Professor Marc Miller's Fall 1994 exam

Instructions

1. This is a 48 hour take home exam. This exam is written so that it can be completed in one day of work; the extra time is intended to reduce the pressure.
2. Your answer should be no more than 12 double spaced typed pages. It may be shorter.
3. This is an open book / open life take home exam. You are not bound by the cases and materials we have discussed in class. I have enclosed a series of articles to give you some background and to help identify the issues. I do not expect you to spend much (if any) time researching. I do expect you to spend their time thinking, organizing, writing and editing.
4. Do not hesitate to identify relevant issues which were not the focus of class reading or discussion, even if their complete analysis would require "more research" or "further reflection" by "other experts."
5. As with the rest of your legal life, organization and clarity are great virtues, and will be rewarded.

The White House

To: Chief Counsel for Criminal Procedure

From: Bill Clinton

Date: April 18, 1994

GUN SWEEPS IN THE CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY PROJECTS _______________________________ Crime is a top priority for many people. I have promised the people of the United States that this Administration will deal forcefully and creatively with crime and violence. We must also be careful that our proposals protect all of the people, especially those who are most subject to violence. Last week, a federal judge in Chicago barred general sweeps for guns in Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) projects. The judge did not write an opinion. We must follow the Constitution. But we must also find a way to deal with this rampant violence.

I need your advice and counsel. Please write a memorandum, of no more than 12 double spaced pages, critiquing my newest proposals, listed by HUD Secretary Cisneros and defended in my radio address to the nation on Saturday, April 16 (copy attached)

In particular I want to know whether these proposals will withstand constitutional challenge. What are the legal strengths and weaknesses of the searches and other devices I have suggested? Which, if any, should I reconsider? What other legal arguments or procedural initiatives would you suggest to rid these projects of the guns being used to destroy young lives, day after day? Please act as my counsel on these matters -- I expect your wise and accurate legal advice, even if it conflicts with the policies I would like to pursue.

Perhaps you are already familiar with the CHA homes. In case you are not I have enclosed several articles describing these projects -- the compelling need for new strategies to deal with guns and violence should be obvious.

Please organize your recommendations carefully and explain key doctrines well: I have not studied or practiced criminal law in many years.

ATTACHMENTS

Click HERE to get attachments.

NOTE: The essential documents are the Cisneros statement and the Clinton radio address from April 16, 1994 -- the first two documents. Everything else is background to minimize the time you might otherwise take to familiarize yourself with the proposals and to get a feel for the CHA housing projects.

April 16, 1994 Proposals

* "Clinton Calls for Steps to Rid Projects of Guns." LOS ANGELES TIMES, April 17, 1994 (listing proposals offered by Secretary Cisneros)

* Radio Address by President Clinton to the Nation on Saturday, U.S. NEWSWIRE, April 16, 1994.

* "Clinton Proposes Raids, Searches in the Projects." WASHINGTON TIMES. April 17, 1994.

* "Reno Supports Consent Forms for Gun Control." UPI, April 14, 1994.

* "Clinton Unveils a Sweeps Plan for CHA; Searches to be Tied to Leases." CHICAGO TRIBUNE, April 17, 1994.

Recent Efforts to Deal with Crime in CHA Projects

* The White House, Remarks by the President in Telephone Call To a Town Meeting with Secretary Cisneros (April 11, 1994).

* The White House, Excerpt from Remarks by the Present to Law Enforcement Officers (April 11, 1994)

Descriptions of Crime and Guns in CHA Housing Projects; Earlier Sweeps

* "Inner-City Pain; Chicago Is a Test for Clintonís Reforms." MACLEANS, November 16, 1992.

* "Chicagoís Housing Raids Challenged." NEW YORK TIMES, December 17, 1988.

* "ACLU Charges CHA Violates Tenants Rights." CHICAGO TRIBUNE, November 19, 1992.

* "A ëPrisoní Called Cabrini," BOSTON GLOBE, Oct. 25, 1992.

* "Duck the Bullet: How Children Survive Chicagoís Cabrini-Green," LOS ANGELES TIMES, Nov. 1, 1992.