FORMAT FOR CASE BRIEFING 1. NAME OF CASE Put the name of the case at the top of the page so that you will be able to identify the correct brief. 2. FACTS Include a brief statement of the facts of the case. This should include only the important facts. Ask yourself if a particular fact helped to determine the judge's decision. If the answer is yes, include that fact in your brief. Otherwise, omit it in order to keep the length of your brief reasonable. 3. ACTION You should explain what type of lawsuit is involved in the case. Who are the parties to the lawsuit? What type of suit did the plaintiff bring? 4. ISSUE OR QUESTION OF LAW This is a statement of the basic legal question that must be answered so that the court can determine which party should win the lawsuit. Sometimes the judge will state the issue in the opinion. In such a case the brief can quote the formulation of the issue directly from the opinion. In most cases you will need to write your own statement of the issue. The issue should be expressed in the form of a yes or no question. (The textbook we are using this semester states the issue of law for you in each case. You may copy the issue into your brief.) 5. RULE OF LAW This is the legal principal which provides the answer to the question or issue of law. Sometimes the opinion will specifically state the rule; in other cases it will be necessary for you to find a statement of the rule in the discussion in the textbook. 6. REASONING This statement should explain how the court reached its conclusion. The goal is to understand the case by explaining the reasoning through which the court reached its conclusion. You should briefly explain the arguments that the court made to support its decision. 7. CONCLUSION Who won the lawsuit? You should indicate what the court's "bottom-line" decision was. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Here is a case opinion. A sample brief of this case appears following the opinion. NIX v. HEDDEN, 149 U.S. 304 (1893) Supreme Court of the United States Congress had imposed a duty of 10% on all imports of vegetables; no duty was imposed on imports of fruits. The Collector of Customs required the Plaintiff to pay 10% duty on tomatoes imported from the Caribbean. The Plaintiff sued for a refund of the amount he had paid. The trial court upheld the decision of the Collector and denied the Plaintiff’s request for a refund. Mr. Justice GRAY delivered the opinion of the court. The single question in this case is whether tomatoes are to be classed as 'vegetables' or as 'fruit,' within the meaning of the tariff act of 1883. There being no evidence that the words 'fruit' and 'vegetables' have acquired any special meaning in trade or commerce, they must receive their ordinary meaning. Botanically speaking, tomatoes are the fruit of a vine, just as are cucumbers, squashes, beans, and peas. But in the common lang.