Case Briefing And Legal Study Tips To Get The Most From This

Case Briefing And Legal Study Tipsto Gain The Most From This Textbook

Case Briefing and Legal Study Tips To gain the most from this textbook, you should learn how to study written material effectively. You can achieve effective study through use of the SQ3R method, a method widely taught by study-skills psychologists for learning textual material. SQ3R stands for survey, question, read, recite, and review. As a study method, it has dramatically improved the grade-point averages of most students who have practiced it. It is based upon the concept that active study of written material improves memory and comprehension of information far better than passive reading.

Unfortunately, many students have not recognized the difference between active study and mere passive reading. Students often read a textbook chapter exactly as they would read a novel or a magazine article. They begin with the first sentence of the chapter and read straight through the material, pausing only to underline occasionally. This way of reading may be suitable for a novel, but it is quite inappropriate for a textbook. Psychologists insist that an active study method must begin with a survey of the material to be read.

If you plan to spend two hours studying a 30-page chapter, take three to five minutes in the beginning and survey the chapter. First, read the bold-type section headings (each chapter of this book is divided into numbered sections). Second, read a sentence or two from the text of each section. The purpose of this survey is to familiarize you with the topics covered in the chapter. Fight the tendency to stop your surveying process in order to comprehend all of the concepts you are surveying.

Comprehension is not the goal of surveying. Following the survey of all the sections, go back to the beginning of the chapter: Ask yourself a question before reading each section. Ask it aloud, if possible, but silently if circumstances demand. The important thing is actually to “talk to yourself.” Normally, each section heading can easily be turned into a question. If the section heading reads Stare Decisis, ask yourself the question, “What does stare decisis mean?” Only after asking a question are you finally ready to read a chapter section.

In reading, keep your question in mind. By so doing, you will be reading for a purpose: To discover the answer to your question. Upon finishing each section, stop and recite the answer to your question. As an example, at the end of the section on stare decisis, say to yourself, “Stare decisis refers to the legal tradition that a judge in a given case will follow the precedent established in similar cases decided by courts in the jurisdiction.” According to psychologists, to recite this way greatly aids memory. Recitation also lets you know whether or not you have understood the material just read.

The last step of the SQ3R method is review. When devoting two hours to the study of a chapter, take the final 15 minutes of the time to review the material. Review the questions taken from the headings of each chapter section and recite the answers to them, rereading material if necessary to answer accurately. A CASE BRIEFING SYSTEM Although the SQ3R method may be used effectively to study any subject, the case briefing system is uniquely designed to aid in the study of court decisions. In studying law, students frequently write up case briefs of each decision they read.

Whether you are required to write up every decision is up to your individual instructor. However, the case briefing system provides an excellent framework for comprehending complicated judicial reasoning processes, and you should brief cases whether required to do so or not. To avoid getting lost in a maze of judicial terminology, you should ask yourself a standard set of questions about each case decision and read to discover the answers to these questions. These standard questions lie at the heart of the case briefing system. They are as follows: 1. Who is the plaintiff and who is the defendant? 2. What are the facts of the case? (Who did what to whom? What is the behavior complained of?) 3. Did the plaintiff or the defendant win in the lower court(s), and which party is appealing? (All decisions in this textbook come from appellate courts.) 4. What was the legal issue or issues appealed? 5. Does the plaintiff or the defendant win on the appeal? 6. What rules of law and reasoning does the appellate court use in deciding the issue?

Here is an illustration of a written case brief. It is a brief of the first case in the textbook, which you can find in Chapter 3 Case 3.1. Before looking at the brief, you should now read that case. An important part of law requires you to learn new vocabulary. To understand the case you read, you need to know several new Appendix I terms.

You can find the terms in the glossary of this textbook, but to make it easier, we will define several new terms for you: appellant The losing party at the district court level. appellee The prevailing party in the district court who is responding to the appellant. appeal To ask a higher court to decide whether an inferior court (e.g., trial court) made a legal mistake in its decision; also to ask a higher court to review (decide) the case. dissent To disagree with both the result and the legal reasoning of the majority opinion. opinion The court’s decision in a case. petitioner The losing party in the court of appeals who asks (i.e., “petitionsâ€) the Supreme Court to decide whether the lower court made a mistake. respondent The prevailing party in the court of appeals who is responding to the petitioner. reversed What an appeals court says when it disagrees with the court beneath it. If it agrees with the lower court, it says “affirmed.”

CASE BRIEF National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, 567 U.S. __, 132 S. Ct. (2012) How do I read this citation? · “National Federation of Independent Business†refers to the petitioner. · “v†means versus or against. · “Sebelius†refers to the respondent. · 567 is the volume number of the official U.S. Supreme Court Reporter, and __ refers to the page number where the case begins (once it is assigned a page number). The date, 2012, is the year when the case was decided.

Facts Twenty-six states, several individuals, and the National Federation of Independent Business (plaintiffs) brought this action against the federal Health and Human Services, Treasury, and Labor departments and their Secretaries (defendants), in federal district court, challenging the constitutionality of two aspects of the Affordable Care Act: the individual mandate and the expansion to Medicaid. Procedural History This case was brought in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida. The District Court granted summary judgment to the defendants on the claim that the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medicaid was unconstitutional. Because the court concluded that the individual mandate provision exceeded congressional authority and was not severable, it declared the entire Affordable Care Act invalid.

Paper For Above instruction

The effectiveness of legal study depends greatly on adopting suitable techniques that help students comprehend complex judicial decisions and legal concepts. One of the most essential methods for enhancing understanding and retention of written legal material is the SQ3R method, which has been effectively used by students across various disciplines, particularly law. This method emphasizes active engagement with texts through surveying, questioning, reading, reciting, and reviewing, rather than passive reading, which often leads to superficial understanding and poor recall.

The first phase, surveying, involves skimming the chapter or material to grasp its structure—headings, subheadings, and key sentences—helping students familiarize themselves with the scope and main topics. This process prevents unnecessary distraction by trying to understand every detail initially. Following this, students should formulate questions based on the headings; this questioning phase guides the subsequent reading, ensuring that reading is purpose-driven. For instance, if a heading is "Stare Decisis," the student should ask, "What does stare decisis mean?" as a focus for reading that section.

Reading with questions in mind improves comprehension because it turns passive reading into an active search for answers. After reading each section, students should recite the answer aloud or silently, consolidating their understanding and aiding memorization. For example, upon reading the section on stare decisis, students recite that it refers to the legal tradition of courts following precedent. This recitation helps identify gaps in understanding. The final step, review, involves revisiting all questions and answers, reinforcing knowledge and clarifying uncertainties, especially when time is limited, such as in a two-hour study session.

Beyond general study techniques, legal students benefit from a specific case briefing system designed to simplify complex judicial decisions. Case briefing requires students to answer a standard set of questions about each case: identifying parties, facts, procedural history, issues, rulings, and reasoning. This systematic approach clarifies the judicial process and enhances critical thinking about legal reasoning. For example, analyzing the landmark case National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius involves understanding the parties involved—the plaintiffs and defendants—the facts regarding the challenge to the Affordable Care Act, procedural history such as rulings in district and appellate courts, and the legal issues concerning Congress's constitutional authority under the Commerce and Spending Clauses.

Each element of the case, from factual background to legal reasoning, must be distilled into concise responses. For instance, the case's facts involve multiple states and individuals challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate and Medicaid expansion. The Supreme Court's decision clarified the extent of Congress's powers, primarily upholding the individual mandate as a tax but striking down the Medicaid expansion penalty as exceeding Congressional authority. This structured analysis allows students to systematically engage with complex judicial opinions, improving comprehension and retention of legal doctrines and reasoning patterns.

Understanding legal vocabulary is also crucial. Terms such as appellant, appellee, dissent, petitioner, respondent, and reversed have specific meanings in appellate law. Familiarity with these terms simplifies reading case opinions and citations, making legal texts more accessible. For example, in the case citation 567 U.S. __, 132 S. Ct. (2012), the volume number, case name, and year help locate and contextualize the decision within the broader judiciary framework.

In conclusion, adopting active study methods like SQ3R combined with a systematic case briefing approach greatly enhances law students' ability to comprehend complex legal material. These techniques foster critical thinking, improve memory, and facilitate the synthesis of judicial reasoning, which are essential skills for legal scholarship and practice. Regular practice of these methods, along with expanding legal vocabulary, prepares students to analyze and interpret court decisions effectively, thereby supporting their academic success and future careers in law.

References

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