From our private database of 28,500+ case briefs...
Ableman v. Booth
United States Supreme Court
62 U.S. 506 (1858)
Facts
Sherman Booth (defendant) was an abolitionist editor from Wisconsin. Booth was arrested in the 1850s and charged with violating the federal Fugitive Slave Act by helping a slave escape. Booth petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court for a writ of habeas corpus. The Wisconsin Supreme Court granted the writ, ruling that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional. The federal government petitioned the United States Supreme Court for review. The federal trial court then convicted Booth and sentenced him to a year in prison and to pay a fine of $1,000. Booth again petitioned the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which again granted the writ based on the unconstitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act. The federal government again petitioned the United States Supreme Court for review.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Taney, C.J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 545,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 28,500 briefs, keyed to 983 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
- The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
- Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
- Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.