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Cases and Case Briefs
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Cases and Case Briefs
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By the end of two or three lessons you will have an idea of
how to read a legal case.
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You will also have an idea of how to brief the case: turning a
document of over 30 pages into a one page summary.
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This will be a challenge but is the first step on a long, long
road…....
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By the end of the first year, a student
reads 10 pages per hour!
So do not be hard on yourself!!
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Let’s learn more about cases….
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The Case is called an Opinion
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Opinions vary in length.
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The language is difficult for Law Students and lay persons.
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Opinions are written for Judges and Lawyers.
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Sometimes it is hard to understand and identify the legal issue
when you do not have an understanding of the area of law that is
involved.
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Chicken or Egg?
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Learning to read a case is a chicken-or-egg situation! You need to
read cases to learn the law, but it is difficult to read a case without
knowing the law.
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Why practice summarising cases?
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It is likely that you have to brief cases/opinions for Lawyers
in the future.
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It helps you learn the Law.
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It will help you start thinking of how the Law applies.
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Questions to ask before reading a
Case
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Why am I reading this case/opinion?
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What court was it held in? This gives you an idea of its value.
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Is it the highest court?
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When was it heard: the date?
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Why is the case at court?
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Structure of a Case
A. 
The Syllabus
B. 
The Opinion
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A. What is in the Syllabus?
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The facts of the case/opinion
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The route the case has taken to get to the current court
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It may have a summary of the Opinion
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B. What is in the Opinion?
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The official decision
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It explains the decision: in detail
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It is made up of several sections:
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Facts
History
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Legal Issue
Law
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The Disposition
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Dissent and concurrence, normally at the end
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+ Lets take a look at each
section in more detail…
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Statement of Facts
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Generally at the beginning of the case
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The facts are the judge’s understanding of the facts:
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Where
Who
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History of the case: what happened in what court.
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What
When
On first reading, you will think all facts are important. They
are not! You need to read the full case to identify which are
the most important.
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Legal Issue
n 
What is the legal issue? Sometimes it is repeated in different
words throughout the Opinion.
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Try to identify the main legal issue
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In this Case the Legal Issue is: is it always unreasonable for a
police officer to seize a person and subject him to a limited
search for weapons unless there is PC for an arrest?
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Law
n 
In the Opinion you will find a law.
n 
It is the legal principle the judge uses that helped him/her
decide the Case. They normally look at the law that is relevant,
then relate it to the facts of the Case.
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Sometimes it is hard to work out where it is.
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In this case, the Judge discusses one aspect. He then discusses
other cases that relate to this aspect of the case. Only when he
has come to a conclusion on that aspect does he move to the
next aspect.
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In this case, he speaks about the police officer and whether he
seized Terry. He then goes on to consider language in the fourth
amendment, he discusses various cases, and at the end he
concludes that “Terry” was seized.
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Disposition
n 
Generally at the end of the Opinion
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It says what the action will be taken from the court
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The disposition will be one of the following:
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Affirm: stay with the opinion of the lower court
Reverse, Void, Vacate-Overturn
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Remand: The case goes back to the lower court for a retrial
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Task
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Read to the end of page 4 without writing or highlighting
anything.
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Read to the end of page 4 again.
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Mark in the margin what each paragraph is speaking about:
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Disposition- Result
Legal dispute- The legal question
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History- What happened in previous courts
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Facts- Who, what , when…....
Law- How did the court come to its decision, what law was used
You can add extra headings if it makes it easier.
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Recap!
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What information would you expect to find in the Fact
Section?
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What, W
,W
,W
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What, Where, When Who
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What do we mean by Legal Issue?
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It’s the basic question that is being addressed.
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What do you expect to find in the History?
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What has happened in each court so far; what were the
decisions.
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What is the disposition?
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The result: what were the court’s findings
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What is another name for the case?
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Opinion
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Why is it important to know which Court has written the
Opinion?
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Value
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A Case Brief
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Hopefully you can now find information in a Case a little bit
easier….
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Now, you need to learn the format of a Case Brief.
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They generally have the same sections, but not always. Take a
look at the 2 case briefs for Terry v . Ohio.
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Read each one, making note’s in the margin.
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What do you like and not like, compared to the other case brief
What is included in each section.
n  For example: Facts- Names of Parties
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Heading
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Case name and citation
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Issue
The main issue in this case/put before the court.
What is the main question being discussed? It is good to write
make this a closed question (yes or no format).
ISSUE: Should Betts v. Brady be overruled as being inconsistent
with the fundamental right of fairness at trial?
www.jaredolen.com/law-school-resources/criminal-procedure/gideon-v-wainwright/)
Issue. Whether the Sixth Amendment constitutional requirement
that indigent defendants be appointed counsel is so fundamental
and essential to a fair trial that it is made obligatory on the states
by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution?
http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/criminal-procedure/criminal-procedure-keyed-to-israel/the-right-tocounsel-transcripts-and-other-aids-poverty-equality-and-the-adversary-system/gideon-v-wainright/
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Holding
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The courts decision in this case.
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The holding is generally the answer to the the Issue
Statements question.
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If you have written the Issue correctly, then the Holding is
simple.
n  A good idea is to answer yes or no, then a explanation
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For example,
the issue “Did the police have a right to search the Defendant’s
trunk when he was not under arrest and did not give consent?”
the holding “Yes. The Fourth Amendment to the United States
Constitution does not provide the same protection to a vehicle that it
does to a home, and a warrantless search was justified.”
http://
www.wikihow.com/Brief-a-Law-Case
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Facts
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Who is involved in this case?
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What is the dispute n 
What are the legally relevant facts.
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Do not write this section before you have read the whole case. You
must see what Facts were important for the Judge first. If the judge
mentioned a fact, then it is probably important.
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The aim is to include all the important facts and exclude irrelevant
ones.
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In your own words.
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History
n 
What has happed in the past courts to bring it to the
current court; basically, Procedural History
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What happened in the lower courts
The decisions of the lower courts
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Current status of the case
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Rule
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What rule did the court use/apply to determine this issue?
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The rule could derive from statute, case rule, regulation, or
maybe a synthesis of prior holdings in similar cases.
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This is the legal principle that will be used to decide future
cases.
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Reasoning
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How did the court use/apply the rule to the fact of the case to
reach a decision.
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It is the chain of arguments that led the judge to rule as he/
she did.
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Concurrence and Dissent
Concurring and Dissenting Opinion(s) and Reasoning: n 
Sometimes judges disagree; they have a chance here to
explain why.
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Sometime a judge agrees, but has a different reason for
agreeing. +
Task
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Write a case brief for Gideon v Wainwright
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Use these sections
Heading
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Issue
Holding
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Facts
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History
Rule
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Reasoning
Concurrence/Dissent
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If you want to include another section, please feel free.
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Task
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Compare and contrast the two case briefs
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What do you like and not like
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Reference
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https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/372/335/
case.html
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Gideon v. Wainwright 372 U.S.335 (1963)
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https://www.law.uh.edu/lrw/casebrief.pdf
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http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/criminal-procedure/
criminal-procedure-keyed-to-weinreb/the-fourthamendment-arrest-and-search-and-seizure/terry-v-ohio-4/
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http://euro.ecom.cmu.edu/program/law/08-732/Courts/
howtoreadv2.pdf
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https://www.law.uh.edu/lrw/casebrief.pdf
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http://www.lawnerds.com/guide/briefing.html
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http://www.jaredolen.com/law-school-resources/criminalprocedure/terry-v-ohio/
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http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/
publications/insights/teaching_legal_docs/
reading_a_supremecourtbrief/syllabus.html
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http://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_education/
publications/insights/teaching_legal_docs/
reading_a_supremecourtbrief/disposition.html
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http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?
abstract_id=1160925