Case Brief

• It must have your Name and Student ID at the top of the paper

• Save the document as Word document and make sure that your Last Name starts the title before doc.  Ex) SmithCaseBrief.doc

• Headings must be boldfaced or underlined

• Headings MUST include all of the following: 

     o Case Name:   

     o Parties:

     o Facts:

     o Procedural History: 

     o Issue:

     o Holding:

     o Reasoning:

     o Judgment:

     o Comments:

• Case Name must be in Bluebook format.  (Main citation points will come from the Reasoning section.  So if there are no cites in the Reasoning section, you will receive little to no points for cites.  You should also put a few cites in the facts section, particularly if you copy the facts verbatim.) You are citing the case you are briefing, as well as the cases or statutes in the case itself.

• All citations should be in Bluebook format.

• Don’t forget to use short form cites and id.

• NO FOOTNOTES!!!!  Legal documents must have in-text cites only!!!

• Who are the Parties?  What are their names and are the a Defendant or Plaintiff? Maybe they are the Appellee  or Appellant?  A Petitioner or Respondent?

• What are the Facts?  This section should not be too long or too short.  It is typically one or two paragraphs which tell the reader what happened before the parties go to court.  This is what we call the ‘back story.”  Imagine you were trying to describe why everyone was suing everyone else to a friend.  How would you describe the story?  What happened once someone sued someone should not be in this section.  It will go in the Procedural History.

• Procedural History must be explained if it is an appeals or supreme court case.  What happened in the lower court to get appealed to this court?  Who sued, when and what happened in that other case?  Do not talk about what happened in the case you are briefing though.  The outcome of this case will go in your Judgment.

• What is the main Issue?  This is a 1 sentence question!!!  So we must put a question mark at the end of the sentence in the Issue section.  

• The Holding is the short 1 sentence (not 1 word) answer to the issue question.  It is not the judgment.  The Judgment is whether it was affirmed, denied, etc. 

• The Reasoning is a thorough explanation of what the court said in the case.  It should be the longest part of a case brief and at least 3 paragraphs!  Talk about what cases or statutes the court relied on and discussed to come to their decision.

• Comments are your own comments on why this case was important to you, the world or society.  Do you think justice was served?  Do you think the court was correct in their judgment?  Was there any dissent? Would you have ruled a different way if you were the judge?   

• DO NOT research the case ONLINE!!!  Use LexisNexis!!!!!  The case you find online via google may NOT be correct and will not contain the correct page numbers!!!!  

I have attached the rubric, which can be reviewed to make sure you have properly met all parts of the assignment to receive the maximum points.  

Here is the Breakdown of Points:

Writing: 10/10
Citations: 10/10
Case Name: 5/5
Facts: 10/10
Procedural History: 10/10
Issue: 10/10
Holding: 5/5
Reasoning: 25/25
Judgment: 5/5
Comments/Dissent: 10/10