brief 2 page

BUSL 18 Memorandum

TO: BUSL 18 online (8 weeks) students

FROM: Catherine McKee

DATE: Spring 2020

RE: Briefing Assignment

Instructions:

Please brief People v. Simpson (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 854 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 851]], which is available in this same folder on Canvas. Use the following format for your brief, including the headings . Consult your book at pages A-1 through A-3 for an explanation and an example of case briefing. You will notice that my headings are slightly different from those in your book; please use the headings below. Also, review pages 20-24 for an overview of cases and and help understanding our case. For those of you with the ebook (and no page numbers), this material is under section 1-7, How to Read and Understand Case Law, in chapter 1 of the book. Make sure you look at the sample case in Exhibit 1-6 also.

People v. Simpson (1998) 65 Cal.App.4th 854 [76 Cal.Rptr.2d 851]

Facts: (This is the “story” that gives rise to the case. What facts are at the root of the controversy? What is the defendant accused of? Why was he arrested? Provide details that may be important to the case. If in doubt, include more detail here rather than less. Facts end with the arrest in a criminal case. 10 points.)

Procedural History: (This what happened in the lower court system. Start this part with what the defendant is charged with. Procedurally, what has happened in this case? What are the legal theories (murder? Kidnapping? Possession? etc.) that the prosecution is using? Was there a trial or a motion? Who won it? Who is appealing? Why? 10 points.)

Issue: (This is the question that this appeals court is trying to answer by hearing this case. There may be more than one question. If so, state them all, each in a separate numbered paragraph. Look for the appellant’s appeals argument(s). The issues are often based on these arguments. The issues are questions only, no background, no answers, just questions. 15 points.)

Result/Holding: (This is the answer to the issue. If there are three issues, there will be three results. This is a good part to quote. Number these and put each one in a separate short numbered paragraph. 15 points.)

Reasoning: (The is the court’s explanation of how it went from its issue to its result/holding. This is usually the longest part of the brief. It’s the part where the justice discusses the Constitution, cases/precedent, and/or statutes. Discuss each issue in a separate paragraph. Follow the RAC format discussed in chapter 1: rule/law, analysis/application, conclusion for each issue. 25 points.)

Procedural Consequences: (Does this appeals court agree with the trial court’s decision? Look for the “magic” words: affirmed, reversed, modified, and/or remanded. This part is usually just one sentence long. 5 points.)

Use this format, since part of your grade (20 points) will be based on correct formatting. Your brief should be typewritten, double-spaced, and at least two pages in length. Use a font size of 11 or 12. Underline your headings. Indent the first line of each paragraph. Pay attention to your grammar and spelling, as I will deduct points for spelling and grammar errors. I will look also for independent thinking and analysis.

This assignment assesses one of the student learning outcomes (SLOs) for our class, briefing an appellate court case. It also relates to some of the measurable course outcomes for our class:

· Compare and contrast civil and criminal procedures

· Evaluate the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights

People v. Simpson is an appeals court CASE. You are writing a BRIEF (summary) of this case. The brief is simply a summary of the case, written in this particular format.

Case briefs are formal documents, although they are not submitted to a court. They are simply case summaries that you prepare so you can refer back to them later. Case briefs are often prepared in law firms and legal departments of corporations and other businesses. Also, if you go on to business school or law school, you will learn by reading cases, and you will prepare for class by preparing case briefs. Since case briefs are formal documents, you must not use contractions (don’t, can’t, won’t, wouldn’t, etc.), abbreviations, or slang unless you’re quoting from the case. Refer to the people by their last names, not their first names. The first time you refer to Mr. Simpson, give his full name and say that he is the defendant and appellant (party designations), but after that just call him by his last name. Write your brief in past tense. Write out dates rather than putting them in numeric (2/23/12) form.

It is okay to quote from the case but you MUST use quotation marks if you quote. You are plagiarizing if you quote without using quotation marks . You will also be plagiarizing if you copy and paste from the case into your brief . Canvas will use UniCheck to detect any possible plagiarism in the briefs. Do not do any outside research or use any sources other than this case and our textbook.

Read over the case several times before starting your brief. Since you are not used to reading cases, it’s unlikely that you will understand the case the first time you read it. This is very normal! Organize before you start writing. Use quotation marks when quoting from the case.

There are three documents that must be submitted as part of this assignment:

· The brief evaluation form. By Sunday, March 29, at 11:55 p.m., you must evaluate your brief draft, complete the evaluation form, and submit the completed form, which is available on our Canvas page. Use the form to evaluate your own brief draft. Students often lose points for items that are listed on the evaluation form, so please go over your draft carefully with the form. The brief evaluation is worth 5% of your course grade. Upload your completed evaluation as a Canvas assignment. I will review the evaluation forms and respond to any questions you ask on the form.

· The brief. The brief is due by Sunday, April 5 at 11:55 p.m., uploaded on the Canvas page as a MS Word (.doc or .docx) document. Name the document/attachment in the following format: Last name, first name – brief 40294. Example: Garcia, Lily – brief 40294. You will lose 5 points if you do not follow this format. I do not accept late assignments. If you have any questions about this assignment, please contact me via Canvas Inbox, or visit me during my office hours.

When I finish grading all of the briefs from the class I will return them electronically through the grades page, including my comments. I hope to return these in about one week. I will update you via Canvas if grading takes longer than one week.