Briefing Cases (but cases in the case books are incomplete) Help!

[J D]

Co-sign what jimmyjohn said.  A basic procedural history should more than suffice for the purposes of Torts class, i.e., who "won" or "lost" in the court below, and briefly how (at trial, tossed before trial, etc.) and who is appealing that decision now.

[Poetgrl21]

Sounds perfect...totally makes sense.  Thanks.

[brewha]

Poet... how many questions on the final exam do you expect to deal with procedural history from cases you've read?  Or, how many questions do you anticipate will involve the specific facts of any case you've read?  I can answer this for you.  ZERO.  You are focusing on the wrong material in the cases.  The traditional "briefing" of cases is a massive waste of valuable time and if you don't begin to zero in on only the legal issues presented in the casebook, you will have problems studying for your exams. 

[racheles05]

A good rule of thumb is that the more space a case takes up in a casebook, the more important the case. This isn't always true, but it's generally a good idea not to do 30 pages of reading for a case that's been edited down to one paragraph. If the case is just a note or there to introduce a topic, etc. then your professor might not even bring it up in class. I don't recommend using Lexis to look up cases unless they're 1)important 2)you're interested in it, or; 3)it's con law. I think it's a rule that all con law casebooks have to be poorly edited and confusing, so I used Lexis briefs a lot.

[NotReally]

I briefed, but very poorly and I think I understood the material better when I just gave myself a one paragraph synopsis of the cases and didn't do a full brief.  I think if you CAN brief then you don't need to do it, but if you can't, then you need to learn how so that you can know how to find the information. 

[blawg]

honestly, the best briefs i have read are on audiocasefiles.com. www.audiocasefiles.com. they are short and precise. that is the best way to brief. check out the brief for vosburg: http://www.audiocasefiles.com/cases/detail/case/8653/

[rapunzel]

When you get one of these highly edited cases look back up at the top of the page.  There is probably a topic heading there. Let's say it says "Causation."  Now go back to the case and look for some rule on causation.  The profs know if the case is a squib and info is missing.  Yes- you can go read the case to clarfiy things in your own mind.  The only way I would do this is if the case had been assigned to me and knew I was reciting it in class- the prof will appreciate the extra effort even if your classmates don't.  Other than that just tell the prof- this case is edited, so there aren't really any facts, procedure, etc.  But it seems that the point is this rule about causation....

[ApproachTheBench]

Ok so most if not all of the cases in my casebooks aren't the full cases...parts of the reasoning are excluded....none of the procedural history, or even the judgement...so how do I brief them?  My first day assignments are due Monday and I have cases in my reading that I know I should brief.

Should I just get them all off Lexis?  Is it assumed by our professors that we are doing that to brief our cases?  Help!

Don't brief!

It's a waste of time.

[blawg]

def. not a waste of time, but you should keep your briefs short. my 1st semester:
1. facts
2. procedural posture
3. issue
4. holding / disposition
5. rule of law
6. reasoning
7. policy
8. further discussion

second semester:
1. Fact summary (which may include procedural stuff and issue if essential)
2. Rule

Second semester your briefs will be much shorter and more effective. check out this brief: http://www.audiocasefiles.com/cases/detail/case/8677/

[eli250]

I like the short statement of the rule that the audiocasefiles site gives.  What do you get if you buy the case for $0.99.  Is it the full brief with all the other garbage? 

Edit: OK, I see now you listen to it on your computer.  Not particularly helpful at all.  Cases are a little too detailed to be understood from listening to them alone.