Study Aids
Case Briefs Overview
Casebooks
Case Briefs
R

Ruffin v. Commonwealth

62 Va. 790 (1871)

From our private database of 47,000+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Ruffin v. Commonwealth

Virginia Supreme Court
62 Va. 790 (1871)

Facts

Woody Ruffin (defendant) was a prisoner in Bath County, Virginia. While in prison, Ruffin was accused of killing a guard. The state’s procedures required that all trials of crimes committed while in a state prison be tried in Richmond, Virginia. In accordance with these procedures, Ruffin was tried for the murder in Richmond, convicted, and sentenced to death. Ruffin appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, arguing that the Sixth Amendment in the United States Constitution’s Bill of Rights entitled him to a jury by his vicinage, meaning a jury of people from the vicinity or geographic area where the alleged crime occurred. Ruffin contended that this right meant he had been entitled to be tried by a jury of people from Bath County and that having a jury of people from Richmond had violated his constitutional rights.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Christian, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 899,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

    Unlock this case briefRead our student testimonials

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

    Learn about our approachRead more about Quimbee

Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 47,000 briefs, keyed to 994 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.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 899,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 47,000 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership