HOW TO BRIEF A CASE

“Or waste the 1st class of term on something that everybody already knows to do”
WHY BRIEF CASES?
 Fundamental to your learning and appreciation of how the law develops and
is applied

 Necessary Lexicon and skill in crafting and presenting arguments

 Summaries do not give the bigger and important(er) picture

 Grow as advocate (hint hint QC, SC, KIA)

 Because Miss Kohler says so (most important reason)

TYPES OF BRIEF
 Standard Classroom

 Bullet Point Brief

 Mini – Brief

 One-line Brief

 Book-Brief
Parts of a Brief
 Case Name and Year

 Procedural Basis

 Facts

 Issue

 Decision: Rule; Rationale for the rule,

 Application of the rule to the given facts/law

 Conclusion

 Analysis
First Step
 Read case until finally understand what its saying

 Interrupt your reading –look up difficult words,(only english ones, the latin
ones you can guess), statute, article mentioned

 Put Case in context- what’s the topic, then sub-topic- case falls under and
why should u spend valuable whatsapping/fb/ lyming minutes reading it?
CASE NAME AND YEAR
 Who carry who to the Appellate Court?

 Are the designations original? (Appellant, Applicant, Respondent?)

 When did this happen? (1975- year of the dinosaurs)…how is it relevant

today?
Procedural Basis
 Matter:

 is being heard in which Court?

 Which Court came from?

 By which Method or process it got there?

 Which of the appealable ground (s) is being relied on?

Procedural Basis
 Type of Action- ‘why parties in court in the 1st place’ – Prosecution for
Murder

 Type of Relief- ‘What is the court being asked to do’- Quash conviction

 Type of Procedure- ‘what had been the result of the earlier hearing’- Appeal
from conviction for murder b4 Kohler J and a jury’

 Type of Appeal- Status of party seeking the court’s opinion’ – Appellant-right

of Appeal, Applicant-requires permission
FACTS
 What transpired between the parties that resulted in the court action

 Operative bits that drive the case

 Enough facts so that understand the problem being resolved ; no surprises

by reader at the end of brief

 Helpful Hint: what topic-sub topic case fall under, facts must raise the issue
AND illustrate the reason for the decision

 Generally; rules of law not part of facts UNLESS they are what is in issue.
ISSUE (o/c what students love the most!)
 You know what it is , must just work on how to frame it in one sentence

 Can usually answer the issue YES or NO

 Should be framed as a legal question**- It describes legal problem court

must resolve.

 Do not state issue too narrowly as must be of application in similar cases

 The answer to the issue is what creates the Rule of Law

ISSUE

 Why are both sides disagreeing? And need a court to resolve the problem?

 Formula – Contention A + Contention B + Given Facts = Issue = Legal

Principle
DECISION [Rule of Law]
 Easy as it’s the Yes or No answer to your issue

 Decision is a Rule of Law

DECISION – [Rationale- the ‘but why’ ans]
 Why did the court decide as it did?

 Consider questions such as;

 What the law is, what the law ought to be

 Rejecting/accepting particular views and why?

 Effect of application in different scenarios

 Factors tribunal considered un/important

 What court believed fair

DECISION – Application-
 Formula; Rule of Law applied to Facts

 Demonstrates the facts court considered important

 Summarize the connection between facts and the Rule of Law

CONCLUSION
 Ultimate Outcome of the case

 The final resolution

 Usually at foot of case and consist of a few words

 Eg: Conviction affirmed; Conviction quashed, sentence varied…

ANALYSIS (o/c What Ms Kohler likes the
most)
 Importance of case

 Why was this particular case included in the reading?

 Consider background/ history of the law?

 Accuracy or correctness of judges’ opinion?

 What is the effect of the case on common law, statute?

 Implication of rule of law on society?

ANALYSIS CONT’D
 Does the Case;

 Introduce or appear to introduce, a new principle or a new rule of law

 Materially modify an existing principle or rule

 Settle or materially tend to settle a question upon which the law is doubtful

 For any reason is peculiarly instructive

MINI-BRIEF
 Instant Facts

 Black Letter Rule

 Rationale
High Court Case Summaries on Criminal Law

 https://books.google.com.jm/books?
id=lkfaCgAAQBAJ&pg=PP1&lpg=PP1&dq=high+court+case+summari
es+criminal+law&source=bl&ots=BcU6yRZmL0&sig=mOrjazwi9zgkM
t-XSCkIw2EQ2ZM&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiM4rjtsrLOAhVV-
2MKHYteCp8Q6AEISzAH#v=onepage&q=high%20court%20case
%20summaries%20criminal%20law&f=false
CONCURRENCIES AND DISSENTS
 Whatever majority decides becomes law

 Concurrent Judgment- judge agrees with the outcome, but has a

different(additional) rationale from the majority why that is the correct
outcome.

 Dissenting Judgment- judge disagrees with with both the outcome and the
rationale and posits her own view as to both