The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Riley v. California, Supreme Court of the United States, (2014) Case Summary of Riley v. California: Riley was convicted of a shooting related offense after evidence seized from his cell phone (incident to his arrest) was used against him in court. Riley filed a motion to suppress which was denied and later appealed to […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Furman v. Georgia, United States Supreme Court, (1972) Case Summary of Furman v. Georgia: Furman was convicted and sentenced to the death penalty. Furman, along with defendants similarly situated, appealed the lower courts decisions, claiming that the death penalty violated the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. In a per curium opinion, the Supreme Court […]
Read moreA false arrest is an arrest that is made without a warrant, or without probable cause. It is possible to sue law enforcement officials for false arrest. However, those who are typically sued for false arrest include businesses, private citizens, private security, or bounty hunters. To explore this concept, consider the following false arrest definition. Definition of False Arrest Noun […]
Read moreA case of first impression is a case in which an issue that has not previously been considered or decided by a higher court. This means that there is no legally binding authority by which the case must be decided. Cases of first impression are most commonly heard after some new legislation has been passed, and an issue requires interpretation […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, 542 U.S. 507 (2004). Case Summary of Hamdi v. Rumsfeld: Hamdi, a U.S. citizen, was captured in Afghanistan while presumably fighting for the Taliban. The U.S. Government detained him as an “enemy combatant.” Hamdi was indefinitely detained in the U.S. without charges and without access to legal counsel. The District Court hearing […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Chimel v. California, United States Supreme Court, (1969) Case Summary of Chimel v. California: Pursuant to a valid arrest warrant, Chimel was arrested in his home after his wife permitted officers to enter. Incident to arrest and absent a search warrant, the officers searched the whole house resulting in the discovery of coins which […]
Read moreFollowing is the Case Brief for Baker v. Carr, United States Supreme Court, (1962) Case Summary of Baker v. Carr: A Tennessee resident brought suit against the Secretary of State claiming that the failure to redraw the legislative districts every ten years, as outlined in the state constitution, resulted in rural votes holding more votes than urban votes. The state […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Grutter v. Bollinger, 539 U.S. 306 (2003). Case Summary of Grutter v. Bollinger: The University of Michigan Law School denied Barbara Grutter’s application to the School. Grutter, a white Michigan resident, then sued the Law School. Grutter claimed that the Law School’s use of affirmative action in its admissions policy violated her Equal Protection rights […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. 370 (2010). Case Summary of Berghuis v. Thompkins Thompkins was suspected of shooting someone. He was interrogated by police after being advised of his Miranda warnings. He remained largely silent but implicated himself in the killing at the end of the lengthy interrogation. The trial court denied a motion to suppress the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, United States Supreme Court, (2010) Case Summary of Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: Citizens United (non-profit) produced a negative ad regarding then-Senator Hillary Clinton raising concerns under the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (the Act). Citizens United challenged the section 441(b) of the Act in District Court, requesting […]
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