HOW TO BRIEF AN

OPINION
Marie Nickie Bolos-Delgado
September 4, 2021

“Opinion”
- decision/order; pronouncements of judges/justices on the
legal controversies that come before them (e.g., Atienza vs.
Brillantes, A.M. No. MTJ-92-706, March 29, 1995)
The Psychology of Reading Opinions
◦ Judges assume a great deal about the readers of their opinions – Judges
assume that the reader knows about the law.
◦ The skill of case analysis will take years to develop. – Case analysis is an art
that must be refined over the span of a lawyer’s entire career. At first, you
might not be able to comprehend much. Do not be impatient.
◦ Many opinions are poorly written. – Sentence and paragraph structure may be
difficult to follow.
◦ Many opinions involve difficult points of law.
Thus, case analysis is time-consuming, and it may take hours to comprehend a
single opinion.

Kinds of Parts of a Brief

◦ Brief may refer to:
◦ “appellate brief” – a party’s formal written arguments to a
higher court on why a lower court’s decision should be affirmed,
modified or reversed.
◦ “trial brief” – attorney’s position paper on how he proposes to
conduct an upcoming trial
◦ “case brief” – analytical summary of an opinion; to brief a case
means to identify the essential components of an opinion

 Why do we brief opinions? 1. To help you clarify on what the

opinion really means, 2. to provide notes you can refer later
without having to re-read the entire opinion.
◦ Objective of Case Analysis – Determine whether the ruling in an
opinion applies to the facts of the client’s problem. To apply the
opinion, you must understand it; to understand it, you must read
and brief it.
◦ A case may have several opinions- MAJORITY, CONCURRING, and
DISSENTING opinion. What we will brief is the majority opinion.

Kinds of Opinions
◦ Majority – majority of the justices agree on the result and on the
reasoning behind the result.
◦ Concurring – the justice/s agree on the result but not on the
reasoning.
◦ Dissenting – the justice/s do not agree on the result.

How to Brief Cases

◦ A case brief should include the following:
◦ FACTS – key facts
◦ LEGAL THEORY – Cause of Action and Defenses; usually
incorporated in “Facts”
◦ ISSUES – legal questions that might be resolved by the court in
order to reach its decision in the case; answerable by yes or no;
usually begins with WHETHER OR NOT.
◦ HOLDING- court’s response to the issue.

How to Brief Cases

◦ REASONING –justifies the holding on each issue; usually
incorporated in “Holding” or “Held”
◦ RULE – broad statement of principles applied in the decision

◦ Dictum – official but incidental and gratuitous language,

unnecessary to the decision of the case; not binding.

Why is Briefing Cases Important?

◦ Law students – to answer the professor’s questions about a
particular opinion; to use such opinions in answering law
examinations, if applicable; to improve your analytical skill.
◦ Lawyers – to use such opinions in your legal arguments, if
applicable; to enhance your analytical skill.

 11 Components of a Brief
◦ Citation – where it can be found (e.g., G.R. No. or SCRA)
◦ Parties
◦ Objectives of the parties
◦ Theory
◦ Prior proceedings
◦ Facts

 11 Components of a Brief
◦ Issues
◦ Holding
◦ Reasoning
◦ Disposition – see dispositive portion
◦ Commentary on Opinion

 Example of a Brief
Full Text: https://lawphil.net/judjuris/juri1920/jul1920/gr_l-13982_1920.html

De la Vina v. Villareal
July 31, 1920, Johnson, J.
Facts:

Geopano, wife, filed a complaint of divorce (Sept. 17, 1917) in RTC Iloilo against her husband de la Vina on
the ground of concubinage (which was allegedly occurring since 1913). When she learned of the illicit relationship, she
was ejected from the conjugal home. She prayed for a decree of divorce, partition of conjugal property, and alimony
pendente. After filing the complaint, she presented a motion for preliminary injunction to restrain her husband from
alienating or encumbering the conjugal property. Respondent Judge Villareal granted the motion. Husband filed present
case of petition for certiorari on the ground that judge had no jurisdiction to take cognizance of the action and exceeded
his power and authority in issuing preliminary injunction.

 Issue/ Held/Ratio:

(1) WON a married woman may ever acquire a residence or domicile separate from that of her
husband during the existence of a subsisting marriage.

Yes. The general rule of law that the domicile of the wife follows that of the husband is not an
absolute rule. The husband unlawfully ejected the wife from the conjugal home to have illicit relations with
another woman. Continued cohabitation would give the impression of the wife’s condonation. A wife may
acquire a separate residence where the husband has given cause for divorce.

 (2) WON in an action for divorce, where conjugal property is concerned, a preliminary injunction
may be issued to restrain a spouse from alienating/encumbering conjugal property during the pendency of
the action.

Yes. Plaintiff contends that husband is granted power to alienate and encumber the conjugal
property without the consent of the wife. This only holds true as long as a harmonious relationship exists.
When such relation ceases, the husband’s powers of administration should be curtailed during the pendency
of action to protect the interests of the wife.