1.

Citation
Case citation is a system used by legal professionals to identify past court case
decisions, either in series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a neutral
style that identifies a decision regardless of where it is reported. Case citations
are formatted differently in different jursdications, but generally contain the
same key information.
It is the preliminary information that tells where the case was published.
Where cases are published on paper, the citation usuall y contains the following
information: court that issued the decision, report title, volume number, page,
section, or paragraph number, publication year. The citation creates a quick way
of finding that original version of the case. For example, one citation might be
347 U.S. 483. The case would be found in the United States Reporter, which
publishes U.S. Supreme Court opinions. The volume number would be 347, and
the first page of the case would be page 483.

2. Parties
One way to identify the parties is by their names. Thus, in the case Smith v. Jones,
the parties would be “Smith” and “Jones.” But the parties are also given titles,
based upon their roles in the case. At the trial level, parties are usually known as
“plaintiff” and “defendant.” In an appellate case, the parties may be known as
“appellant” and “appellee,” or “petitioner” and “respondent,” depending on the
court. (At the trial level, the plaintiff is the party who brought the case into court.
At the appellate level, the appellant or petitioner brought the case into court.)
Your brief should note both the names of the parties and their roles in the case.

3. Objectives of the Parties

Objectives of the parties are what they pray before the court.

4. Theory of the Litigation

List any contentions: Every contention put forward by the participating parties
should be listed as a way of proving the legal case. Collect together
corresponding contentions put forward by the opposite party.

5. Prior Proceedings
The procedural history is the history of the case. Include in the procedural
history (1) what courts the case has traveled through, (2) what happened in
previous court proceedings, and (3) how the case ended up in the current court.
This is the disposition of the case in the lower court(s) that explains how the
case got to the court whose opinion you are reading. Include the following: a. The
decision(s) of the lower court(s). NOTE: If the case was decided by a trial court
and reviewed by an intermediate appellate court before reaching the court
whose decision you are now reading, be sure to note what each court decided. b.
The damages awarded, if relevant. c. Who appealed and why.
6. Facts
the story of what happened condensed to what you think the court found
relevant to this judicial decision

There are really two types of important facts: “necessary” facts and “context”
facts. Necessary facts are facts that are legally relevant—in other words, facts
that the court relied upon in resolving the case’s legal issues. In
contrast, context facts are facts that aid our understanding of the necessary facts
—they’re not essential to the court’s decision but give a more complete picture
of what’s going on in the case. Not every fact mentioned in a case is necessary or
provides context. Most cases also contain extra facts that can distract you from
what’s really important in the case. This is why you should sift through the facts
before creating your case brief.

7. Issues
the question that the appellate court must answer in this case

One way to find the issues is to ask: “What are the big legal questions that the
court is considering? What has to be resolved or answered?” Sometimes the
court states explicitly what the issues are. The court may say something like, “On
appeal, the appellant asks us to consider whether . . . ” Or, the court may say, “The
first issue is whether . . . ” In other cases, the court may not be as explicit—you’ll
have to dig a little deeper to identify the issues. Keep in mind that issues are
related to the law. If you’re having a hard time figuring out what the issues are,
you can often use the casebook’s Table of Contents, Chapter and Section
headings, case introductions, and case notes (located after the case) to help
identify the issues.
a. Substantive issue: A substantive statement of the issue consists of two parts --
i. the point of law in dispute ii. the key facts of the case relating to that point of
law in dispute (legally relevant facts) You must include the key facts from the
case so that the issue is specific to that case. Typically, the disputed issue
involves how the court applied some element of the pertinent rule to the facts of
the specific case. Resolving the issue will determine the court’s disposition of the
case. b. Procedural issue: What is the appealing party claiming the lower court
did wrong (e.g., ruling on evidence, jury instructions, granting of summary
judgment, etc.)?

8. Holding/Disposition
the court's decision after applying the rule to the facts of this case - therefore, the
holding is specific to the case before the court
The holding is the answer to the question, “How did the court resolve the
issue(s)?” In other words, it is the answer to the legal questions that were asked
in the case. Sometimes courts will label something as the “holding” in the case.
Be cautious about these types of labels. Often, what the court calls the “holding”
is actually the judgment in the case—in other words, what the court did as a
result of its holding.
This is a statement of law that is the court’s answer to the issue. If you have
written the issue statement(s) correctly, the holding is often the positive or
negative statement of the issue statement.

9. Reasoning
the process the court uses in selecting the rule and applying the rule to the facts
of the case.
This is the court’s analysis of the issues and the heart of the case brief. Reasoning
is the way in which the court applied the rules/ legal principles to the particular
facts in the case to reach its decision. This includes syllogistic application of rules
as well as policy arguments the court used to justify its holding (why the
decision was socially desirable).
The most important component of your case brief is the court’s reasoning, or its
rationale, for the holding. To determine what the court’s reasoning was, ask:
“How did the court arrive at the holding? How did the court explain the answer
to the legal questions asked in the case?” You can identify the court’s reasoning
by looking for the places where the court is applying law (statutes, regulations,
or other cases) to the facts. In your case brief, make note of the law that the court
used to answer the legal question(s). Put this law into your own words rather
than writing it out word for word—you will understand and remember it better
in the future. After identifying the relevant law from the case, look closer at how
the court applied that law to the facts. Were there particular facts that the court
viewed as important to its analysis? Were there other facts that the court said
were not important?
Sometimes the court also applies policies in their analysis of the law and facts.
When a court considers policy arguments, it is weighing the potential effects on
society of different approaches to the issues. If the court discusses policy
arguments in its reasoning, you should note those policies and how the court
applied them.

10. Resulting Legal Rule

Finally, make note of the judgment in the case—in other words, what the court
did as a result of the holding. The judgment refers to how the appellate court
resolved the case on appeal, and it may provide instructions to the trial court.
Look for words such as “affirmed,” “reversed,” or “reversed and remanded.”

11. Commentary on Opinion

what other judges said who did not completely agree with the majority

A judge who hears a case may not agree with the majority’s decision and will
write a separate dissenting opinion. Another judge may agree with the decision
but not with the majority’s reasoning and will write a separate concurring
opinion. Note the concurring/dissenting judge(s)’ reasons for refusing to join in
the majority opinion.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_citation
https://lawschoolacademicsuccess.com/2014/08/05/key-components-of-a-
case-brief/
https://www.law.uh.edu/lss/casebrief.pdf