The Law Dictionary for Everyone
Following is the case brief for Strauder v. West Virginia, 100 U.S. 303 (1880) Case Summary of Strauder v. West Virginia: West Virginia had a law that declared that only white men may serve on juries. Strauder, an African-American who was indicted for murder, sought to remove his trial to federal court because West Virginia’s law was unconstitutional. The state […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Vacco v. Quill, 521 U.S. 793 (1997) Case Summary of Vacco v. Quill: New York makes it a crime to assist someone with suicide. However, it is legal for a patient to refuse life-saving treatment. New York doctors and several terminally ill patients sued in federal court, claiming that the ban on physician-assisted suicide […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for McCleskey v. Kemp, 481 U.S. 279 (1987) Case Summary of McCleskey v. Kemp: Petitioner, an African-American man, was convicted in Georgia for murdering a white police officer and was sentenced to death. Seeking habeas corpus relief in federal district court, petitioner claimed that his death sentence was unconstitutional based on statistical study showing that […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Hernandez v. Texas, 347 U.S. 475 (1954) Case Summary of Hernandez v. Texas: Hernandez was indicted for murder by a grand jury, and he was ultimately convicted and sentenced to life in prison. He moved to quash his indictment and trial jury panel, alleging that the county that charged him systematically excluded Mexicans from […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950) Case Summary of Sweatt v. Painter: An African-American law school applicant was denied admission into the University of Texas Law School solely because of his race. Upon suit filed by the applicant, the university tried to set up a separate facility for African-American law students. The Texas […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967) Case Summary of Loving v. Virginia: The State of Virginia had a law forbidding interracial marriages. An interracial couple from Virginia, the Lovings, married in Washington D.C. to avoid the Virginia law, but later settled in Virginia. When caught living together in Virginia, the couple was convicted […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2534 (2015) Case Summary of Obergefell v. Hodges: Petitioners, a number of same-sex couples, sued four states that denied marriage licenses to those couples because those states defined marriage as being a union between one man and one woman. Petitioners won in all of the federal district courts […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Nebbia v. New York, 291 U.S. 502 (1934) Case Summary of Nebbia v. New York: The New York Legislature created a Milk Control Board, which had the power to fix milk prices to help milk farmers make a living during the Great Depression. Nebbia, a store owner, sold milk at a price lower than […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Eisenstadt v. Baird, Supreme Court of the United States, (1972) Case summary for Eisenstadt v. Baird: Baird was convicted under a state statute which made it illegal to provide contraception to unmarried individuals. Baird challenged the statute, claiming it violated the Equal Protection Clause. The state court of appeals held that the statute violated […]
Read moreFollowing is the case brief for Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States, 379 U.S. 241 (1964). Case Summary of Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States: A large motel in Atlanta refused to serve African Americans. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits racial discrimination in places of public accommodation The motel owner challenged the Civil Rights Act […]
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