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Reading Briefing Cases

Anatomy of a Case. Anatomy of a Case. CitationCase nameSome cases synopsis, head notesNames of attorneys involvedName of judgeThe opinion. Reading

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Reading Briefing Cases

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    1. Reading & Briefing Cases The first assignment - Professor N. M. Rutledge

    2. Anatomy of a Case

    3. Anatomy of a Case Citation Case name Some cases synopsis, head notes Names of attorneys involved Name of judge The opinion

    4. Reading & Analyzing Statutes & Cases Work hard to understand what you’re reading. Become an active reader Do not skip words, read in or misread words. Broaden your vocabulary. If there is a word you do not understand, look it up. Read & re-read material until you are sure you understand it.

    5. Active Reading Reading in law school is hard work and takes time. You must analyze & synthesize material. Analysis – taking a case or statute apart. Case – identify the issue, rule(s) applied, facts the court considered, and the court’s reasoning Synthesis is putting the pieces together.

    6. Active reading = questioning authority “Judge” the cases & statutes you read In other words, don’t accept as true everything you read Judge the soundness of the analysis used by the court, or the choice of words/phrases used by congress. Place statutes & cases into historical, social, economic, political, and legal contexts Understand that cases & statutes can be read in more than one way.

    7. Pointers on Briefing Cases

    8. 1. Read the Case Before taking notes, read the case Be an active reader Ask questions while you’re reading Place yourself in the position of an appellate judge, or an advocate for one side Ask the general journalism questions

    9. Who, What, Where, Why, & How Who are the parties? What happened between the parties? When did it happen? Where did it happen? Why did it happen? How did the event become the basis of litigation?

    10. Other Important Questions What did the court decide? How did the court respond to the lower court’s outcome? Why did the court rule this way?

    11. Why the questions? Your goal is to gain insight into The issues The court’s reasoning And the court’s holding (decision or legal principle)

    12. After You’ve Read the Case Actively, You’re Ready to Brief It

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