Skip to main content
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
Sections
  • All News
  • Arts & Culture
  • Business & Economy
  • Campus & Community
  • Health & Society
  • Media, Law & Policy
  • STEM
  • Veterans
  • |
  • Alumni
  • The Peel
  • Athletics
  • Home
  • About
  • Faculty Experts
  • For The Media
  • ’Cuse Conversations Podcast
  • Topics
    • Alumni
    • Events
    • Faculty
    • Students
    • All Topics
  • Contact
  • Submit
Media, Law & Policy

‘Why Is There Over-Policing for Low-Level Offenses?’

Thursday, April 29, 2021, By Lily Datz
Share
College of Law
Lauryn Gouldin headshot

Lauryn Gouldin

Lauryn Gouldin, Crandall Melvin Associate Professor of Law in the College of Law, authored an op-ed for The Hill titled “Why is there over-policing for low-level offenses?” Gouldin, who also serves as the director of the Syracuse Civics Initiative, teaches on criminal law and criminal justice reform.

Gouldin writes that while much of the nation is breathing a “small sigh of relief” that Derek Chauvin will be held accountable for the death of George Floyd, the nation is still plagued by continued police violence. The injury and death of those who have committed low-level offenses raises the question of why police use policing methods that cause such damage and trauma, Gouldin says.

She attributes part of the answer to two Supreme Court cases, Whren v. United States and Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, as these cases provide legal precedent that allows police “to use stops and custodial arrests for low-level offenses to get information about more serious crimes.” Gouldin writes that both cases provide empowerment for officers to act on their racial biases when making unnecessary arrests, especially when there is enough suspension that gives them hope of unearthing evidence of more significant crimes.

As an expert on Fourth Amendment law, Gouldin writes that “custodial arrest is an overwhelming intrusion on the fundamental liberty, autonomy, personal security and dignity rights that the Fourth Amendment protects.” She writes that while proposed and ongoing reforms to the criminal justice system are promising, the Supreme Court must take mote immediate actions to address these problems.

“Our communities, particularly those Black and brown communities subjected to the most aggressive police intrusions on physical liberty, pay far too great a price for the court’s faith that good cops will avoid bad outcomes,” Gouldin concludes.

To read her essay in its entirety, visit The Hill.

Syracuse University media relations team members work regularly with the campus community to secure placements of op-eds. Anyone interested in writing an op-ed should first review the University’s op-ed guidelines and email media@syr.edu.

  • Author

Lily Datz

  • Recent
  • Men’s Soccer Team Gives Back to Syracuse Community for Season of Support
    Friday, June 2, 2023, By Kathleen Haley
  • June 30 Deadline Set for Fiscal 2023 Year End Business
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By News Staff
  • DPS Accepting Sign-Ups for R.A.D. Summer Session
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Alex Haessig
  • Syracuse Stage Adds 2 Musicals to 50th Anniversary Season
    Wednesday, May 31, 2023, By Joanna Penalva
  • Supporting, Advocating for Trans Youth Will Help Them Thrive As Adults
    Friday, May 26, 2023, By Daryl Lovell

More In Media, Law & Policy

From Generation to Generation: Doing Well by Doing Good

The arrival of Michael Wohl ’72, L’75 on the campus of Syracuse University in the late 60s was inevitable. After all, his father and mother were proud alumni who literally placed a fraternity pledge pin in his bassinet. But it…

‘Infodemic’ Reporting Project Investigates Impact of Scams, Disinformation

The rise of scams and disinformation and its impact on society and daily life are the focus of a comprehensive reporting project produced by Newhouse School students. “Infodemic” includes more than 30 stories packaged with photos, videos, illustrations, audio, data…

A&S Graduate Student Advocates for Access to Unsanitized History of Kenya and Beyond

Joy Nyokabi Karinge was home in Kenya when she discovered that her grandfather had been tortured, detained and disenfranchised by the British for his part in the Mau Mau war in Kenya, a Kenyan revolt against British colonial rule in…

Comparing Voter ID Laws in the US and UK With Gretchen Coleman ’22 on the ‘’Cuse Conversations’ Podcast

There Gretchen Coleman ’22 was, enjoying a private tour of the House of Lords, the second chamber of the United Kingdom (U.K.) Parliament, that was led by a peer, a member who was passionate about election reform. The topic is…

Screenwriter and Faculty Member Keith Giglio to Recount Navigating Cancer Diagnoses and Hollywood at Impact Symposium

The idea behind Keith Giglio’s presentation at the Spring Newhouse Impact Symposium came to the associate professor while he was lying in a gurney at Upstate University Hospital. A screenwriter who teaches in the television, radio and film program, Giglio…

Subscribe to SU Today

If you need help with your subscription, contact sunews@syr.edu.

Connect With Us

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
Social Media Directory

For the Media

Find an Expert Follow @SyracuseUNews
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • LinkedIn
  • @SyracuseU
  • @SyracuseUNews
  • @SUCampus
  • Social Media Directory
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Campus Status
  • Syracuse.edu
© 2023 Syracuse University News. All Rights Reserved.