The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (1991) Case Summary of Florida v. Bostick: Two officers boarded Terrence Bostick’s bus, questioned him, and asked him for consent to look in his luggage. They advised him of his right to refuse. Bostick gave consent, and cocaine was found in his luggage. Bostick moved to suppress the drugs […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Dolan v. City of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994) Case Summary of Dolan v. City of Tigard: Petitioner Dolan sought to make changes to her business property. The City of Tigard placed two conditions on granting Dolan permission — a public greenway to mitigate flooding, and a pedestrian/bicycle path. Dolan appealed in state court, claiming […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Bond v. United States, 134 S. Ct. 2077 (2014) Case Summary of Bond v. United States: Petitioner Bond used chemicals to get revenge on her husband’s lover. She was prosecuted in federal court for violations of the Chemical Weapons Implementation Act, an Act implementing a global treaty on chemical weapons. On appeal, Bond argued […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Bolling v. Sharpe, 347 U.S. 497 (1954) Case Summary of Bolling v. Sharpe: A group of African-American students were denied admission to a D.C. public school because of their race. They sued, alleging that racial segregation violates due process guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment. The District Court dismissed the complaint, and the Supreme Court granted certiorari […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Bartnicki v. Vopper, 532 U.S. 514 (2001) Case Summary of Bartnicki v. Vopper: During negotiations between a teacher’s union and a local school board, a cell phone conversation between union leaders was surreptitiously recorded by an unknown eavesdropper. The recording was later disclosed to the public on respondent Vopper’s radio program. Petitioners sued for violations […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318 (2001) Case Summary of Atwater v. City of Lago Vista: Atwater was arrested for driving while neither she nor her children had seatbelts on. The arresting officer’s treatment of her was humiliating. Atwater sued the City of Lago Vista, alleging a violation of the Fourth Amendment. […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Granholm v. Heald, 540 U.S. 460 (2005) Case Summary of Granholm v. Heald: Michigan and New York allowed in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers, but limited out-of-state wineries from doing the same. Separate lawsuits against both States were instituted. On appeal, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the Michigan law, but the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (1966) Case Summary of Schmerber v. California: Police ordered a physician to take petitioner’s blood, without petitioner’s consent, in connection with a drunk driving incident. Petitioner was convicted of drunk driving with the blood sample as evidence against him. Petitioner appealed, claiming the taking of his blood violated his […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Ricci v. DeStefano, 129 S. Ct. 2658 (2009) Case Summary of Ricci v. DeStefano: The New Haven, CT Fire Department held an exam for firefighter promotions. The exam resulted in white candidates significantly outperforming minority candidates. Facing potential lawsuits from both sides, New Haven refused to certify the exam results. That decision meant that qualified […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Pierce v. Society of Sisters, 268 U.S. 510 (1925) Case Summary of Pierce v. Society of Sisters: The Oregon Compulsory Education Act, adopted in 1922, required Oregon children to attend public school. Owners of two private education institutions sought an injunction to stop enforcement of the Act. The District Court granted preliminary injunctions, finding […]
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