New York v. Quarles

Following is the case brief for New York v. Quarles, 467 U.S. 649 (1984) Case Summary of New York v. Quarles: After officers received a description of an assailant, one officer followed the suspect into a supermarket. Spotting respondent Quarles (the suspect), the officer ordered him to stop.  The officer frisked Quarles and discovered that he was wearing an empty […]

Read more

Montejo v. Louisiana

Following is the case brief for Montejo v. Louisiana, 556 U.S. 778 (2009) Case Summary of Montejo v. Louisiana: Montejo was automatically provided an attorney at his first court proceeding in connection with a murder.  Police subsequently asked Montejo to assist in finding the murder weapon.  During the excursion, he wrote a letter of apology to the murder victim’s wife. Montejo […]

Read more

Dickerson v. United States

Following is the case brief for Dickerson v. United States, 530 U.S. 428 (2000). Case Summary of Dickerson v. United States: Petitioner, prior to his criminal trial, moved to suppress a statement he made because he was never given his Miranda warnings.  The District Court granted the motion. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed.  The Fourth Circuit held that the […]

Read more

Berkemer v. McCarty

Following 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 more

Berghuis v. Thompkins

Following is the case brief for Berghuis v. Thompkins, 560 U.S. 370 (2010). Case Summary of Berghuis v. Thompkins Thompkins was suspected of shooting someone.  He was interrogated by police after being advised of his Miranda warnings.  He remained largely silent but implicated himself in the killing at the end of the lengthy interrogation. The trial court denied a motion to suppress the […]

Read more

Miranda Rights

The Miranda rights is a set of instructions that are required to be given to a person taken into custody on suspicion of having committed a criminal act, before he can be questioned by police. The purpose of the Miranda rights is to ensure such individuals are made aware of their right to not make any statement that incriminates themselves, […]

Read more

Self Incrimination

The Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution grants every American the right to refuse to give testimony that would incriminate himself, or cause himself to appear guilty of a crime. The Fifth Amendment does not actually use the term “self incrimination,” but states “No person … shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” This […]

Read more

Judicial Review

In the United States, the courts have the ability to scrutinize statutes, administrative regulations, and judicial decisions to determine whether they violate provisions of existing laws, or whether they violate the individual State or United States Constitution. A court having judicial review power, such as the United States Supreme Court, may choose to quash or invalidate statutes, laws, and decisions […]

Read more