Brownfield Jr. vs Olympus

  Matthew Brownfield, Jr., is a fifteen year old resident of Texas with two criminal convictions for "serious" crimes. The first was for shooting passersby at a state fair with an air gun. For that, because of his age, he forfeited the right to possess a firearm in Olympus until he was 21 years of age, and he was sentenced to spend six weekends performing community service. The second was a state jail felony charge of cruelty to animals. In light of his age, the fact that this was a first offense, his expression of remorse, and an acknowledgement that he had a substance abuse problem (he admitted he was drunk and high on marijuana at the time of both of the incidents), he was sentenced to four weeks in a juvenile correctional "boot camp," and he was ordered to undergo substance abuse counseling. In 2012, Matthew Brownfield Jr. was convicted of the kidnapping and aggravated rape of a high school classmate. The crime was uncovered by a law enforcement task force investigating a conspiracy to grow and distribute marijuana. During the course of the drug trafficking investigation in the City of Knerr, State of Olympus of Brownfield's step-father Chester Comerford.. The task force, obtained utility records from the Brownfield, Jr/Comerford. residence and discovered that the family owned two properties: a residential home and a wooded area of approximately twenty-five acres on the outskirts of the Knerr city limits. Task force officers concluded that the electrical usage at the wooded property was abnormally high, while the main residence was slightly below average in electrical usage. From this, the task force began to concentrate on the wooded property as the possible site for the drug operation. For nearly three months, the task force observed the wooded property from a public highway. In particular, the task force focused on a thirty-five foot long recreational vehicle parked near the center of the property. The team found that Comerford often visited the property using a truck, taking in items in boxes and removing items in black bags—typically remaining for brief periods of time. On several occasions, however, they did spend the night. The recreational vehicle was never moved during this surveillance period. It had four flat tires, but otherwise it appeared in good working order. At 6:30 on the morning of January 17, 2012, Detective William Reddinger of the Knerr police sat in an unmarked car on the public highway and utilizing a CYCLOPS-237 optical device (A U.S. Military device of the highest quality which was designed for use in the Iraq War, but also is sold through specialty catalogues for ornithologists (Bird Enthusiasts)) which magnifies and records objects at a distance such that it can see the leg of a fly on a horse 500 yards away. Using the device, Detective Reddinger identified, through a window with no curtains, the tops of a number of small plants growing under a lamp in the rear of the recreational vehicle parked on the property. No member of the task force could discern these objects using the naked eye from the road; these objects could only be   seen with the aid of CYCLOPS-237. The type of plants themselves could not be readily identified by law enforcement. Prior to executing the warrant on January 17, 2016, the CYCLOPS237 was deployed for another visual inspection to determine if the recreational vehicle was occupied. Detective Reddinger was able to identify movement within the vehicle and specifically able identify Brownfield kr. and the shadow of another person. Detective Reddinger, along with fourteen members of the drug task force, entered the wooded area and searched the interior of the recreational vehicle. Inside, authorities discovered Brownfield, Jr. along with a young girl approximately 15 years of age, subsequently known as Jane Doe, whose injuries were severe and required immediate medical attention, emergency surgery, and hospitalization. Doe reported that she had been abducted by Brownfield, Jr. 24 hours earlier at gunpoint while they were walking home from school and taken to the isolated property where she was repeatedly raped and sodomized by the respondent. A complete search of the vehicle produced more than one hundred tomato and bell pepper plants. No drugs or drug paraphernalia were found on the property. Fifteen year old Matthew Brownfield, Jr. was convicted in a one-day trial by an Olympus State trial court for first degree aggravated rape and first degree aggravated kidnapping of a minor. Judge Julie Burt sentenced Mr. Brownfield Jr. to life in prison without the possibility of parole. There was no evidence that Mr. Brownfield, Jr. was mentally challenged. While he had a discipline problem at school and a record of disruptive behavior, along with physical violence, he did well in his class grades. Olympus Proposition 417, adopted by the voters of Olympus in November, 2008, denies parole for anyone with "a record of serious crimes", and it establishes that the punishment for "aggravated rape" (defined as "rape accompanied by other heinous acts") would be Life in prison without parole. Proposition 417 did not speak to the issue of age or mental capacity. Mr. Brownfield Jr. argues that his conviction, and proposition 417 particularly, is a violation of the 8th amendment, while also arguing that his arrest was a violation of his 4th amendment protections. Based upon your knowledge of the 4th and 8th amendment decide this case.