The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Brewer v. Williams, 430 U.S. 387 (1977). Case Summary of Brewer v. Williams: Respondent Williams abducted and murdered a 10-year-old girl. Two days later he turned himself in after speaking to his attorney. While he was transported by police officers to the jurisdiction where the crime occurred, an officer appealed to Williams’ religious beliefs by […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420 (1984). Case Summary of Berkemer v. McCarty: Respondent McCarty was stopped by police for driving while intoxicated. McCarty responded to police questions during the traffic stop and after he was put in jail. Police never read McCarty his Miranda rights. The trial court denied McCarty’s motion to exclude his […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Barron v. Baltimore, 32 U.S. 243 (1833). Case Summary of Barron v. Baltimore: Barron, a co-owner of a once-profitable wharf in Baltimore Harbor, sued the Mayor and City of Baltimore. Barron claimed that city expansion resulted in sand accumulating at his wharf, making it lose all value. The trial court’s decision in Barron’s favor […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Bowers v. Hardwick, 478 U.S. 186 (1986). Case Summary of Bowers v. Hardwick: Respondent Hardwick was charged under a Georgia anti-sodomy law for engaging in homosexual sodomy in his own home. Although he was not prosecuted for the violation, Hardwick sought a judgment in Federal District Court declaring that Georgia’s law was unconstitutional. The […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for United States v. Jones, 132 S. Ct. 945 (2012). Case Summary of United States v. Jones: Police placed a GPS device on defendant’s car without a warrant. The evidence gathered was used in a trial that resulted in defendant’s conviction. The Court of Appeals reversed the conviction on Fourth Amendment grounds. The U.S. Supreme […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Snyder v. Phelps, 562 U.S. 443 (2011). Case Summary of Snyder v. Phelps: A church leader and several church members traveled to Maryland to picket at a military funeral. The picketers held signs decrying the moral decline of the U.S. and homosexuality in the military. The soldier’s father sued the church and church members because […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982). Case Summary of Plyler v. Doe: A Texas law denied free public education to children who were illegally in the country. The law was challenged on constitutional grounds in federal court. The Federal District Courts, and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, held that the Texas law violated the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey, 505 U.S. 833 (1992). Case Summary of Planned Parenthood v. Casey: Several of Pennsylvania’s statutory abortion provisions were challenged in federal court. Those provisions included requirements of informed consent, a 24-hour waiting period, parental consent for minors seeking abortions, and spousal notification. In reviewing the provisions, the U.S. […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Buckley v. Valeo, United States Supreme Court,(1976) Case summary for Buckley v. Valeo: Senator Buckley brought suit against Federal Election Commission (FEC) representative, Valeo, in district court. Buckley alleged Congress did not have the authority to appoint commissioners of the FEC and that the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA) violated the First Amendment’s […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Boumediene v. Bush, United States Supreme Court, (2008) Case summary for Boumediene v. Bush: Boumediene and other Guantanamo bay detainees filed for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge their confinement conditions. A provision of the Military Commissions Act (MCA) prevented unlawful alien detainees from challenging confinement conditions. Boumediene and the other detainees then […]
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