The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following 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 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 moreFollowing is the case brief for Employment Div. v. Smith, 494 U.S. 872 (1990) Case Summary of Employment Div. v. Smith: Two members of the Native American Church were fired from their jobs for using the drug peyote because the drug was illegal in Oregon. The fired employees claimed that use of the peyote was an important part of Native […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for West Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943) Case Summary of West Virginia State Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette: The West Virginia Board of Education made saluting the flag and reciting the pledge of allegiance compulsory for all public school students. Violation of that rule could result in prosecution of […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Printz v. United States, 521 U.S. 898 (1997) Case Summary of Printz v. United States: The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, a federal law, called for State and local law enforcement officials to conduct background checks people seeking to buy a gun. Two law enforcement officials from Montana and Arizona challenged the law on […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, 136 S. Ct. 2292 (2016) Case Summary of Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt: Texas passed a law in 2013 with the clear intention of restricting abortions in the State. The Texas law placed two requirements on abortion clinics in the state – the “admitting-privileges” requirement and the “surgical-center” requirement. […]
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