Melvin v. Pence

76 U.S. App. D.C. 154, 130 F.2d 423 (1942)

From our private database of 47,500+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Melvin v. Pence

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
76 U.S. App. D.C. 154, 130 F.2d 423 (1942)

  • Written by Eric Miller, JD

Facts

A licensed private detective, Pence (plaintiff), accosted Melvin (defendant) and Elna Smith (defendant) as part of an investigation. Pence showed Smith a badge that said “Washington Detective Agency” but refused to state for whom he worked. Melvin and Smith each filed an affidavit with the police department stating that Pence had represented himself as being from the Washington Detective Bureau (as opposed to Agency), a branch of the police. The superintendent of police made a recommendation to the secretary of the commissioners that Pence’s license be denied renewal because Pence had impersonated a police officer. The recommendation was followed, but Pence successfully appealed to the License Denial and Revocation Board. Pence then brought an action for malicious prosecution against Melvin and Smith. The trial court found in favor of Pence. Melvin and Smith appealed, arguing that they did not initiate judicial proceedings. The United States Court of Appeals granted certiorari.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Rutledge, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 964,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 964,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,500 briefs, keyed to 1,006 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.
  • AI-generated podcast version of every brief — listen on the go, between classes, or whenever reading isn’t an option. New

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 964,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 47,500 briefs - keyed to 1,006 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership

Casebooks

Advanced Tort Law

Torts

Key Terms

  • Malicious ProsecutionThe wrongful institution or continuation of a civil or criminal prosecution against an individual.

Understand your casebook readings in seconds

Use our case briefs to comprehend your casebook readings faster, supplement your notes and outlines, and outshine your peers in class.

Get instant access to over 47,500+ expert-written case briefs in a searchable database keyed to 1,006 law school casebooks.

Case book preview
Start your free 7-day trial