From our private database of 35,600+ case briefs...
United States v. Sharpnack
United States Supreme Court
355 U.S. 286, 78 S.Ct. 291, 2 L.Ed.2d 282 (1958)
Facts
Federal enclaves are parcels of federal property lying within a state's borders but subject to federal jurisdiction. The 1948 Assimilative Crimes Act (the act) provided that any defendant found guilty of any action not otherwise punishable under federal law, but punishable under either an existing or subsequently enacted law of the surrounding state, would be punished as if he had committed the crime in the surrounding state. The United States government (plaintiff) alleged that Sharpnack (defendant), while within a federal enclave, committed an action, otherwise legal under federal law, that the surrounding state made illegal sometime after Congress enacted the act. The government tried and convicted Sharpnack under state law, and he appealed. Sharpnack's appeal reached the United States Supreme Court, where Sharpnack challenged the act's constitutionality.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Burton, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 618,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 35,600 briefs, keyed to 984 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.