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Criminal Procedure Keyed to Dressler
Ham v. South Carolina
Citation:
409 U.S. 524, 93 S.Ct. 848, 35 L.Ed.2d 46.Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
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*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 was a young, bearded black man. He was well known locally for his work in civil rights activities and had never previously been convicted of a crime. He was charged with the possession of marijuana, and his defense was that he had been framed on the drug charge.
Prior to the trial judge’s voir dire examination of prospective jurors, the defendant’s counsel requested the judge to ask jurors four questions relating to possible prejudice against the defendant. The first two questions sought to elicit any possible racial prejudice, the third question related to possible prejudice against beards, and the fourth dealt with pre-trial publicity relating to the drug problem. The trial judge declined to ask any of the four questions posed by the defendant. The defendant was convicted.
- 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.