Also known as: rationales
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The underlying reason or justification for a legal rule, doctrine, or judicial decision.
Raymond Ramos was arrested on the street and his car was towed to the station. Officers searched the vehicle three hours later without a warrant. The court held the search fell outside the search-incident rationale because it was neither contemporaneous nor justified by any other exception.
Rosa Ruiz owned land in one state but lived in another. When title issues arose, the court applied the factors in section 6 to determine the state with the most significant relationship. The rationale guided the court in weighing the parties' expectations and the policies of interested states.
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Regina Robinson was taken into custody on an outstanding warrant. Officers conducted a complete search of her person and belongings at the station. The court upheld the search because a valid custodial arrest itself supplies the rationale for a full search regardless of case-specific fears.
Ronald Reed died after consulting his lawyer about estate planning. His heirs sought to compel the lawyer to disclose the communications. The court ruled the privilege survived because the rationale of encouraging full disclosure continues even after the client's death.
Renata Russo owned shares in a Delaware corporation but lived elsewhere. Plaintiffs attached the shares to obtain jurisdiction over her. The court examined whether the sequestration rationale justified the procedure when direct personal jurisdiction would be unavailable.
Rita Russell and her partner sought a marriage license in a state that limited marriage to opposite-sex couples. The court assessed whether the historical rationale for protecting marriage applied with equal force to same-sex couples under the Constitution.
A search must be substantially contemporaneous with the arrest. Delayed searches after impoundment fall outside the rationale and require separate justification.
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No. The rationale of encouraging full and frank communication continues after death, so the privilege survives termination of the relationship.
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The principles in section 6 supply the rationale for determining the state with the most significant relationship to the issue, the thing, and the parties.
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A court may depart when the facts show the search or action is remote in time or place from the arrest, requiring another justification.
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…dictates of the congressional legislation and cases thereunder. See generally, Hogan & Snee, The McNabb-Mallory Rule: Its Rise, Rationale and Rescue, 47 Geo. L. J. 1 (1958). [^maj-33]: The decisions of this Court have guaranteed the same procedural protection for the defendant whether his confession was used in a federal or…