭
    While all this is correct in theory, and it's how should be. The reality is cops give no ? about a warrant or probable cause, if a cop feels like a ? and wants to search you they will and make up some ? after the fact!
  • jono
    jono Members Posts: 30,280 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Anything they find is inadmissible and thus a huge waste of time, so its in their best interest to follow procedure.
  • SuperSoaker
    SuperSoaker Members Posts: 1,459 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You don't hear me tho. Lol I know what your saying and that's the law, but when it all comes down to it, it's your word Vs. their word.
  • LUClEN
    LUClEN Members Posts: 20,559 ✭✭✭✭✭
    If you listen to the Black album you hear jay was goin hard

    I consider it better than reasonable doubt personally
  • JokerzWyld
    JokerzWyld Members Posts: 5,483 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You don't hear me tho. Lol I know what your saying and that's the law, but when it all comes down to it, it's your word Vs. their word.

    Word, and a judge will be more inclined to side with their word because of politics.
  • CeLLaR-DooR
    CeLLaR-DooR Members Posts: 18,880 ✭✭✭✭✭
    RodrigueZz wrote: »
    If you listen to the Black album you hear jay was goin hard

    I consider it better than reasonable doubt personally

    Allure is one of his GOATs...

    But Regrets, Dead Prez 2, D'evils, Can't Knock the Hustle, Friend or Foe, Can I Live means RD > BA
  • CirocObama
    CirocObama Members Posts: 3,825 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited August 2012
    I keep tellin ppl, IMO Black Album > Blueprint. But again people usually associate the word "classic" with memories from that specific time and when you think back on The Blueprint what you mostly remember from it is that Kanye produced on it, the Nas & Prodigy beef, it dropping on 9/11 and what have you but again Black Album > Blueprint IMO.
  • cobbland
    cobbland Members Posts: 3,768 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Good drop.

    But under the "Patriot Act," the 4th Amendment can be bypassed.
  • jono
    jono Members Posts: 30,280 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Allure, Moment Of Clarity, Lucifer....

    The Black Album goes in. Its one of Jigga's best LPs.