Writing Assignment APA Style

  

Week 1 Writing Assignment

•  Summarize the case of James J O'Brien v. The Ohio State University, (in textbook).
•  Summarize the case of Rodgers v. Georgia Tech Athletic Association at http://georgia-court-appeals.vlex.com/vid/rodgers-georgia-tech-athletic-association-20461113 (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
•  Summarize the case of Vanderbilt University v. DiNardo at http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=13808007593549827535&hl=en&as_sdt=2&as_vis=1&oi=scholarr (Links to an external site.)
   

Papers should

contain a title page, appropriate citations, 

and references. 

  

explanation and Sample regarding Summarizing Cases using as an example the case of Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club, 595 F.2d 1265 (3rd Cir. 1979).

Title: Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club

 

citation (explained further below): 410 U.S. 113 (1973)

Facts: Summarize the facts of the case. List only the essential facts that you need to understand the holding and reasoning of the case.

 Procedure: The cases that you will read will be appellate court decisions. In this section, you want to list what happened in the lower court(s). Do not go into too much detail. A few sentences are sufficient for this section.

Issues: What are the questions facing the court? Form the issue questions in a way that they can be answered by yes or no. 

Holding: How did the court answer the issue questions? (Yes or No).

Reasoning:This is the most important section of your summary. Here you want to list the reasoning of the majority in reaching is decision. You can provide more detailed in this section. List what the law was before this case was decided and how the law has changed after this decision (If the law was changed). 

 

How to Read Citations to Legal Decisions A court’s published decisions and opinions are called Reports. The publication in which they appear is often called a Reporter.

Reports are published in chronological order by date of decision. A Citation

will let you know where a report is located. Case reports are cited by the names of the parties, the volume, who decided the case, page number, and date of the decision. 

For example:

Names of Parties: Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club 

Volume:595

Title of Reporter:Federal Reporter, Second Series

Page:1265

Date of Decision:1979

Name of Court: Third Circuit Court of Appeals (Federal)

Sample Summary of 

Chuy v. Philadelphia Eagles Football Club, 595 F.2d 1265 (3rd Cir. 1979):