LexisNexis academic says this about coverage: "Earliest brief dated August 12, through current. Includes merit briefs for cases granted certiorari and special masters, amicus curiae briefs, and joint appendices beginning in January , with selected coverage from All briefs are available for cases granted certiorari beginning after the term; also includes briefs petitioning for certiorari in civil cases other than habeas cases from the term through current.
For civil cases where cert. No cert-stage briefs are provided for habeas cases or for criminal cases that are summarily decided or where cert. Docket Number preferred Searching for briefs by docket number is generally preferable to searching by parties' names, since the latter may change. Parties' Names You can generally find briefs by searching for the parties' names.
What you'll find in Supreme Court briefs Parties to each case considered by the Supreme Court file briefs related to the merits of the case. A Supreme Court brief, whether filed by a party or non-party to the case, will include a summary of the argument being made in the brief : After the summary, you'll find a more detailed explanation of the argument :.
For a trial court opinion, identify the type of legal action the plaintiff brought. For an appellate court opinion, also describe how the trial court and, if applicable, the lower appellate court decided the case and why. State the issues in question. You are now ready to describe the opinion you are briefing.
In this section of the brief, state the factual and legal questions that the court had to decide. To analyze a case properly, you must break it down to its component parts. State the holding in your words. In this section, separately answer each question in the issues section. For quick reference, first state the answer in a word or two, such as "yes" or "no. Describe the court's rationale for each holding.
You now should describe the court's rationale for each holding. This section of the case brief may be the most important, because you must understand the court's reasoning to analyze it and to apply it to other fact situations, such as those on the exam.
Starting with the first issue, describe each link in the court's chain of reasoning. Explain the final disposition. Describe the final disposition of the case. Did the court decide in favor of the plaintiff or the defendant?
What remedy, if any, did the court grant? If it is an appellate court opinion, did the court affirm the lower court's decision, reverse it in whole or in part, or remand the case for additional proceedings? The issues or questions of law raised by the facts peculiar to the case are often stated explicitly by the court.
Constitutional cases frequently involve multiple issues, some of interest only to litigants and lawyers, others of broader and enduring significant to citizens and officials alike. Be sure you have included both. With rare exceptions, the outcome of an appellate case will turn on the meaning of a provision of the Constitution, a law, or a judicial doctrine. Capture that provision or debated point in your restatement of the issue.
Set it off with quotation marks or underline it. This will help you later when you try to reconcile conflicting cases. For example, the famous case of Brown v. Board of Education involved the applicability of a provision of the 14th Amendment to the U.
Of course the implications of this case went far beyond the situation of Miss Brown, the Topeka School Board, or even public education. NOTE: Many students misread cases because they fail to see the issues in terms of the applicable law or judicial doctrine than for any other reason. There is no substitute for taking the time to frame carefully the questions, so that they actually incorporate the key provisions of the law in terms capable of being given precise answers.
Remember too, that the same case may be used by instructors for different purposes, so part of the challenge of briefing is to identify those issues in the case which are of central importance to the topic under discussion in class.
The reasoning, or rationale, is the chain of argument which led the judges in either a majority or a dissenting opinion to rule as they did. This should be outlined point by point in numbered sentences or paragraphs.
Both concurring and dissenting opinions should be subjected to the same depth of analysis to bring out the major points of agreement or disagreement with the majority opinion. Make a note of how each justice voted and how they lined up. Knowledge of how judges of a particular court normally line up on particular issues is essential to anticipating how they will vote in future cases involving similar issues.
Here the student should evaluate the significance of the case, its relationship to other cases, its place in history, and what is shows about the Court, its members, its decision-making processes, or the impact it has on litigants, government, or society. Look for unarticulated premises, logical fallacies, manipulation of the factual record, or distortions of precedent. Then ask, How does this case relate to other cases in the same general area of law?
What does it show about judicial policymaking? Does the result violate your sense of justice or fairness? How might it have been better decided? Many of the guides to legal research and writing include a discussion of student briefs, appellate briefs and other types of legal memoranda used by practicing attorneys. Examples and more information can be found in the library books listed below:.
Created by C. Pyle, Revised by K. Killoran, and by M. Richards, Home Students Tutorials How to brief a case. Appellate brief An appellate brief is a written legal argument presented to an appellate court. Student brief A student brief is a short summary and analysis of the case prepared for use in classroom discussion. The parties and how to keep track of them Beginning students often have difficulty identifying relationships between the parties involved in court cases.
The following definitions may help: Plaintiffs sue defendants in civil suits in trial courts. Student briefs These can be extensive or short, depending on the depth of analysis required and the demands of the instructor. Title and Citation The title of the case shows who is opposing whom.
Facts of the Case A good student brief will include a summary of the pertinent facts and legal points raised in the case. The fact section of a good student brief will include the following elements: A one-sentence description of the nature of the case, to serve as an introduction. A statement of the relevant law, with quotation marks or underlining to draw attention to the key words or phrases that are in dispute.
A summary of the complaint in a civil case or the indictment in a criminal case plus relevant evidence and arguments presented in court to explain who did what to whom and why the case was thought to involve illegal conduct.
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