Briefing Cases

    Preparation for most law school classes requires briefing the cases that are part of your assigned reading.  Cases are court decisions and may also be referred to as decisions or opinions.  When briefing a case, you break the case down into its essential elements and fit it into a framework.  This helps to readily identify the basic elements of the decision and becomes important during recitation in class and outlining for exams.

    Briefing is an art you will need to develop for your future as an attorney to aid in case analysis and preparation of your arguments.  Generally, the following procedural rules apply:

• Don’t write your brief on the first reading.  Read the case once through first, highlighting key points.
• If there is more than one case in the day’s assignment, read each case before briefing any.  Cases are arranged as they are in casebooks for a purpose.
• Think the decision through carefully before writing.
• Leave wide margins for note-taking in class.
• After your first semester, you may decide to brief cases in your textbook by labeling the different elements.  Initially, though, write it out.  It will help you to understand the analysis, learn the terminology, reference your knowledge, and organize your thoughts better.

    In addition to this handout, there are a number of resources that explain how to brief a case (see suggested readings).  The elements vary slightly depending on which professor you are preparing for and whether the brief is to be used for class or research.  This suggested format should suit general purposes.

1.    Heading.  This includes case name, citation, court and date of decision.

2.    Procedural history. Most cases you will be reading are appeals.  That means the issues have already been tried and decided at a trial court level.  If one of the parties is not pleased with results, they may appeal the case to the next highest court.  Appeals courts do not retry the cases. They review a case for errors in the application of law.  The manner in which the case was initially tried will affect the appeal.  Thus, a short discussion of the outcome of the previous trials may prove helpful.  Also, get used to referring to parties by their procedural title, i.e. plaintiff/appellant, defendant/appellee. (Plaintiff-one who brings suit; defendant-one defending against suit.  Note that at the appellate court level these may be switched from what they were at the trial court level.  The loser of the suit will become the appellant/petitioner.  The one defending against the appeal is the appellee/respondent.  The names in the case name may also be inverted at the appellate level.  Since the party who is bringing the suit is named first, it will be the plaintiff at the trial court level, the appellant at the appeals level.

3.      Facts.  The facts will help you to narrow the broad rule of law to your specific case. Usually the facts are found in the beginning of the opinion and read like a story. Only record facts used to distinguish the case, not those that had no bearing on the court’s decision.  The legal rule will determine which facts are necessary.

4.      Issue.  The issue is the question that the decision resolves.  To find the issue, ask yourself what the plaintiff wanted and what the defendant wanted in bringing this claim.  Some cases may have more than one issue.  In that case, each issue should be briefed separately. 

5.      Holding.  The holding is the statement of law necessary to the decision of the case.  Not every statement of an opinion will have precedential value.  Successive courts are bound only by the holding.  Any additional arguments or statements in the decision are dicta.  Dicta are not binding on future courts but may be considered persuasive.  You may choose to include some of these points in your brief.

6.      Decision.  Sometimes called disposition, this tells which party was ruled for and what the court decreed should happen next to the case. (i.e. reversed and remanded)

7.      Rule.  The general rule of law develops out of the facts and the holding.  The holding is broadened to apply to a variety of situations.

8.      Reasoning/Rationale.  The court gives reasons to support its decision.  Think about why the court decided the way it did.  Start with “because,” and be specific.  Answering “why?” lends the case for interpretation in other cases, i.e. precedent.  Ask yourself if there are policies that underlie the reasoning.  Policies are general rules that apply to society as a whole.  For instance, contracts involving minors should not be enforced because minors do not yet have the experience and judgment of adults.

9.      Dissenting opinions.  While dissenting opinions are not binding on any future courts, they do help you to analyze the issue from different perspectives and should be addressed.

See these materials for some further explanations of case briefing, examples and exercises:

Hegland, Introduction to the Study and Practice of Law (nutshell),

        Reserve KF 273 .H4 2003

Moliterno, Introduction to Law, Law Study, and the Lawyer’s Role,

        Reserve KR 272 .M64 2004

Ramy, Succeeding in Law School, Faculty Reserve Duff,

        KF 283 .R36 2006

Shapo, Law School Without Fear:  Strategies for Success,

        Faculty Reserve, Duff, KF 386 .S44 2002

CALI exercises http://www.cali.org

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