Selection of Case – You will select one case from the list of Supreme Court cases summarized in our textbook. Some cases are major turning points in case law and others are important because of the presence of a specific factual issue or development.

You should use your course textbook to do your initial preview of your case options. When you identify one or two cases of interest, you should then locate and review the full case using the Westlaw Campus Research database available through the UWG Library website.

Structure of Case Brief: Use the following format in preparing your case brief:

● Title and Citation: List name of case, citation listed in text, and the year.

● Procedural History: Briefly describe the history of the case by stating the state in which the case originated, any previous appellate court to which the appeal was sent, any subsequent appellate courts, and end with the court that decided the case for which you are writing the brief.

● Summary of Facts: The facts will be summarized in the court’s ruling, and sometimes will appear in the textbook.  Just provide a brief overview of the facts, enough that a person understands that major scenario underlying the case.  

● Issue(s): The ruling, as well as our textbook, will usually state the issues before the court.  Select the relevant issues and list them in one sentence or question each. For example, in a criminal case, what statute is alleged to have been violated.  Or in a civil case, what are the allegations in the complaint?

● Holding/Rule of Law: The court’s holding in the case may be distilled down to one word – affirmed, reversed, affirmed in part and reversed in part, or remanded.  Despite this, you should state what the holding means in one sentence.  For example, don’t just write “affirmed,” but rather “Affirmed.  The statute is void for vagueness.”  Or “Reversed. The defendant’s use of the copyrighted work was a fair use.” Your textbook may help you here if you get confused identifying the issue within the text of the ruling itself.  

● Opinion/Reasoning/Rationale: This may be the most challenging part of writing a case brief.  This is the court’s extended explanation for reaching its decision in this particular case.  Ask yourself, WHY did the court rule as it did.  It is not sufficient to restate the court’s conclusion, such as: “The court ruled that the statement was libelous because all the required elements were proven and the plaintiff proved it was published with actual malice.”   Your case brief should discuss the specific facts from the case, along with the relevant law, that the court argued was crucial in reaching its ruling.  You will have to read the full case, especially the court’s reasoning, several times to be clear enough about this to summarize it in your case brief.  

● Concurring Opinion(s) [summarize if present]: This is an opinion where one or more judges agree with the majority holding, but believe that it is justified by a different rationale. List the judges/justices who joined in the concurring opinion, if available.

● Dissenting Opinion(s) [summarize if present]: Opinion where judge or judges disagree with the majority opinion.  Summarize and list judges/justices who joined in the dissenting opinion, if available.

● Relevance of this Ruling: Provide a few sentences on the following: Why is/was this case important?  What is its relevance today? If talking to a person on the street, how would you explain the significance of this case in “common language.”  Feel free to use outside resources for insights on the ongoing significance of your case.