Case Study: Lindh versus Surman
1. Facts of the case;
2. Issues of Law decided by the court;
3. Procedural history of the case;
4. Holdings, or rulings, made by the court;
5. Legal Reasoning, or rationale, given by the court for its rulings.
Look for each of these components when you read the case. Sometimes they are easy to find, and sometimes they are not. It all depends on the judge who wrote the decision for the court.