Description
use case brief form to draft a case brief on Morse v. Frederick (2007).
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Instructions: Include each of these sections in your case brief. Be mindful to not
plagiarize.
1. Legal Citation:
2. Summary of the Significant Facts of the Case:
3. Legal Issue(s) to be Decided by the Court:
4. Court Decision:
5. Case Significance:
6. Sources:
1.
Legal Citation: Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366 (1993)
2. Summary of Significant Facts of the Case: During routine patrol, two police officers spotted Dickerson
leaving an apartment building that one of the officers knew was a crack house. Dickerson began
walking toward the police but, upon making eye contact with them, reversed direction, and walked
into an alley. Because of his evasive actions, the police became suspicious and decided to investigate.
They pulled their vehicle into the alley and ordered Dickerson to stop and submit to a pat-down search.
The search revealed no weapons, but one officer felt a small lump in Dickerson’s pocket, thoroughly
examined it with his fingers, and subsequently determined that it felt like a lump of cocaine in
cellophane. The officer then reached into Dickerson’s pocket and pulled out the lump, which turned
out to be a small plastic bag containing crack cocaine. Dickerson was arrested and charged with
possession of a controlled substance.
3. Legal Issue(s) to be Decided by the Court: Was the seizure of the crack cocaine valid under stop and
frisk? No.
4. Court Decision: The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Minnesota Supreme Court that
held the seizure to be invalid. A frisk that goes beyond the scope allowed in Terry v. Ohio in stop and
frisk cases is not valid. In this case, the search went beyond the pat-down search allowed by Terry
because the officer “squeezed, slid, and otherwise manipulated the packet’s content” before
determining it was cocaine. The evidence obtained is not admissible in court.
5. Case Significance: This case is important because it sets the limits of how the police can frisk in stop
and frisk cases. Here the officer went beyond merely patting down the suspect for a weapon. Instead,
the officer squeezed, slid, and manipulated the item after feeling it. Only then did he realize it could be
drugs. Doing that without probable cause went beyond what is allowed as part of a frisk.
6. Sources: del Carmen, R. V., & Hemmens, C. (2017). Criminal Procedure: Law and Practice (10th ed.).
CENGAGE Learning.
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