Judicial Opinions Overview: After the simulation, justices write judicial opinions in reaction to the oral argument, merits briefs, conference, and draft opinions as well as the facts of the case, Constitution, and case law. Justices circulate drafts so they know how their colleagues plan to rule and why, and so they can respond to one another in their final judicial opinion draft. Instructions: You are a Supreme Court justice preparing an opinion for announcement. Read the case materials: case hypothetical, merits briefs, and judicial opinion drafts of your colleagues, and review your notes from oral argument and conference. Write a majority opinion resolving the major legal question in light of the facts of the case, Constitution, and case law, as well as all case materials: merits briefs, oral argument, and the views of your colleagues (in conference and draft opinions). Opinions must support an argument, refute counterarguments, and respond to attorneys (oral argument and/or merits briefs), and fellow justices (conference and/or draft opinions). Opinions should contain the following five elements, in the following order: 1. an introductory statement of the nature, procedural posture, and prior result of the case; 2. a statement of the issues to be decided; 3. a statement of the material facts; 4. a discussion of the governing legal principles and resolution of the issues; and 5. the disposition and necessary instructions. Each of these is developed further below. Assessment: Complete opinions must support an argument, refute counterarguments, and respond to attorneys (oral argument and/or merits briefs), and fellow justices (conference and/or draft opinions). Strong opinions will be well organized, logically argued, and well supported through reference to and explanation of Supreme Court decisions and legal principles. Assessment rests on how well you make use of, identify, and explain relevant course material. It also rests on staying in character and not diverging from your justice’s political ideology and/or judicial philosophy. Introduction The purpose of the Introduction is to orient the reader to the case. It should state briefly what the case is about, the legal subject matter, and the result. It may also cover some or all of the following: 1. The parties: The parties should be identified, if not in the Introduction, then early in the opinion, preferably by name, and names should be used consistently throughout. (The use of legal descriptions, such as “appellant” and “appellee,” tends to be confusing, especially in multi-party cases.) 2. The procedural and jurisdictional status: relevant prior proceedings, and how the case got before the court should be outlined. Statement of issues The statement of issues is the cornerstone of the opinion; how the issues are formulated determines which facts are material and what legal principles govern. Judges should not be bound by the attorneys’.

1. Judicial Opinions
Overview: After the simulation, justices write judicial opinions
in reaction to the oral argument, merits briefs, conference, and
draft opinions as well as the facts of the case, Constitution, and
case law. Justices circulate drafts so they know how their
colleagues plan to rule and why, and so they can respond to one
another in their final judicial opinion draft.
Instructions: You are a Supreme Court justice preparing an
opinion for announcement. Read the case materials: case
hypothetical, merits briefs, and judicial opinion drafts of your
colleagues, and review your notes from oral argument and
conference. Write a majority opinion resolving the major legal
question in light of the facts of the case, Constitution, and case
law, as well as all case materials: merits briefs, oral argument,
and the views of your colleagues (in conference and draft
opinions). Opinions must support an argument, refute
counterarguments, and respond to attorneys (oral argument
and/or merits briefs), and fellow justices (conference and/or
draft opinions).
Opinions should contain the following five elements, in the
following order:
1. an introductory statement of the nature, procedural posture,
and prior result of the case;
2. a statement of the issues to be decided;
3. a statement of the material facts;
4. a discussion of the governing legal principles and resolution
of the issues; and
5. the disposition and necessary instructions.
Each of these is developed further below.

2. Assessment: Complete opinions must support an argument,
refute counterarguments, and respond to attorneys (oral
argument and/or merits briefs), and fellow justices (conference
and/or draft opinions). Strong opinions will be well organized,
logically argued, and well supported through reference to and
explanation of Supreme Court decisions and legal principles.
Assessment rests on how well you make use of, identify, and
explain relevant course material. It also rests on staying in
character and not diverging from your justice’s political
ideology and/or judicial philosophy.
Introduction
The purpose of the Introduction is to orient the reader to the
case. It should state briefly what the case is about, the legal
subject matter, and the result. It may also cover some or all of
the following:
1. The parties: The parties should be identified, if not in the
Introduction, then early in the opinion, preferably by name, and
names should be used consistently throughout. (The use of legal
descriptions, such as “appellant” and “appellee,” tends to be
confusing, especially in multi-party cases.)
2. The procedural and jurisdictional status: relevant prior
proceedings, and how the case got before the court should be
outlined.
Statement of issues
The statement of issues is the cornerstone of the opinion; how
the issues are formulated determines which facts are material
and what legal principles govern. Judges should not be bound
by the attorneys’ analyses; they should state the issues as they
see them, even if this differs from how the lawyers state them.

3. That an issue has been raised by the parties does not mean that
it must be addressed in the opinion if it is not material to the
outcome of the case. The statement of issues should be brief.
Statement of facts
In a single-issue case, the facts can be set forth in one section
early in the opinion. Only the facts that are necessary to explain
the decision should be included. Excessive factual detail can be
distracting. Dates, for example, tend to confuse readers and
should not be included unless they are material to the decision
or helpful to its understanding. Although brevity and simplicity
are always desirable, they are secondary to the need for a full
and fair fact statement. Facts significant to the losing side
should not be omitted. Above all, the statement of facts must be
accurate. The judge should not assume that the facts recited in
the parties’ briefs are stated correctly.
Discussion of legal principles
The discussion of legal principles is the heart of the opinion. It
must demonstrate that the court’s conclusion is based on reason
and logic. It should convince the reader of the correctness of the
decision by the power of its reasoning, not by advocacy or
argument. The judge must deal with contrary authorities and
opposing arguments, and must confront the issues squarely and
deal with them forthrightly. Although the opinion need not
address every case and contention, the discussion of legal
principles must be sufficient to demonstrate to the losing party
that the court has fully considered the essentials of its position.
An opinion should address only the issues that need to be
resolved to decide the case. However, judges must be careful
not to decide issues that are not before them and to avoid
advisory opinions and unnecessary expressions of views that
may tie the court’s hands in a future case.

4. Rationale
This section consists of a detailed explanation of the rationale
for the holding. Some of this will be a restatement of some of
the arguments laid out in the previous section. What justifies
your decision? Why is the law stronger on this side than the
other? How do you respond to the arguments of the other side?
Disposition and instructions
Disposition of a case—and the mandate to the lower court or
agency, when that is a part of the disposition—is the most
important part of the concluding paragraph. Opinions must spell
out clearly what the lower courts or agencies are expected to do,
without trespassing on what remains entrusted to their
discretion. Thus, even if an abuse of discretion is found, the
appellate court’s decision is on the law, and the lower court or
agency on remand retains the authority to exercise its discretion
properly.
(Adapted from Judicial Writing Manual: A Pocket Guide for
Judges Second Edition Federal Judicial Center 2013)/
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Federation of Tobacco Growers, Manufacturers, and Sellers v.
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, ___ U.S. __ (2022)
Opinion of [Sotomayor, J.] (student name)
(Note: anything in brackets [ ] is an explanation. Your opinion
should not have brackets.)

5. Introduction
The case,
Federation of Tobacco Growers, Manufacturers, and
Sellers v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, was
brought before the Supreme Court on appeal by the Petitioner,
Federation of Tobacco Growers, Manufacturers, and Sellers,
seeking reversal of the decision of the 14th Circuit Court of
Appeals.
Statement of Issues
This Court has been tasked with assessing whether [issue 1]…
Additionally, Petitioner has asked the Court to determine
whether [issue 2]….
Statement of Facts
Lay out the facts of this case that are necessary to explain the
issues and the decision. Don’t leave out detail that is critical to
the decision, but do not include detail that isn’t directly
relevant.
Discussion of Legal Principles
On the matter of…, the Petitioner argues … [detailed
explanation of argument and the legal principles it’s based on,
such as constitutional provisions, cases, and statutes].
The Respondent argues … [detailed explanation of argument
and the legal principles it’s based on, such as constitutional
provisions, cases, and statutes].
We hold … [holding]. [Each Justice writes their own opinion as
if they were speaking for the entire Court, therefore “we” is
appropriate.]
Rationale
[Detailed explanation of the rationale for the holding. Some of
this will be a restatement of some of the arguments laid out in
the previous section. What justifies your decision? Why is the
law stronger on this side than the other? How do you respond to
the arguments of the other side?]
Conclusion

6. [Summary of the rationale provided above.]
The decision of the lower court is hereby
[AFFIRMED/REVERSED].
(Note: in reality, when a decision is reversed it is sometimes
also remanded, meaning it’s sent back to the lower court to
make additional findings on specific issues. Remanding will not
be an option for you in this case. Courts may also affirm in part
and reverse in part, which is also not an option here.)