Theoretical overview
The Components of a Case A court uses the following components in case law:
- Procedural History
- Facts Issue(s)
- Rule(s) of Law
- Reasoning/Analysis
- Holding(s) and the Court’s Order
You should use these components when you brief, or summarize, case law. As you read case law, try to identify each of the six components. This identification process slows your reading, but it helps you stay focused on what you are reading and what you should be looking for as you read case law. The key is to read wisely and try to read a case only one time. For each paragraph, you should be able to list one or more of the components in the margin. If you cannot, go back and reread the paragraph.
As you summarize a case, use these components as the headings for the section in your summary.
The Components
Procedural History
This information is usually located near the beginning of the case. This is sometimes called “judicial history.” The Court explains how the case worked its way to this court. Many cases begin in a trial court, and then move on to appeal. Most of the “reported cases” are appellate cases. Trial court decisions are usually not printed. If you have trouble tracing the procedural history, try listing the previous court proceedings in a time-line format.
Facts
The facts are at the core of all cases. Your initial focus should be on the facts. It often helps to think about the facts in light of what happened before this matter became part of a judicial proceeding. When writing the facts section of a case brief, tell a story about people before the initial trial. Courts often provide much more factual detail than you need to place into a case brief. Remember, a case brief is a summary of the case. The Court usually places the facts very near the beginning of the decision.
Issues
The issue, and there may be several, is the question before this Court, that is, the Court writing the decision. It is important to remember that the issue on appeal is not the same as the issue presented to the lower court. For example, at the trial court level the issue may involve the guilt or innocence of a defendant. On appeal, the issue could involve a question of judicial error, but the issue on appeal will not involve the factual finding of guilt or innocence. In other words, did the judge make an error that must be corrected on appeal? Now, that said, there will be times when unusual issues move up on appeal, but this is a good starting point for your understanding of legal issues.
Rule of Law
The rules are the law used by the Court. Rules usually originate in primary sources of law, such as the Constitution, statutes, rules or regulations, and case law. The rules are applied to the facts of a case. The Court usually goes to great lengths to make sure readers understand exactly why a certain outcome was reached. A rule of thumb: When you read a paragraph containing law, it is probably an Analysis paragraph. The rule sets out the legal test the court uses to make a decision.
Reasoning/Analysis
This is the core of case law. The reasoning or analysis component is very important. Analysis is usually the lengthy component of a decision. A court explains its reasoning using the key facts and the relevant law. In our legal system, case law builds upon case law. Readers of case law must understand why a court reached a specific decision. A court’s analysis combines:
• Key facts
• Law
• The court’s explanation
Writing a case brief is really nothing more than following a formula. If you stick to the formula, you should be successful.
Remember, readers have expectations. It is best to avoid surprise or confusion.
- A reader must understand which facts are most important or key.
- A reader must understand which law was relied upon or followed by the court.
- A reader must understand the court’s reasoning.
The reasoning of a court is at the center of every decision.
Holding and the Court’s Order
The holding states the court’s conclusion or decision on the particular legal issue. When you summarize the holding, try to keep it very concise. After the decision about the legal issue, the court either takes some action or orders another court to take some action.
Presentation of the case
Case briefing or summarising a case is a way of presenting it in a systematic manner which aids in determining the most relevant facts of the case and the decision made by the bench in a particular way. But, more often, we fail to include other important portions of a case.
1. Mention the proper case title and the citation in your case summary
Title:
A proper title is must when you write case summaries. The title of the case shows who is opposing whom. ‘v./vs’ should separate the 2 parties in a case.
Citation:
Citation of the case helps the reader to find the full judgement. There are various ways to cite an article. You can read about them, here.
2. Name of the court, name of the judges and the parties to the case
Name of Court:
It can be Supreme Court, High Court, etc.
Judges:
he ones who wrote the judgement.
Parties:
The title of the case tells you the names of the parties to the case. The party that initiates a legal action is the plaintiff. The other party is ‘Defendant’. At times, they may be referred as ‘petitioners’ and ‘respondent’.
‘In case of appeal, the plaintiff is referred as ‘appellant’.
3. Brief Facts
What were the facts of the Case? Determine precisely which facts can be excluded from the case summary. Facts with unnecessary detail must be removed. Briefly summarize the facts of the case. Facts are the “who, when, what, where, and why” of the case. Describe the history of the dispute, including the events that led to the lawsuit, the legal claims and defenses of each party, and what happened in the trial court. Do not merely copy the facts verbatim; not every detail is important. Instead, include only the relevant facts. To decide which facts are relevant, ask yourself whether a particular fact was important to the court’s decision. If the answer is yes, include that fact in your brief. You can also ask yourself whether the court’s decision may have been different if a particular fact was omitted or changed. If so, then it is important. You should also look for facts that are repeated at least once in the court’s opinion since these tend to be legally relevant. Further, statement of facts should set out the nature of the litigation, parties involved, cause of action, relevant laws or key words involved and the course of decision through lower court/s to the present court. The ‘fact section’ of a good case 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.
- A summary of actions taken by the lower courts, for example: defendant convicted; conviction upheld by appellate court; Supreme Court granted certiorari
Issues involved
What were the important issues in the case? On what points a particular case came before the court to decide?
Try to identify the issues or questions judges explicitly set apart to discuss and decide upon. The issue is a statement of the question of law that the court must answer in order to decide which party should win. A case may involve more than one issue. Sometimes the court will directly state the issue in the opinion. If so, then you can quote the court’s statement of the issue in your brief. In most cases, however, you will need to write your own statement of the issue. The issue should be expressed in the form of a question that can be answered “yes” or “no”. To ensure that your issue statements are written in the form of a question, begin them with “whether,” “did,” “can,” “does,” “is,” etc.
5. Important Arguments
What were the contentions of Petitioners and Respondents? Here you list out all the contentions raised by both the parties to prove their points.
6. Judgment
Based on the contentions, what did the bench decide? Give briefs points on the same. 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?
7. Present status of the judgment
Whether the judgement is still applicable or over-ruled?
8. Include other opinions
Concurring and dissenting opinions are included in a casebook when they present an interesting alternative analysis of the case. Therefore, you should describe the analysis in your case brief. It will help you see the case in a different light.
Points to remember
- Procedural History : This information is usually located near the beginning of the case. This is sometimes called “judicial history.” The Court explains how the case worked its way to this court. Many cases begin in a trial court, and then move on to appeal.
- The facts are at the core of all cases. Your initial focus should be on the facts.
- It is important to remember that the issue on appeal is not the same as the issue presented to the lower court.
- The rules are the law used by the Court. Rules usually originate in primary sources of law, such as the Constitution, statutes, rules or regulations, and case law. The rules are applied to the facts of a case..
- The reasoning or analysis component is very important. Analysis is usually the lengthy component of a decision. A court explains its reasoning using the key facts and the relevant law.
- The holding states the court’s conclusion or decision on the particular legal issue. When you summarize the holding, try to keep it very concise.
