U.S Case Law
- 1. Case Law Project Cases: Scott v. Sandford New Jersey v. T.L.O Miranda v. Arizona James Sheahan
- 2. Scott v. Sandford Scott sued his master, Dr. John Emerson, to gain his freedom. He was born as slave in Virginia, and was later bought in Missouri and moved to Illinois(a free state). Later he moved to present day Minnesota, in Fort Snelling. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery there. After his owner died and they moved back to Missouri, Scott asks his new owner, Mr. Emerson’s widow, if he could work for money, with his main goal being to buy his own freedom. She refused, and Scott sued for false imprisonment, as well as battery. The case took so long that Mrs. Emerson moved and her brother, John Sanford, gained ownership of Scott. Scott argued that Emerson had been keeping him illegally. Also, he stated that once he entered a free territory, he should be considered free.
- 3. Defense Arguments: Scott v. Sandford The defense argued that because Scott had lived in a territory where slavery was illegal, he could never again be enslaved.
- 4. Summary and Amendments Involved/ Created: Scott v. Sandford The supreme court sided with the prosecution because he was originally a slave, so the right to freedom was never granted to him. He was property, and therefore can’t be free. The fifth, thirteenth, and fourteenth amendments all played roles in this decision.
- 5. New Jersey v. T.L.O A teacher at Piscataway High School in New Jersey found two girls smoking in a restroom. Smoking is a violation of school rules. The two students were taken to the principles office. One girl admitted to smoking and the other girl,( her initials are T.L.O.) wouldn’t admit it. Then, T.L.O.’s bag was searched by the assistant vice principle and they found rolling papers, marijuana, a pipe, empty plastic bags, a large amount of money, an index card, with students that owed the girl money, and letters that showed that T.L.O. had been dealing marijuana. T.L.O had delinquency charges brought against her in Juvenile Court.
- 6. Defense Arguments: New Jersey v. T.L.O New Jersey defense against T.L.O’s argument was that the vice principal's search of the purse wasn’t unreasonable because a teacher had informed the vice principal that T.L.O. had been smoking. This report was a reason for the vice principal to have probable cause to suspect a school rule had been broken. When the vice-principal was searching for the cigarettes, the drug-related evidence was in plain sight.
- 7. Summary and Amendments Involved/ Created: New Jersey v. T.L.O The court sided with the school. The court ruled that while in school, the principles could search students without a warrant as long as they had probable cause.
- 8. Miranda v. Arizona Ernesto Miranda is from Phoenix, Arizona. In 1963, after a crime victim identified him in a police lineup, he was arrested. While in police custody, he was interrogated for two hours. The police officers who did the questioning, did not inform him of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, or of his Sixth Amendment right to the assistance of an attorney.
- 9. Defense Arguments: Miranda v. Arizona The defense argued that because Miranda was convicted of a crime in the past, that he should therefore know his rights to a lawyer and the right to not self incriminate yourself.
- 10. Summary and Amendments Involved/ Created Denied his appeal and upheld the conviction, but also ruled that police officers must uphold the fifth amendment by stating your right to not incriminate yourself(right to remain silent).
- 11. In summary Although there are many landmark cases, and not all are decided in the same way, the all have a substantial impact on society for future generations. Cases: Scott v. Sandford New Jersey v. T.L.O Miranda v. Arizona James Sheahan