"BRIEFING" SUPREME COURT CASES

Purpose: This assignment is designed to bring to the student a greater familiarity with specified cases than can be achieved by reading the predigested material of a casebook. It is also designed to enhance familiarity with the documentary record of the court, improve critical reading skills, and introduce a technique for reading and understanding court cases upon which law students and lawyers depend heavily. For further information see Melone, Researching Constitutional Law (on reserve).

The Brief: Most of the material for American Constitutional law consists of judicial opinions, the intelligent reading of which is both an art and a science. In order to make the critical information more accessible, law students and others who read such opinions regularly will generally evolve some standard format for their notes on a case--these notes are the "brief." You are encouraged to "brief" all the cases we study. There are two ways in which you will be formally encouraged to develop your briefing technique: (1) Use of personal notes will be permitted on quizzes and exams. (2) In the course of the term you will be required to submit two special briefs which will be graded. While you may use any format which pleases you for your personal notes, the graded briefs must adhere to the format which follows.

Please center the title and full citation (with inclusive page numbers) on the top two lines, use the seven labels which appear in italics below, and double-space between sections. See the Model Case Brief for an acceptable example.

Smith v. Allwright

321 U.S. 649-83 (1944)

Facts: The fact pattern (Who did what to whom?) that created a controversy for the court to decide?

Issues: The questions of constitutional or statutory interpretation raised by the case. Legal questions should be stated with precision and capable of being answered "yes" or "no."

Decision and Action: "Decision" asks how the Court decided the questions in the previous section. "Action" asks how the Court disposed of the case.

Opinion of the Court: Which justice wrote the opinion of the court? Which justices joined in the opinion? What are the central arguments in support of the court's decision of each question?

Concurring and Dissenting Opinions: (List each opinion separately.) Which justices concurred? Which dissented? How do these opinions differ from the opinion of the court?

Summary (Holding): An extremely precise and concise statement of the legal principles established by the decision.

Significance: What was the real-world political, social, or economic impact of this decision?

Assignment:

1. Select two of the primary cases for this course. Primary cases are those listed by name in the syllabus with a citation to the U.S. Reports and assigned for your reading from the case book. Limit your case selection to cases decided by the United States Supreme Court, and exclude Baker v. Carr because it has already been briefed as an example in your syllabus. Select at least one case that exceeds 29 pages in the U.S. Reports. See Legal Resources of Russel Cole Library.
2. Read each case in the original and prepare a brief according to the format above.
3. Submit briefs by e-mail attachment, single-spaced, and no longer than 900 words.
4. The first brief is due no later than the second Wednesday of the term. The second is due no later than the fourth Monday. Earlier submissions are encouraged. Indeed, the ideal plan is to impress your instructor twice by selecting a case and preparing your brief in time to make a particularly expert contribution to the discussion in the class for which the case was assigned.