Reference no: EM133195211

Case Brief Project

A) Case Brief: You will be assigned a case during the second week in class. If you have completed the 5 areas of topical interest in Week 1, chosen, that will be used as input to assign a case to you. You will then research and prepare a written presentation according to the format below. The written presentation is a 25-point assignment.

B) Research: You are welcome to use any website to research your case and borrow from them significantly. However, you must cite any website from which you "borrowed" more than three words; there will be point deductions if you use a website and do not disclose it on your brief. By no means is your research combined to just "legal" websites, but some of the most popular legal websites from which students have found information on the cases are:

If you borrow from a website, you have to understand it. So if it refers to other cases, and you write it in your brief, you will be held to an understanding of what you wrote- which means that you may have to understand the other case. So, for instance, if your case involves "zoning" you must understand from your research what zoning means.

Information is freely available online, and Dr. Jack is also a resource for you if you do not understand something.

C) Organization and Rubrics: The written presentation should be completed as follows:

Part 1) Case citation: this will include where the case can be found in the law library and the year; see example from Miranda v. Arizona, below (1 point if fully completed).

Part 2) Facts: Brief facts of the underlying dispute (usually found in the first few paragraphs of the majority opinion or on one of the websites; this is the factual situation of the dispute itself and its procedural history before it gets to the Supreme Court) (2 points if fully completed). Material can be sourced from the trusted websites listed above if proper attribution is given.

Part 3) Issue: What was the issue before the court? This is what they were deciding; should include the constitutional issue or provision over which they had to deliberate. (2 points if addressed completely). Material can be sourced from the trusted websites listed above if proper attribution is given.

Part 4) Holding: What was the holding of the case? (What is the final ruling of the court)? This should include how they resolved the constitutional issue. (2 points if addressed completely.) Material can be sourced from the trusted websites listed above if proper attribution is given.

Part 5) Court opinion school: What "school of jurisprudence" does it appear that the majority opinion represents and why? This must be drawn from the reasoning provided in the opinion, not just the result. Our slides in Week 1 outline the different schools of jurisprudence, and they are covered in your textbook as well. This should be one paragraph. (3 points if addressed completely-1 point for identifying a school we have discussed, 1 point for defining that school, and a third point for your back-up "proof" to show that is that school; a quote or two from the opinion that supports the definition for the school is the strongest support).

Part 6) Dissenting opinion school: What "school of jurisprudence" does it appear that the dissenting opinion represents and why? This must be drawn from the reasoning provided in the opinion, not just the result. If there is no dissenting opinion, find criticism of the case on the internet and how that could be interpreted to a "school of jurisprudence" (3 points if addressed completely-1 point for identifying a school we have discussed, 1 point for defining that school, and a third point for your back- up "proof" to show that is that school; a quote or two from the opinion that supports the definition for the school is the strongest support).

Part 7) Opinion: Do you agree with the utilization of the school of the Court or the dissent and why? This should be one paragraph, (3 points if addressed completely--1 point for identifying with one of the schools, another point with describing why this kind of case should have utilized that school, and an additional point for identifying why the other opinion's school was inappropriate to this case).

Part 8) Significance: What is the significance of this case to us in our daily lives today? This should be one paragraph. (4 points if addressed completely-2 points for discussing what the holding means for similar situations today, and 2 points for discussing the impact the holding has on our society beyond the limited set of facts upon which the holding is based.)