Assignment: Case Summary Assignment
Planning and organization fundamentally affect any research plan. Court decisions must be read, summarized, and applied to answer any research question dealing with legal issues. The case summary presents a good opportunity to demonstrate how to condense a case into its most important elements: a) Citation; b) Key Facts; c) Issues Presented to the Court; d) Decision of the Court; and e) Reasoning of the Court. Important cases revealed during research inquiries summarized in this fashion provide the researcher the ability to quickly and efficiently incorporate this information into any report or written findings. Overall, the case summary serves as an excellent informational tool and exercise for the development of legal writing skills.
A closer look at typical case summaries reveals a strict adherence to a mechanical approach to content and to basic writing style. The case summary intends to compress as much information as possible with precise expression. In order to accomplish this task, every word must be crucially important.
Guidelines for Writing:
1. Writing should be precise, concise, simple, and logical
a. An elaborate description of the facts is not necessary.
2. Summary no longer than 4 pages single-spaced. Better if over 2 but less than 4!
3. Correctly cite the case on a cover page with your name
a. An example of how to cite is the following: NCAA v. Board of Regents 468 U.S. 85 (1984)
4. Do not include citations in text.
5. Follow the structured format identified above and separate each section from one another with a double space
a. Citation
b. Key Facts- factual setting of the case, significant background, parties involved, nature of dispute, positions of the parties on the issue, decisions of previously which decided on the case.
c. Issues Presented to Court- negligence, sexual harassment, contract breach etc... Other issues can be included but there should be some real legal issues at stake!
d. Decision of the Court- this should be a short response to the issues
e. Reasoning of the Court- regurgitates the court's justification for its decision in clear and concise terms. This could be difficult to draw from the court's opinion. This is not a paraphrase but a capture. Demonstrate you understand. Address any important dissenting or concurring opinions.
6. Legal writing is impersonal. Never use proper names.
a. Incorrect- Judge Agyemang stated...
b. Correct- The dissent or dissenting judge stated...
c. Incorrect- Kwame Agyemang
d. Correct- defendant
i. That is, instead of using names, use defendant, appellant, plaintiff, and like terms.
7. Lastly, provide either a link from where you accessed the case or save case as a PDF and attach when submitting assignment.
Format your assignment according to the following formatting requirements:
1. The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
2. The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
3. Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.