From our private database of 44,300+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.
New York v. Belton
United States Supreme Court
453 U.S. 454 (1981)
Facts
Belton (defendant) was in a car that was pulled over for speeding. When the officer smelled marijuana, he ordered Belton and the three other occupants out of the car and placed them under arrest. The officer then searched the passenger area of the car and, upon finding Belton’s jacket, searched the pocket and found cocaine. At trial, and over Belton’s objections, the cocaine was entered into evidence and Belton was convicted of possession of controlled substances. On appeal, the court disagreed with the trial judge and suppressed the evidence of the cocaine.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stewart, J.)
Dissent (White, J.)
Dissent (Brennan, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 705,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 44,300 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.
