Week 2
December 22, 2013
The Legal Memorandum vs. Case Brief A case brief is a short summary of a reported case. Students write case briefs to summarize cases they have read for class to keep track of the large number of cases students are required to read and analyze. During legal research case briefs serve to help the researcher keep track of the cases read and analyzed and can serve as the foundation for legal arguments in trial briefs or other documents filed with the court. Basically, a case brief summarizes the components of cases. A memorandum is a legal argument and should contain legal citations that support the legal arguments of a certain case. It informs the reader about what the law is. Memorandums can also help develop a legal strategy with other attorneys. A case brief is a summary of a reported case where a memorandum supports a …show more content…
Robinette Case Brief Ohio v. Robinette, United States Supreme Court 1996
JUDICIAL HISTORY:
A ticketed motorist, Robinette, is seeking to suppress marijuana and a methamphetamine found in his car when he was pulled over, technically freed to leave, but consented to a police search of his car, claiming that he would not have if he knew he could have declined.
FACTS:
Robinette was stopped for speeding in a construction zone, ticketed, and technically freed to leave, but consented police to a search of his car. He claimed he would not have if he knew he could have declined. The officer as, “Before you go, can I search the car.”
ISSUE:
Whether the fourth Amendment required that a lawfully seized defendant must be advised that he was “free to go” before his consent to search would be recognized as voluntary.
RULES:
Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) A traffic stop entails the Fourth Amendment seizure of the driver “even though the purpose of the stop is limited and the resulting detention quite brief.”