Tanner v. United States
United States Supreme Court
483 U.S. 107 (1987)
- Written by Matthew Carney, JD
Facts
Conover and Tanner (defendants) were convicted of mail fraud and conspiracy. After the conviction, one of the jurors called Tanner’s attorney and informed him that several of the jurors drank alcohol during lunch breaks and often slept through the afternoons of the trial. Tanner filed a motion for a new trial and an evidentiary hearing at which he could interview the jurors. The district court heard arguments on the issue and then denied the motion. Subsequently, a second juror similarly told Tanner’s attorney that a number of the jurors drank, a few smoked marijuana, and two did cocaine during the trial. Tanner filed another motion for a new trial and the district court again denied the motion. The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit affirmed. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Connor, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Marshall, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 821,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,300 briefs, keyed to 989 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.
