Political Science
READING and BRIEFING an appellate court opinion
1. Facts: short summary of facts of case -- enough to remember the case and think clearly about the issues.
2, Action: procedural history of case prior to arriving in the appellate court that wrote the opinion you are briefing
3. Issues: What precise legal question(s) was the court deciding. That is, based on the facts of the particular case and the law being applied, what question(s) were being addressed?
4. Holding: How did the court answer those questions (ISSUES)?
5. Reasoning: Why did the court reach the conclusion that it did? A summary of the reasoning will help you apply the case to the next (novel) set of facts -- the key to legal analysis and thinking about exam question in this class.
6. Concurring and Dissenting Opinions: Summaries of judge's opinions who wrote so as to reflect their disagreement with the majority of the court.
