SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Evidence keyed to Fisher
Volland-Golden v. City of Chicago
Citation:
89 F. Supp. 3d 983 (2015)Facts
On February 25, 2012, Chicago police officers stopped John Volland while he was driving near his home. The parties’ accounts diverged dramatically: Volland claimed the officers stopped him without reasonable suspicion, prevented him from calling their supervisor, pepper sprayed him, dragged him from his car, beat him while handcuffed, and filed false police reports. The officers contended Volland was driving on the wrong side of the street, became hostile, refused to produce his license, pushed an officer, and physically resisted arrest necessitating use of pepper spray and a takedown maneuver. The City charged Volland with traffic violations, disobeying police, resisting a peace officer, and simple battery. At his January 28, 2013 criminal trial, Volland testified at length about his version of events and was cross-examined by the Assistant State’s Attorney with approximately eighty questions. The jury acquitted Volland on all charges, and the City dismissed the traffic charges. Volland filed this federal civil rights action on February 25, 2013, but died of natural causes on May 31, 2014. His sister, as estate executor, continued the litigation and moved to admit Volland’s criminal trial testimony.
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.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.
Topic Resources
Topic Videos 
12m 52s
16m 35sTopic Outline 
