8: Case Briefing - Put it all Together

Step 1: Write the complete citation of the decision you are briefing.

The complete and proper citation for the case goes at the top of your brief. It will include the name of the case (italicized), followed by a citation of all the reporters in which the case is found. In Wisconsin, this would always include the Wisconsin Reports (Wis. or Wis. 2d) and the Northwestern Reporter (N.W. or N.W.2d). Depending on when the case was decided, you’d also have either a public domain citation or a date parenthetical. If you’re unsure of the proper citation form, use your Bluebook.

Step 2: Put the case brief components in the correct order.

Remember, this is the case briefing structure we use in this class. Components 2-8 are labeled within the brief.

1. Complete citation of the case being briefed
2. Procedural history
3. Applicable statutes
4. Issues
5. Holdings
6. Facts
7. Reasoning
8. Disposition

Step 3: Check the case brief components for accuracy and completeness.

Revision is an important part of excellent legal writing. Re-read the court decision first. Then, review each component of your brief to make sure what you wrote in your brief accurately reflects the reviewing court’s decision. Some common errors to avoid in each component:

• Procedural History

☹ failing to adequately identify the parties involved in the appeal with unique names and with their party designations (plaintiff, defendant, appellant, respondent, petitioner).

☹ failing to describe the procedural action that is being appealed (motion granted, motion denied, judgment entered, etc.).

☹ including what the reviewing court did in its decision.

• Applicable Statute(s)

☹ writing the reviewing court’s interpretation of the statute(s) rather than the actual statutory language.

☹ failing to use quotation marks when copying/pasting the actual statutory language.

☹ failing to include all statutes related to the legal standard identified in your Issue section.

☹ failing to include the complete citation of the statute(s).

• Issue(s)

☹ writing the legal standard too broadly (is someone liable, guilty, responsible, etc.) rather than focusing on the word or phrase being interpreted and applied.

☹ failing to include a list of legally significant facts related to the legal standard.

☹ including facts in the Issue section that are not also included in the Facts section.

• Holding(s)

☹ failing to start with yes/no (based on how the reviewing court answered the question in its decision).

☹ inaccurately answering the issue(s) yes/no (based on how the reviewing court answered the question in its decision).

☹ adding explanations or other information to your holding(s) not contained in your issue(s).

• Facts

☹ omitting legally significant facts, especially when they weren’t included in the reviewing court’s “background” or “facts” section of its decision.

☹ omitting contextual facts that help the reader understand what happened to the parties involved in the appeal – especially facts that are similar to your client’s facts.

☹ including procedural information (for example, what the trial court did with the case).

☹ including legal conclusions (don’t answer the question in the legal standard or make a statement that the legal standard’s requirements were met or not met).

☹ including the parties’ legal arguments.

• Reasoning

☹ failing to include the statutory language that forms the basis of the legal standard.

☹ failing to fully explain the interpretation tools used by the reviewing court.

☹ failing to expressly state the reviewing court’s interpretation/definition of the word or phrases in the legal standard.

☹ failing to describe in detail the legally significant facts to which the reviewing court applied the legal standard.

☹ including facts in the Reasoning section that are not also included in the Facts section.

☹ failing to include a conclusion at the end of the reasoning section.

Step 4: Check the case brief components for internal consistency.

After making any necessary revisions in Step 3, you want to make sure your brief is internally consistent structurally, grammatically, and substantively. Some items to check:

• Do you have the same number of Issues, Holdings, and Reasoning sections?
• Is there a one-for-one correlation between each Issue, Holding, and Reasoning Section (that is, do Issue 1, Holding 1, and Reasoning 1 all address the same legal standard)?
• Do you use the same numbering system across the Issues, Holdings, and Reasoning sections?
• Are the verb tenses consistent across all Issues, Holdings, and Reasoning sections (past tense or present tense)?
• Are the names/nouns/pronouns consistent across all Issues, Holdings, and Reasoning sections (plural nouns or singular nouns, for example)?
• Do the legal standards at the beginning of each Reasoning section match the Issue to which they relate?
• Do the conclusions at the end of each Reasoning section match the yes/no in the Holding to which they relate?

Step 5: Proofread the entire brief.

Don’t let things like improper citation form, errors in writing mechanics (including grammar, punctuation, capitalization), or spelling errors ruin an otherwise great case brief! Run spell-checker – slowly and carefully! Then put the case brief aside for a while (at least an hour); after that, run “dumb-checker” – consider slowly and carefully reading your case brief out loud.

Briefing cases might not come easily to you at first. That’s OK! Your comfort level with the skills involved in briefing a case will increase the more you practice them.

Click here to see the completed Miller v. Thomack case brief.

CHECKLIST FOR DRAFTING THE CASE BRIEF

Use the checklist below to help you write your case brief.  Or use access the interactive version.  Checklist for Drafting The Case Brief.docx

Citation of case: