Category: Case Briefs

IRAC SUMMARY: Ford Motor Co. v. Montana Eighth Judicial District Court (2021) Issue: The primary legal issue in this case was whether Ford Motor Company (Ford) could be sued for product liability in a state where the vehicle at issue was not designed, manufactured, sold, or originally purchased, but where the plaintiff resided and the…

IRAC Summary Issue: Whether the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases due to their contribution to climate change and, if so, whether its refusal to exercise this authority is justifiable. Rule: The Clean Air Act gives the EPA the authority to regulate…

IRAC Summary: Issue: Whether the Alabama libel law, as applied to a full-page ad in the New York Times, infringes upon the First Amendment’s protection of freedom of speech, particularly with regard to criticism of public officials. Rule: The First Amendment of the United States Constitution, as applied through the Fourteenth Amendment, protects the freedom…

IRAC Summary Issue: The central issue in Moore v. Regents of the University of California concerns the extent of a patient’s property rights in his or her own body tissues after those tissues have been removed during medical procedures. Specifically, the case examines whether a patient must give informed consent for the use of his…

IRAC Summary Issue: The primary issue in Armory v. Delamirie (1722) is whether the finder of a jewel (the plaintiff) has the right to damages when the jewel is not returned by the person (the defendant) who took it to appraise it, and whether the plaintiff is entitled to the highest value the jewel could…

Brief Summary of Johnson v. M’Intosh (1823) Issue: Whether private citizens can purchase lands from Native Americans, thereby acquiring valid legal title, or whether the right of soil and title to such lands is exclusively vested in the government. Rule: Under the Doctrine of Discovery, upon discovering new lands, sovereign European nations gained the exclusive…

IRAC Summary: Issue: Whether Post, who was pursuing a fox with the intent to capture it, has the legal right to the fox over Pierson, who actually killed and captured the fox. Rule: A wild animal (ferae naturae) may be claimed by the first person who captures it with the intent to take possession. The…

IRAC Summary Issue: The primary issue in Shelby County v. Holder was whether Congress’s decision to reauthorize Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (VRA), which required certain jurisdictions to obtain federal preclearance before implementing changes to their voting laws, exceeded its authority under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments and thus was unconstitutional.…

Brief Summary: Texas v. Johnson (1989) Issue: Whether the desecration of an American flag as a means of political protest is protected speech under the First Amendment. Rule: The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution prohibits laws abridging the freedom of speech. Application: In this case, Gregory Lee Johnson burned an American flag as an…

IRAC Summary: Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) Issue: Does the Constitution protect the right of marital privacy against state restrictions on a couple’s ability to be counseled in the use of contraceptives? Rule: The specific guarantees in the Bill of Rights have penumbras, formed by emanations from those guarantees that help give them life and substance.…

IRAC Summary: Issue: Whether Virginia’s statutory scheme to prevent marriages between persons solely on the basis of racial classifications violates the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Rule: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits states from segregating or discriminating against individuals on the…

Brief Summary of the Case (IRAC Pattern): Issue: The primary issue in United States v. Nixon was whether the President of the United States has an absolute, unqualified privilege to withhold information in the form of taped recordings requested through a subpoena issued in a criminal trial. Rule: The rule of law established by this…

IRAC Summary: Issue: The primary issue in Miranda v. Arizona is whether the Fifth Amendment’s protection against self-incrimination extends to the police interrogation of a suspect in custody and whether the suspect must be informed of their rights before questioning. Rule: The rule established by the U.S. Supreme Court is that the Fifth Amendment requires…

IRAC Summary: Issue: Whether the anonymous tip received by the police, providing detailed information regarding respondents’ alleged illegal drug activity, was sufficient to establish probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant. Rule: The Supreme Court established the “totality of the circumstances” approach for determining whether an informant’s tip establishes probable cause for a…

IRAC Summary of Tennessee v. Garner (1985) Issue: Whether the use of deadly force against an unarmed fleeing suspect who poses no immediate threat to the officer or others is a violation of the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable seizures. Rule: The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits “unreasonable searches and seizures” by…

IRAC Summary: Issue: Whether the prosecutor’s use of peremptory challenges to strike four black persons from the jury pool, resulting in an all-white jury, violated the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Rule: The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment prohibits the state from excluding jurors based solely on their race.…

IRAC Summary: Brady v. Maryland (1963) Issue: The primary issue is whether the prosecution’s suppression of evidence favorable to the accused, which is material either to guilt or to punishment, violates due process under the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Rule: The rule is that the suppression by the prosecution of evidence favorable to…

Case Summary: International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310 (1945) Issue: The key issue in this case is whether the state of Washington has specific jurisdiction over the International Shoe Company for the purpose of imposing a tax for unemployment insurance contributions, even though the company is incorporated in Delaware and headquartered in Missouri.…

IRAC Summary: Issue: The primary issue in landmark cases concerning discovery and e-discovery is to determine the scope and extent of discovery that parties to litigation are obligated to provide, with a particular focus on electronically stored information (ESI). The resolution of these issues often hinges on balancing the need for access to relevant information…

Case Summary (IRAC Brief) Issue: The central legal issue in class action and complex litigation cases typically revolves around whether a large group of individuals (a class) who have suffered similar harm or injuries due to the actions of the defendant(s) can have their claims resolved collectively as a class action, rather than through individual…