The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Maryland v. King, 569 U.S. 435 (2013) Case Summary of Maryland v. King: Maryland collects DNA, by swabbing a person’s cheek, from any person arrested for a serious crime. Respondent King was arrested for assault. His DNA was taken. As a result, he was implicated in a rape case from years earlier. He was […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119 (2000) Case Summary of Illinois v. Wardlow: Respondent, walking in a high-crime area, fled upon seeing a caravan of Chicago police vehicles. Two Chicago police officers caught up with respondent and conducted a Terry stop and frisk. They discovered that Wardlow had a gun. The trial court denied […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616 (1919) Case Summary of Abrams v. United States: A small group of Russian immigrants produced leaflets in response to U.S. troops being on Russian soil for operations during WWI. The leaflets called for a strike at ammunition plants so that the U.S. would not have weapons to […]
Read moreThe term “fugitive” describes a person who has escaped from a place like prison, or who is in hiding for fear of the police finding him and bringing him to jail. For example, a fugitive is a person who has committed a crime and flees to another state in an attempt to evade the police and criminal charges. The famous […]
Read moreThe term “extradition” refers to the sending back of a person to his home country or state upon the discovery that he has committed a crime. For example, extradition occurs when State A receives a request from State B to return an individual to State B so he can appear for trial. A situation wherein this would occur is if […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) Case Summary of Whren v. United States: Undercover officers observed Petitioners Whren and Brown in a truck. The driver of the truck (Brown) violated traffic laws by suddenly pulling away at an unreasonable speed. The officers stopped the truck and, upon approaching the truck on foot, […]
Read moreThe term “deferred adjudication” goes by several other names, including probation before judgment (PBJ), deferred entry of judgment (DEJ), and, perhaps more commonly, adjournment in contemplation of dismissal (ACOD). A deferred adjudication is a type of plea bargain wherein a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to the charges against him. In exchange for this plea, and for the defendant […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377 (1992) Case Summary of R.A.V. v. City of St. Paul: R.A.V. and other teenagers burned a cross on an African-American family’s lawn. R.A.V. was charged under St. Paul’s hate-crime ordinance, and he challenged the constitutionality of the ordinance. The trial court found the ordinance violative […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928) Case Summary of Olmstead v. United States: Olmstead, and other defendants, were convicted of conspiracy to violate the Prohibition Act. The evidence used to convict consisted of wiretapped conversations that were obtained without judicial approval. Olmstead challenged his conviction, claiming that the use of the wiretap […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988) Case Summary of California v. Greenwood: Police seized the trash bags left outside of Respondent Greenwood’s house. Evidence of drug activity was found in the bags, and that information was used to obtain a warrant to search Greenwood’s house. That occurred on two separate occasions. The search […]
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