case briefing method

[corleone]

 What is your prefered method of briefing cases...    I am now in my second week of LS and am trying to decide how i want to brief cases...  i have heard several different methods....what method have you found works for you?

  thanks,
    C.

[lawgirl]

I am in my second year, so I only book brief right now, but I highly recommend doing the actual typewritten or handwritten briefs for your first year.

I followed this format when briefing:

I. Title section
    A. Title of Case
    B. Date
    C. State and type of court

II. Facts
    A. Summary of the facts of the case

III. Procedure
     A. Holding and any really important reasoning of
        the trial court below
     B. Holding of this court

IV. Issue
     A. A short statement of the issue in the case

V. Reasoning
     A. The line of reasoning of the court used including
        any pertinent case law/statutes the court used
        and how the court applied the law to this
        particular set of facts.

I tend to do my briefs in outline form because it helps me see the different sections and it helps me see the logical progression of the court's reasoning.

Even when I did actual briefs the first year, I did the three read method.  I read through it the first time, highlighting as I went. The second time I typed my brief into the above format. The third time I reviewed my briefs a couple of hours before class.

Hope that helps.
     

[Scott]

Write down the procedual posture, facts, holding, reasoning, and black letter rule.  When exam time comes all you need is the black letter rule from the case.  I too did it in outline form.  And after your first semester book brief.

[kovyann]

What is the black letter rule in a case?