Briefing a Case

(BASED ON THE EXCELLENT WORKPRODUCT OF PROF. FRANCHESCINI AND HIS MINIONS)

 

As part of your “class participation” grade, you may be asked to properly brief one or more cases during the semester, and/or lead a class discussion on any case you have been asked to brief.  If selected to brief a particular case, your compliance becomes MANDATORY and if you subsequently forget or otherwise fail to brief it, or if you do an exceedingly poor job in briefing it, or if you fail to appear for class on the day it is due (thereby depriving the class of your wisdom and intellectual leadership), you risk getting a ZERO (0) for your OVERALL “class participation” course grade (thus reducing your maximum grade in the course to an 85).  Moral of the story: if you are assigned a case to brief, you’d do well to brief it and then show up to discuss it. 

 

If you are asked to brief a case, you will need to prepare TWO copies of that brief; one to hand in, and one to speak from.  Briefs will be informally reviewed for format, completeness and effort, although no formal grades will be assigned to them. 

 

Both format and content will be considered in reviewing your brief.  Length will vary based on the complexity of the case, but briefs should be no shorter than 1 page (but not much more either). 

 

Case Briefing Overview

 

STEP ONE: READ THE CASE.  If the case is long (say, more than 50 pages), you may skip to Step Two below; otherwise, please read the entire thing. 

 

STEP TWO: FIGURE OUT WHY YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO READ THAT PARTICULAR CASE.  Some cases have dozens of legal issues in them, but, for the most part, there is/are usually only ONE or TWO issues that REALLY matter for this course.  Your Step Two goal is to try to figure out which issue(s) I case about.  The Chapter Header will be a clue.  If you are still stumped, feel free to ask either your TA or your Professor. 

 

STEP THREE: RE-READ THE PART OF THE CASE THAT MATTERS MOST

 

STEP FOUR: BRIEF THE CASE.  To that end, here are some hints as to how we want you to write your brief. 

 

Case briefs are to be written in roman numeral form, as such:

 

I. Case citation (including the PARTIES)

 

Here is the general format for a case citation: Plaintiff / Prosecution / Appellant v. Defendant / Appellee, volume number, series name, first page (year decided).

 

This information is always on the top of the published opinion.  Remember, as a case moves through the appeals process the appellant and appellee can change.  Be sure you correctly identify the parties for the specific case you are briefing. 

 

II. Facts of the Case

 

Presuming that you have properly figured out which issue(s) matter to this course, write down ALL of the RELEVANT facts related to that/those issue(s).  What is a “relevant” fact?  It is a fact that ANY PARTY uses in making, or upon which it bases, its legal argument. 

 

Getting the facts of the case is important to understanding how the law is applied.  Reading the Westlaw synopsis is often a good start for getting a feel for the case.  Then go on to reading the opinion; judges have different styles, but most will give a more thorough summary in the first section of their opinion. 

 

III.  Issue/Question

 

Write a short and simple question that addresses the underlying RELEVANT dispute in the case.  Your “Issue/Question” need only concern the MOST SALIENT issue(s) in the case, and NEEDS to be answerable with either a simple YES or NO.  (Presumably, one of the parties wanted the court to answer “Yes,” and the other wanted the court to answer “No.”). 

 

IV.  Decision

 

How does the court ultimately resolve the above “Issue/Question”?  Your response here should be one word, which answers your above-stated Question: Yes or No. 

 

Hint:  The first or last few paragraphs of an opinion will often note if the case if affirmed/upheld or reversed/rejected.  Just be sure you understand what is being upheld or reversed. 

 

V. Rationale

 

Discuss the legal theory and past precedents involved in the courts ruling on the ABOVE ISSUE(S).  Be sure to also draw on concurring and dissenting opinions, if applicable.  Explaining the court’s rationale requires you to parse a judge’s lengthy opinion and highlight the most important points that support the holding. 

 

VI.  Holding

 

Discuss the consequences of the ruling on the law.  Bring the rationale back to your question and the bigger issue.  Be sure to answer how future cases and current precedent will be affected by the ruling. 

 

 

 

VII. Analysis

 

Analyze and respond to the case.  Do you agree with the court? Were there flaws in the court’s reasoning?  Do you agree with the dissent?  Are there any policy ramifications that you find particularly compelling?