Good Morning! Happy Monday!
I know many schools are starting law school orientation today or first law school classes. For those who are in either of those categories, I wish you the BEST of luck! (If you want to know more about my Orientation Experience, here are my
posts about it and if you want to know what my first day of law school was like, check out this
post or for a recap of my first week, check out this
post)
After an Instagram q&a session, I realized there are a lot of little questions and concerns nagging at new law students. I decided to start a little series to try to answer those questions and concerns. I have already blogged about some things but over the next few days, I will be blogging daily to fill in the blanks. When complete, I will compile it all into one easy to access post to help future law students seeking answers.
Up first, how to brief a case for law school. I have not previously blogged about this because I never felt fully competent to offer advice on case briefing... I am not really sure why but it's the truth. Now that I am a 3L and I have cased briefed hundreds of cases, I feel I can express the basics without screwing anyone up. This is going to be very bare bones and simple case briefing instructions- I encourage everyone to develop their own style for briefing cases over time and with practice.
What is a Case Brief?
A case brief is as you may assume, a brief statement of the important pieces of a legal case. The law is built through precedent so the cases that came before truly contain the black letter law. Most law school classes (1L core classes in particular) involve reading vast amounts of cases. One of the best and most widespread ways for you to comprehend these often antiquated and convoluted cases is through case briefing.
A case brief pulls out the important elements of the case: the
issue at stake, the
rule of law established or involved, the
facts of the particular case, related
precedent law, the
rationale of the judges for the rule and the
conclusion of the case.
Case briefing before class is one of the best ways to be prepared for being cold called. Professors will often ask you to state the facts of the case or the issue at stake- if you briefed, you can simply read off of that without stressing about what the answer is. At the beginning of law school, you will often get those core elements incorrect and that is OKAY. The point of the process is to learn to read cases and be able to pick out those elements and it usually does not happen overnight. Just like anything, case briefing gets easier with time and you will improve with steady practice.
How I Case Brief
I have included an example of what my case briefs look like. (I used a fake case... you may recognize the name if you are a fan of Legally Blonde). I always write out a case brief. Some people do "book briefing" which is where they highlight the elements of a case brief within the book in different colors. This works for a lot of people but it did not work for me so I stick with written case briefs for each case in my reading.
I do like to color code my brief sections so that when I get called on in class, I just look for the corresponding color of the information I am seeking. Usually, I type up my case briefs in word so they are all pretty and easy to read and leave big margins and lots of space between elements. I print them out and fill in those big margins with class notes on the case that the professor points out and I add that into my binder with the corresponding notes from that piece of law. As for the elements of the case brief, let's break that down further.
1. Issue
The issue of a case is whatever the case is seeking to resolve through the legal process. Most cases you read in law school are from their appellate decisions so it is issues of law not issues of fact up for argument. When reading a case, look for words like issue or whether which will often point you to the contested issue.
A good example of an issue statement for a case brief is:
Is the government required to notify arrested defendants of their Fifth Amendment constitutional rights against self-incrimination before interrogation? (from Miranda v. Arizona)
2. Rule of Law
The rule of law is the legal manifestation of the decision reached by the court. Every court decision must be based on law. In the United States, we have a common law system so our law comes from precedent (previous cases and decisions). The rule of law will either comply with the precedent law or overrule it to create new law.
The rule of law will be a firm statement of the legal basis for the conclusion the court has reached. I think this is one of the easier parts of a case brief to determine.
An example of a rule of law for a case brief:
Government authorities must inform individuals of their Fifth Amendment constitutional rights prior to interrogation after arrest (also from Miranda v. Arizona)
3. Precedent
Precedent within a case brief is simply the previous cases in this chain of case law. As I said, cases in law school casebooks are usually appellate which means they have been previously tried. Precedent is an explanation of what has already happened in this case that led to it being in front of the appellate court. This is the simplest part of a case brief in my opinion. I can usually get this done in a sentence or two.
4. Facts
Though the most important part of cases is the rule of law and underlying rationale, it is so important to have a solid grasp of the case facts as well. Understanding what happened to give rise to the legal proceedings will help you to understand what factual basis gives rise to certain legal issues and rules of law. The facts section of a case brief should contain only the relevant facts to the issue, rationale, and rule- it should not read like a mystery novel. This should be very brief and kinda dry- leave out the juicy details in favor of a quick and dirty version of what happened. I try to keep the fact section of my case briefs to one paragraph.
5. Rationale or Holding
This is the hardest part of a case brief in my opinion. Why did the court reach the conclusion that they did based on these facts and law? This is the very important why part of a case. This will often involve precedent law on the same issue, the policy purposes behind the relevant law and so much more. This is the part of a case brief that gets easier with lots of practice. It took me quite a lot of reading during my first semester to be able to pinpoint the rationale in a case.
The rationale is also usually the longest part of my case briefs- this is because it is the meat of the case. This is the part of the case that actually makes you understand the why of the decision. Often, there are more than one rationales for the decision and it is important to flesh out all parts that led to the decision and conclusion. My rationale section in my case briefs will usually be a solid paragraph or two.
6. Conclusion
The conclusion of a case brief is simply what the court rules. Did they affirm or overrule? Who did they rule in favor for? This is simple and should be no more than a sentence or two.
Example: The court affirmed the decision of the trial court.
Bonus: Dissent or Concurrence
Sometimes cases will have dissents and concurrences. It is important to jot down some notes on which justice did so and why because it will often be a question from the professor during class.
There it is- a very quick and bare-bones outline of how I brief cases while I am reading cases for class. Everyone has their own style and everyone does things a little different. Use trial and error to figure out exactly what works for you.
