Spinelli v. United States
United States Supreme Court
393 U.S. 410 (1969)
- Written by Sarah Venti, JD
Facts
The FBI obtained a search warrant and uncovered evidence that was ultimately used to convict William Spinelli (defendant) of illegal gambling. The affidavit primarily rested on information from a confidential informant, and the FBI was able to corroborate some of this information through its own investigation. Spinelli challenged the constitutionality of the warrant. The district court denied Spinelli's motion, holding he did not have standing to raise a Fourth Amendment claim. The court of appeals found that Spinelli did have standing and further held that the warrant was issued without probable cause. After a rehearing en banc, the court of appeals sustained the warrant and affirmed Spinelli's conviction. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari to consider the validity of the search and seizure.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Harlan, J.)
Concurrence (White, J.)
Dissent (Fortas, J.)
Dissent (Black, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 798,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,200 briefs, keyed to 988 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.