Questions and Topics We Can Help You To Answer: 

You are the Special Assistant to the Saint Leo Chief of Police (or, Saint Leo County Sheriff, as you prefer). As such, you are a very trusted and dependable aide. The chief relies on you for your good judgment, experience, and analytical abilities. 

The Chief/Sheriff is fairly new to the Saint Leo Police Department (SLPD/SLCSO). There are many problems in the department, not all of which are the fault of this chief. However, the Chief/Sheriff wants to address some of the more pressing problems and resolve them, without litigation if possible. 

The Department’s General Counsel is involved in ongoing litigation and is not available to provide guidance, and outside counsel is expensive and premature at this point. The Chief/Sheriff knows you are not an attorney, but you do have a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration from Saint Leo University. The Chief/Sheriff knows that this respected institution has educated you well for this task. Therefore, the Chief/Sheriff needs your analysis of the facts and the relevant law on the problems presented. 


Scenario #7:

Officer Speedy of the Saint Leo police department was patrolling in her cruiser around midnight last night. A black sports car came careening around the corner and almost hit the cruiser. Officer Speedy pursued the sports car at a rate of speed in excess of 100 mph through downtown Saint Leo. The bars were closing and a number of people were in the area. Officer Speedy lost control of the cruiser, jumped a curb, and hit and killed a pedestrian on the sidewalk. The sports car driver looked back to see what happened to the cruiser and drove into a telephone pole, killing him. The family of the pedestrian is threatening to sue the Sheriff and the city of Saint Leo. The family of the sports car driver is threatening to sue the Sheriff and the city of Saint Leo. The sheriff wants to know if either party has any legitimate claims, and if so, what are they? The department does not have a “hot pursuit” policy. Is that going to hurt the Sheriff’s case against any lawsuits? The Sheriff wants to know if she should discipline Officer Speedy and, if so, what are the arguments for and against.

FORMAT

Your paper is to be structured as follows for each separate fact situation you are researching. In your paper, put each of the sub-headings listed below in bold, so that it is clear to the reader that you are following the mandatory format: 

a.    Summary of Facts – This is a summary of the facts which are relevant to the issue you are researching. You may add some facts but only if they are necessary to your research.

b.    Issues Presented – What legal issues are created by the facts with which you are presented? The Sheriff usually presents more than one.

c.    Arguments Presented by Each Side – How many sides are there? What is the best case for each side?

d.    Applicable Law – This is where you describe the cases, statutes, regulations, and other sources from your research which are relevant to your issues. If some of the cases briefed in the course apply to your issues, you may cite them. However, you must also show that you have conducted independent research and describe different cases which are relevant.

e.    Recommendation – This is where you advise the Sheriff as to what decisions should be made regarding the issues at hand.

f.    Reasons – In this section, tell the Sheriff why you made those recommendations. Remember, the Sheriff wants the legal basis for your recommendations, NOT your personal opinions.

g.    Core Values – In this section, describe the Saint Leo core values which are implicated in the arguments presented by each side and in your recommendations.

h.    Bibliography – This should contain non-legal references only. Legal case citations should be in footnotes in the body of your paper; follow APA guidelines for citations.

Address each fact situation in your selected scenario separately and write your advisory memorandum to the Sheriff, using each of the sub-headings above. Then go on to the next fact situation and repeat the format. The mandatory format is designed to assist you with focusing on all of the issues while addressing them as separate issues. Some may be easier to address than others.

Citation Format 

The Sherriff wants to read your legal memo, not a bunch of text citations, so put them in footnotes. APA provides for this. This does not mean you should not have a well-researched memo, with abundant citations; rather, it simply means you should put your citations in footnotes.