From our private database of 34,000+ case briefs...
Virginia v. Black
United States Supreme Court
538 U.S. 343, 123 S.Ct. 1536, 155 L.Ed.2d 535 (2003)
Facts
In 1998, Barry Black (defendant) led a Ku Klux Klan rally in Virginia. At the close of the rally, the participants burned a cross. Black was charged with violating a Virginia statute that made it illegal to burn a cross if the burning was done with intent to intimidate someone. The statute also stated that the burning of a cross in itself is prima facie evidence of intent to intimidate. At Black's trial, the court instructed the jury that the burning of the cross itself was sufficient evidence from which to infer the required intent to intimidate. The jury convicted Black. Black appealed, and the appellate court affirmed his conviction. The Supreme Court of Virginia reversed and held that the statute was unconstitutional. The United States Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (O’Connor, J.)
Concurrence (Stevens, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Souter, J.)
Concurrence/Dissent (Scalia, J.)
Dissent (Thomas, J.)
What to do next…
Here's why 607,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
- Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 34,000 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.
