Case Brief Case Study

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In forming a case brief, a legal professional or law student must be able to identify the key areas or elements of a case. These are normal sections of a typical case in no particular order; although many cases will follow some semblance of a “typical” format and make finding these elements less difficult.
Facts: In most cases, the facts are decided at the trial level courts which are the lowest level and most familiar courts people use verses the intermediate or appellate level or the high court’s such as the Supreme Court. The facts are what happened pertaining to the case. An example would be Harry demanded Bob pay the debt owed in a letter sent on July 5th, 2012. While facts can be disputed at trial court level, a judge or jury decides …show more content…

Usually seen more in an appellate decision or higher, the procedural history states where the case began and how it has proceeded to the level it is currently being heard. This often comes at the beginning of an opinion or decision especially an appellate court decision where the Judge delivering the opinion gives almost an abstract with disposition up front. An example of this is Safer v. Estate of Pack (1996) with the opinion being delivered by Judge Kestin starting with: “Plaintiffs appeal from the trial court 's order dismissing their complaint and denying their cross-motion for partial summary judgment as to liability only. We reverse that portion of the order dismissing the complaint and affirm the denial of plaintiffs ' motion.”
Issue(s): In an appeal, the facts (as noted above) are usually considered settled at the lower trial courts. Appellate courts and High Courts (also known as “courts of last resort”) decide “issues” pertaining to the application of laws and rules to a particular fact or set of facts. As stated on the USCourts.gov, the role of appeals courts are to “…determine whether or not the law was applied correctly in the trial court.” They also settle the constitutionality of legislation enacted where standing exists from an injured party. These are the “issues” the court must

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