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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Dressler
Cruz v. New York
Citation:
481 U.S. 186, 107 S.Ct. 1714, 95 L.Ed.2d 162.Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
- Topic: Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.
- Parties: Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.
- Procedural Posture & History: Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.
- Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.: A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.
- Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises: Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
- Brief Facts: A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.
- Rule of Law: Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.
- Facts: What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case. Review the Facts of this case here:
The defendant’s brother, Benjamin Cruz, gave a detailed videotaped confession in which he admitted that he, the defendant, and two others had robbed a gas station and killed the attendant. The defendant and his brother were charged for the murder. The brothers were tried jointly, over the defendant’s objection.
The court allowed the prosecution to introduce the videotaped confession into evidence. The jury was instructed that Benjamin’s confession was not to be used against the defendant. The brother did not testify. The government also called Norberto, who testified about a conversation he had with the defendant and Benjamin, in which the defendant was nervous and was wearing a bloodstained bandage around his arm. According to Norberto, the defendant confided that he and Benjamin had gone to a gas station the night before and killed the attendant.
At the trial’s end, Norberto’s testimony stood as the only evidence admissible against the defendant that directly linked him to the crime. The defendant’s attorney tried to persuade the jury that Norberto had fabricated his testimony to gain revenge. The jury nonetheless convicted both men.
- Issue(s): Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.
- Holding: Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.
- Concurring / Dissenting Opinions: Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.
- Reasoning and Analysis: Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
- Policy: Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.
- Court Direction: Shares where the Court went from here for this case.
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