Student Learning Objectives and Briefing a Case:

Briefing cases is the core task and skill required for every student at law school and a requirement for this course. You will have one Case Briefing Assignment due before the end of the semester. This Module is intended to introduce you to Case Briefing and how to do it.

In addition, the College sets out Student Learning Objectives for each course. Business Law has three Student Learning Objectives set out in the syllabus:

Student Learning Outcomes:

Find the legal issue in a set of facts and state the applicable principle of law.
Analyze and explain legal consequences resulting from various actions against persons and/or property
Compare and contrast the legal ramifications of alternative business decisions.

This semester we are tasked to evaluate SLO #1. As a result to assess that standard there will be an assignment to BRIEF A CASE.

I will set out below the text of a case and following the case there is an example of a Case Brief. Please review this Brief carefully, as you will be expected to Brief a Case as part of your Final Exam.

So What is a Case Brief:

A case brief is a dissection of a judicial opinion -- it contains a written summary of the basic components of that decision.
Briefing cases is core to learning to “think like a lawyer”. Once mastered, you’ll be able to efficiently distill facts and reasoning of a case.
Keep your briefs brief: Your case briefs are there to help you quickly recall the case in sufficient detail during class discussion. Regurgitating the entire case is not helpful. Avoid copying citations. Simply try to capture the gist of the facts and the court’s reasoning in just a few words.

The Steps in Briefing a Case:

Although the exact form of your briefs may and can vary, the following parts should appear somewhere in your brief in a way to demonstrate you understand the case and that you highlight the important and needed information.

The first step is the read through the opinion first so you will understand the overall story and identify important facts, etc., before beginning to brief the case on paper.

1. Heading:

Case name
Parties
Court name
Date of the decision

2. Statement of Facts

- Identify the relationship/status of the parties (Note: Do not merely refer to the parties as the plaintiff/defendant or appellant/appellee; be sure to also include more descriptive generic terms to identify the relationship/status at issue, e.g., buyer/seller, employer/employee, landlord/tenant, etc.)
- Identify legally relevant facts, that is, those facts that tend to prove or disprove an issue before the court. The relevant facts tell what happened before the parties entered the judicial system.
- Identify procedurally significant facts. You should set out (1) the cause of action (C/A), (2) relief the plaintiff requested, (3) defenses, if any, the defendant raised.
- The decision(s) of the lower court(s). NOTE: If the case was decided by a trial court and reviewed by an intermediate appellate court before reaching the court whose decision you are now reading, be sure to note what each court decided. The damages awarded, if relevant. Who appealed and why.

3. Issues:

- Substantive issue: A substantive statement of the issue consists of two parts --

1. 1. the point of law in dispute
  2. the key facts of the case relating to that point of law in dispute (legally relevant facts). You must include the key facts from the case so that the issue is specific to that case. Typically, the disputed issue involves how the court applied some element of the pertinent rule to the facts of the specific case. Resolving the issue will determine the court’s disposition of the case.

4. Judgment and Holding:

Judgement: This is the court’s final decision as to the rights of the parties, the court’s response to a party’s request for relief. Generally, the appellate court will either affirm, reverse, or reverse with instructions. The judgment is usually found at the end of the opinion.
Holding: This is a statement of law that is the court’s answer to the issue. If you have written the issue statement(s) correctly, the holding is often the positive or negative statement of the issue statement.
- Rule of Law or Legal Principle Applied: This is the rule of law that the court applies to determine the substantive rights of the parties. The rule of law could derive from a statute, case rule, regulation, or may be a synthesis of prior holdings in similar cases (common law). The rule or legal principle may be expressly stated in the opinion or it may be implied.
- Reasoning: This is the court’s analysis of the issues and the heart of the case brief. Reasoning is the way in which the court applied the rules/ legal principles to the particular facts in the case to reach its decision. This includes syllogistic application of rules as well as policy arguments the court used to justify its holding (why the decision was socially desirable).
- Concurring/Dissenting Opinions: A judge who hears a case may not agree with the majority’s decision and will write a separate dissenting opinion. Another judge may agree with the decision but not with the majority’s reasoning and will write a separate concurring opinion. Note the concurring/dissenting judge(s)’ reasons for refusing to join in the majority opinion.

Additional Comments/Personal Impressions:

What are your reactions to and critique of the opinion? Anything you like? Dislike? How does this case fall in line with the other cases you have read? Do not accept the court’s opinion blindly. Assess the reasoning in each case. Is it sound? Is it contradictory? What are the political, economic or social impacts of this decision?