How to Approach the Final Project Selection
This is a two-part explanation task. You’re not writing the full paper yet — you’re justifying what you picked and why. That sounds simple. It isn’t, because instructors read these to assess whether you actually understand the case and the topic, not just whether you can name them. Here’s how to approach both parts without padding or guessing.
The assignment is two pages. It asks two things: identify the case and topic, then briefly explain both choices. But “briefly” is doing a lot of work in those instructions. Your instructor isn’t looking for a plot summary of what happened on May 25, 2020. They’re looking for evidence that you understand why this case is academically significant and why excessive force is the right analytical lens for it. Get the logic right and the writing is straightforward. Miss the logic and no amount of word count will save you.
What This Guide Covers
What This Assignment Is Actually Measuring
Before you write a word, understand what “briefly explain why you chose this case” really means. It’s not asking you to retell the story. It’s asking you to demonstrate that your selection was deliberate — that you understand the case’s scholarly relevance and can connect it to a specific academic topic with precision.
Part 1 — Identifying the Case Study
You name the case and explain why it qualifies as a strong academic subject. That means speaking to its legal significance, evidentiary record, and relevance to criminal justice theory. Derek Chauvin isn’t just a famous case — it’s a documented, adjudicated instance of a specific legal and ethical problem in law enforcement. That’s the angle your explanation needs.
Part 2 — Identifying the Topic
You name Use of Excessive Force and explain why it’s the analytically appropriate lens for this case. The topic shouldn’t feel random. The Chauvin case is essentially defined by the question of whether the force used was lawful. That direct alignment — case and topic asking the same central question — is exactly what you need to articulate clearly.
Many students write the case identification section as a news-style recap of what happened. Don’t do that. The assignment asks why you chose the case and why you chose the topic — not what happened. Keep narrative facts short (one or two sentences establishing what the case is). Spend the rest explaining academic and scholarly relevance. That’s what earns marks here.
Why Derek Chauvin Works as a Case Study
There are a lot of excessive force cases in American law enforcement history. What makes Chauvin worth selecting for an academic final project isn’t just the public attention it received — it’s what the case actually produced in terms of legal and evidentiary record.
A Documented, Adjudicated Instance of Law Enforcement Crossing a Legal Line
Chauvin’s conviction is not an allegation. It is a court determination, made beyond reasonable doubt by a jury, that his actions while acting as a law enforcement officer constituted second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter under Minnesota law. That matters academically because it moves the case from the category of “alleged misconduct” into “judicially established fact.” You’re not analyzing a disputed incident — you’re analyzing a case where the courts have already resolved the central factual and legal questions.
Why that matters for your paper: It gives you primary legal sources to cite — the verdict, the charges, the trial record. It gives you a medical examiner’s findings that are part of the official record. It gives you documented evidence of the specific restraint technique used and for how long. And it connects directly to a larger body of peer-reviewed research on police use of force, de-escalation, and excessive force standards — all of which you can cite in APA format.A secondary reason worth mentioning: The case prompted documented policy responses — including changes to Minneapolis Police Department policy, federal legislation discussions, and state-level law enforcement reform — which further establishes its significance beyond the individual incident and into criminal justice policy.
Key Case Facts You Need to Know
You need to know these to write the case identification section accurately. Don’t go into detail on all of them — but you need to be able to reference them precisely so your explanation sounds grounded, not vague.
| Fact | Detail | Why It Matters for Your Rationale |
|---|---|---|
| Date of Incident | May 25, 2020, Minneapolis, Minnesota | Establishes context; also marks when the case entered public and legal record |
| Restraint Technique | Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck and back for approximately 9 minutes and 29 seconds while Floyd was handcuffed and prone | This specific technique is the core of the excessive force analysis — it was the act that courts evaluated against legal standards |
| Medical Examiner Finding | Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Floyd’s death a homicide; cited cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression | Medical evidence is a primary source you can cite; it establishes that the restraint caused death |
| Conviction | April 20, 2021: guilty on all three counts — second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder, second-degree manslaughter | The conviction is the legal determination that the force was criminal — which is the foundation of the excessive force topic |
| Federal Civil Rights Charge | December 2021: Chauvin also pleaded guilty to federal civil rights charges for depriving Floyd of his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable seizure | This directly ties the case to Fourth Amendment excessive force doctrine — the exact legal framework you’ll analyze under Topic A |
Two pages goes fast. You do not need to include the full timeline of events, the bystander video backstory, or the details of Chauvin’s sentencing (22.5 years). Pick the most academically relevant facts — the conviction, the medical examiner ruling, the restraint technique, and the federal civil rights guilty plea — and use them to make the case for scholarly significance. Then move on to the topic explanation.
Why Use of Excessive Force Is the Right Topic for This Case
This is the part most students write too casually. “I chose excessive force because it’s what happened” is not a rationale — it’s a circular statement. The explanation needs to connect the case to the topic through the relevant academic and legal framework.
The Case and the Topic Ask Exactly the Same Legal Question
The central legal question in State v. Chauvin was whether the force used was lawful — and if not, why not. That is the definition of an excessive force analysis. Under Graham v. Connor (1989), the U.S. Supreme Court established that claims of excessive force by law enforcement are evaluated under the Fourth Amendment’s objective reasonableness standard: would a reasonable officer in the same circumstances have used the same level of force? The prosecution in Chauvin’s trial argued — and the jury agreed — that no reasonable officer would have maintained a prone restraint with knee-on-neck for nearly 10 minutes on a handcuffed, non-responsive individual.
How to state this in your paper: The case aligns directly with Topic A because the criminal conviction and federal civil rights guilty plea both hinge on whether the force applied exceeded what was objectively reasonable under the circumstances. This makes the Chauvin case an empirically grounded, legally resolved example of excessive force — not an alleged or contested instance, but one where courts at both the state and federal level made explicit determinations. That clarity of legal resolution makes it an academically productive subject for analysis under an excessive force framework.The Legal Framework Behind Excessive Force
You need to show you know the legal standard that governs excessive force claims. This is not optional background — it’s the analytical framework your whole paper will eventually use. Introducing it here, even briefly, tells your instructor you’re ready to write the full analysis.
The Supreme Court held that claims of excessive force during an arrest or investigatory stop are analyzed under the Fourth Amendment’s reasonableness standard — not substantive due process. The question is whether the force was “objectively reasonable” in light of the facts and circumstances confronting the officer, without regard to the officer’s underlying intent or motivation. Relevant factors include the severity of the crime, whether the suspect poses an immediate threat, and whether the suspect is actively resisting. This is the foundational case for every excessive force analysis in American law enforcement and should be cited in your paper.
Legal Standard — Graham v. Connor
- Objective reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment
- Evaluated from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene
- Considers: severity of crime, immediate threat, active resistance
- Does not consider officer’s intent or subjective motivation
- Applied in both civil and criminal excessive force cases
How Chauvin’s Case Maps Onto This Standard
- Floyd was suspected of a non-violent offense (passing a counterfeit bill)
- Floyd was handcuffed and prone — not an active threat
- Restraint continued for 9+ minutes after Floyd became non-responsive
- Expert witnesses, including police use-of-force trainers, testified the restraint violated department policy and training
- Both state and federal courts found the force exceeded legal limits
You don’t need to explain Graham v. Connor in exhaustive detail in this two-page selection assignment. But naming it and explaining the basic test demonstrates that your topic selection is analytically grounded — not just instinctive.
How to Structure Two Pages
Two pages in APA format (double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins) is approximately 550–650 words of body text. That’s not much. Here’s a workable structure.
Opening: Case Identification (2–3 sentences)
Name the case, the individual, their role, and the outcome. “Case #4 centers on Derek Chauvin, a former Minneapolis Police Department officer convicted in 2021 of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the death of George Floyd during a law enforcement encounter on May 25, 2020.” That’s it. Don’t narrate the whole incident here.
Why This Case — Academic Rationale (150–200 words)
Explain what makes it academically valuable, not just famous. Focus on: the documented evidentiary record, the dual state and federal legal resolution, the fact that Chauvin was acting in his official capacity (which brings in policy and training accountability), and what the case contributes to criminal justice literature on law enforcement accountability. This is where you demonstrate understanding of scholarly relevance.
Topic Identification: Use of Excessive Force (1 sentence)
Name the topic directly. “The specific topic selected for analysis is Topic A: Use of Excessive Force.” No elaboration needed here — you’ll elaborate in the next section.
Why This Topic — Rationale With Legal Framework (200–250 words)
Explain the direct alignment between case and topic. Introduce the Graham v. Connor standard. Explain that both the criminal conviction and the federal civil rights guilty plea are judicial determinations that the force exceeded objective reasonableness. Note that excessive force is the central legal and ethical question in the case — not a lens applied from outside, but the exact question the courts resolved. This section should cite at least two sources in APA format.
Brief Connection to Broader Criminal Justice Issues (50–75 words)
One or two sentences placing the case in a larger context — police accountability, civil rights, or use-of-force policy reform. This gives the paper scope beyond the individual incident and signals what the full project will explore. Then your references page follows on a new page.
Title page with your name, course, instructor name, institution, and date. Running head (check if your instructor requires this for undergraduate work). Double-spaced body text, 12-point Times New Roman, one-inch margins. In-text citations in (Author, Year) format for every claim that comes from a source. References page on a separate final page, alphabetized by author last name, with hanging indents. Do not bold, italicize, or underline in-text citations — that’s not APA format.
APA Sources — What Qualifies and What Doesn’t
This is a case study in criminal justice with legal analysis components. Your sources need to reflect that. Here’s what qualifies and what doesn’t hold up academically.
Peer-Reviewed Journals, Primary Legal Sources, and Government Reports
Peer-reviewed journal articles on police use of force, Fourth Amendment law, law enforcement accountability, and racial disparities in policing are your strongest sources. The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Criminology & Public Policy, and Police Quarterly are well-regarded journals in this area. Legal cases like Graham v. Connor and Tennessee v. Garner are citable primary legal sources. The U.S. Department of Justice reports on law enforcement practices are citable government sources. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s report is a citable primary source for the medical findings.
One verified external source: The National Institute of Justice (NIJ), part of the U.S. Department of Justice, publishes research on police use of force at nij.ojp.gov/topics/law-enforcement/use-of-force. This is a citable government source that synthesizes research on use-of-force incidents, definitions, and policy — directly relevant to your topic and appropriate for an APA-formatted paper.What doesn’t qualify: News articles from CNN, the New York Times, or local outlets are not peer-reviewed academic sources. Wikipedia is never a citable source. Opinion pieces and blog posts don’t qualify. YouTube documentaries don’t qualify. Use these to orient yourself but cite the underlying primary or peer-reviewed sources they reference.
For this two-page selection assignment, you likely need a minimum of three to five sources in your references page. Two of those should be peer-reviewed journal articles on excessive force or police accountability. One should be the Graham v. Connor legal case. One can be a government report (NIJ, DOJ). If your instructor requires it, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s report is a primary source you can cite through official public record.
Legal case citations in APA follow a specific format. For Graham v. Connor, the in-text citation is (Graham v. Connor, 1989) and the reference entry is: Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989). For the Chauvin state case, it would be: State v. Chauvin, No. 27-CR-20-12646 (Minn. 4th Dist. Ct. 2021). Your university library or the Purdue OWL APA guide has the full format for different types of legal citations — check it before you finalize your references page.
Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989).
State v. Chauvin, No. 27-CR-20-12646 (Minn. 4th Dist. Ct. 2021).
Nix, J., & Wolfe, S. E. (2018). The impact of negative publicity on police self-legitimacy. Justice Quarterly, 35(4), 614–640. https://doi.org/XXXXXX
National Institute of Justice. (2020). Police use of force. U.S. Department of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/law-enforcement/use-of-force
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Writing a Chronological Narrative of the George Floyd Incident
The assignment asks for rationale, not a timeline. A paragraph-by-paragraph account of what happened that day reads as avoidance of the actual task: explaining why you chose this case and this topic.
Establish the Case in Two Sentences, Then Pivot to Scholarly Significance
Name the case, name the conviction, and immediately move to what makes it academically valuable: documented legal resolution, a defined use-of-force technique, and a body of peer-reviewed literature it connects to.
Choosing Excessive Force Just Because It’s Obvious
“I chose excessive force because that’s what Chauvin did” is circular reasoning. Your instructor already knows there’s an apparent connection — they need to see that you understand the legal and analytical precision of that connection.
Explain the Topic-Case Alignment Through the Legal Standard
Introduce Graham v. Connor. Explain that both the criminal conviction and the federal guilty plea are judicial findings that the force exceeded objective reasonableness. Show the alignment is analytically precise, not just instinctive.
Using News Articles as Your Primary Academic Sources
News coverage of the case doesn’t substitute for peer-reviewed research. Citing CNN or the Minneapolis Star Tribune as your sources for a criminal justice academic paper signals that you didn’t find the relevant scholarly literature.
Search Google Scholar and JSTOR for Peer-Reviewed Sources on Police Use of Force
Use Google Scholar or your library database. Search “police excessive force Fourth Amendment,” “Graham v. Connor use of force,” or “law enforcement use of force accountability.” Filter by peer-reviewed. You’ll find qualified sources in minutes.
Moralizing Instead of Analyzing
This is an academic paper, not an opinion piece. Statements like “Chauvin was a racist officer who abused his power” may reflect your view but don’t belong in the rationale section. Stick to legally and empirically grounded language.
Use Factual, Legally Grounded Language
The courts have already made legal determinations. Use that language: “Chauvin was convicted of second-degree murder” is factual. “Chauvin was found to have used force that exceeded what was objectively reasonable under Graham v. Connor” is analytically precise. That’s the register your paper needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Before You Start Writing
Know the four facts that anchor the case: the conviction, the restraint technique and its duration, the medical examiner ruling, and the federal civil rights guilty plea. Know the legal standard: Graham v. Connor and objective reasonableness. Those two things — the factual record and the legal framework — are the entire intellectual foundation of your case and topic selection rationale.
Two pages goes fast. Don’t spend them narrating what happened. Spend them explaining why this case produces good scholarship and why excessive force is the precise analytical lens to use. That’s the assignment. Get those two things right and the writing will be straightforward.
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