The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383 (1914) Case Summary of Weeks v. United States: Police officers arrested the defendant, Weeks, at his place of work. Police officers then went to Weeks’ home, gained entry, and took possession of papers and other articles belonging to Weeks. The police did not have a search warrant […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee, 14 U.S. 304 (1816) Case Summary of Martin v. Hunter’s Lessee: The State of Virginia seized land from a British loyalist, Lord Fairfax, during the Revolutionary War. It then assigned part of that land to Hunter. After the war, the U.S. made a treaty with Great Britain that protected the […]
Read moreThe Good Samaritan Law is a law that protects civilians who help people they believe to be injured or otherwise in danger. For example, the Good Samaritan Law provides people with the freedom to act without having to fear the other person might sue them. The purpose of the Good Samaritan Law is to encourage ordinary people to help someone […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for King v. Burwell, 135 S. Ct. 2480 (2015) Case Summary of King v. Burwell: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) requires each State to establish health “exchanges” through which people could obtain health insurance. If a State fails to do so, the federal government provides the health exchange for people in those States. The law […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Smith v. Allwright, 321 U.S. 649 (1944) Case Summary of Smith v. Allwright: The Democratic Party in the State of Texas only allowed white people to vote in Democratic primaries. Smith, a black Texas voter, sued the county election official, Allwright, for damages of $5,000 for denying him the right to vote in the […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Cooper v. Aaron, 358 U.S. 1 (1958) Case Summary of Cooper v. Aaron: After the U.S. Supreme Court issued its now famous Brown v. Board of Education decision, desegregating the schools in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Governor and Legislature of Arkansas actively resisted the Court’s decision. The chaos and turmoil the state officials created […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Shaw v. Reno, 509 U.S. 630 (1993) Case Summary of Shaw v. Reno: The State of North Carolina, in response to the U.S. Attorney General’s objection that it had only one majority-black congressional district, created a second majority-black district. Five white North Carolina voters sued, alleging that the State’s reapportionment plan constituted an unconstitutional […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Wesberry v. Sanders, 376 U.S. 1 (1964) Case Summary of Wesberry v. Sanders: Georgia’s Fifth congressional district had a population that was two to three times greater than the populations of other Georgia districts, yet each district had one representative. Voters in the Fifth district sued the Governor and Secretary of State of Georgia, […]
Read moreThe term “implied powers” refers to those powers of the U.S. government that the Constitution does not refer to by name. Instead, the government assumes the Constitution affords them these powers based on prior decisions related to them, which established precedent. An example of implied powers is Congress passing laws restricting the sale and ownership of firearms for U.S. citizens. […]
Read moreThe Clean Air Act is a federal law, the purpose of which being to regulate air pollution throughout the United States. The Clean Air Act is one of the most inclusive laws pertaining to air quality in the world. For example, the Clean Air Act protects the ozone layer by providing information to people to help them understand how it […]
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