Briefing Form

For each case, determine the core question or issue that led the court to decide the case in favor of one party or the other. Then determine how the course answered that question: this is the court’s “holding.” What was the court’s reasoning or rationale for its holding? If you treat the holding as a conclusion, what basic legal principle did the court rely in its rationale. This principle is the Rule of the Case or the ratio decidendi.

Finally, after determining all of the above elements of the opinion, give a short (“brief”) description of the basic facts of the case that the court used to explain its reasoning. You should select your facts last, not first.

Question/Issue:_____________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________

Answer/Holding:___________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rule/Ratio Decidendi/Major Premise: _________________________________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________________________

Minor Premise(s)—the facts that directly relate to the elements of the rule: __________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Conclusion/Holding—same holding as above: __________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Facts relevant to the issue and holding: __________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________