LET'S DIGEST 

(A GUIDE ON HOW TO DIGEST A CASE)

Hi guys! I'm here to tell you some tips on how to properly digest a case.

These cases contains the real life application of the principles and theories that are discussed in the law. Some
cases are long and some are short, some can reach up to 30 pages and some reach only 2 to 5 pages, it depends
on how critical the case is. 

Now, some students have difficulty in digesting these cases whether they are long or short. Probably because of
lack of experience in digesting cases or probably this is a new concept for you. Digesting a case is more like a
book summary, you read a novel or a story then you summarize the story. Same thing with case digest, you read
the case and summarize the whole case into something comprehensive for a layman and of course for yourself. 

Here are some tips I'd like to share with you today. Some of these tips are supported by different sources from
other blogs on How to Write a Case Digest. 

WHY SHOULD YOU DIGEST CASES?

The cases that will be assigned to you will be a huge part of the discussions and recitations. It's really hard to
answer a question which you do not know the answer.
You digest cases in order for you to have guidelines and overview regarding the case you've read. Digest
contains brief facts of the case, issue which needs to be resolve in the case and the decision and solution given
by the court. You cannot possibly memorize everything except if you're a boy genius or someone who have a
photographic memory.

STEP 1: GET YOURSELF A FULL TEXT COPY OF THE CASE.

Why? I'll tell you why. You want to appreciate and understand a story? Read the book and watch the movie
after. As a general rule you DO NOT! I repeat, YOU DO NOT read the digest first before the full text of the
case. SO DO YOURSELF A FAVOR, GET A FULL TEXT COPY OF THE CASE! You can get the full
text of the case either through the internet or directly from your law library.
STEP 2: DON'T JUST LOOK AT IT, READ IT!

You got the case? Good. Now, you read it. Have this relationship with the case, you pay close attention to the
case and while you're at it perhaps you might want to write some notes regarding the case not so hard of a start
isn't it? Reading the case takes some time, but take note of the important things just in case, these are:

 Full names of the petitioner and the respondent;

 Date of the decision of case;
 Important places in the case (specific address, name of the boat, name of the street, etc.)
 Justice who penned the case;and 
 Other information that seem important to the case.

Now, some cases are interesting. However, you'll have a problem with cases that will not really spark your
interest, but you have to read these cases no matter what. It's worth the effort guys. If you can read fifty shades
of grey or the twilight saga then you can also read those cases. Think that your life and grade depend on it. Put
humor in the cases, something that will remind you of what is that case all about.

STEP 3: NOW WRITE!

Don't just think bout them, ink them. Remember that a case digest should be a page short only as much as
possible, you're not rewriting the full text, you are summarizing it. Now there are formalities which are to
observed in writing down your case digest, I will discuss them step by step.

STEP 3.A: NAME OF THE CASE, GR. No., DATE and JUSTICE WHO PENNED THE CASE.

This is important. If the full text is entitled "Maria Corazon de Jesus Victoria Trinidad vs. Manuel Gabriel" or if
the case have many petitioners and respondents, the you can shortcut it into (for my example) "Trinidad v.
Gabriel" Last name of the petitioner and last name of respondent.
 Then after
the case title,
under that,
you put the
G.R Number
of the case
and the date
of the
decision of
the case
beside it.

After writing
those two,
you write the
surname of
the Justice
who penned
the decision.

Your Case
Caption
should look
like this
(based on
my example
earlier):

TRINIDAD
v.
GABRIEL
G.R. No.
XXXXXXX,
August 30,
1950
DE GUZMAN, J.:

STEP 3.B: FACTS

Facts are the brief story of the case. You should write what happened in the case, who are the petitioner and the
respondents, what is the decision of the Court of Appeals and Lower Courts. Facts should be brief as possible.
A digest is a summary of the full text and not another copy of the full text.

STEP 3.C: ISSUE

Issue for me, always starts with WHETHER OR NOT followed by the issue that is related to your topic. For
example, the topic is warrant of arrest and the issue in the case is the validity of the warrant, then your issue
should be, WHETHER OR NOT the warrant is valid.

STEP 3.D: RULING/HELD

This is the decision of the SUPREME COURT. I repeat, this is the DECISION OF THE SUPREME
COURT not the ruling of any lower court regarding the issue you raised in your issue portion. So,
The ISSUE is the question, the RULING is the answer. 

You can use Ruling or Held, whatever is comfortable for you. The point is, you or other people should see the
decision of the court whether it is granted or dismissed and the rationale for such decision. Decision should
answer the issue as i said earlier, if you put a decision that does not answer your issue then you have a problem
discussing the case.
STEP 3.E: HOW IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE

TRINIDAD v. GABRIEL
G.R. No. XXXXXXX, August 30, 1950
DE GUZMAN, J.:

FACTS:

ISSUE: 

RULING:

STEP 3.F: SAMPLE DIGEST

PHILIPPINE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (PSBA), et. Al vs. Court of Appeals

G.R. No. 84698, February 4, 1992
PADILLA, J.:

FACTS:

Carlitos Bautista, a third-year commerce student of PSBA, was stabbed to death while on the second-floor
premises of the school. The assailants were not members of the schools’ academic community but were
elements from outside the school. The parents of Carlitos filed a civil action against the school authorities,
alleging them negligent, reckless and with failure to take security precautions, means and methods before,
during and after the attack on the victim. The appellate court found in their favor, primarily anchoring its
decision on the law of quasi-delicts.

Hence, the petition.

Issue:

Whether or not PSBA is liable under quasi-delicts.

Ruling:

No, the Supreme Court ruled that PSBA is not liable under quasi delicts. Because the circumstances of the
present case evince a contractual relation between the PSBA and Carlitos Bautista, the rules on quasi-delict do
not really govern. A perusal of Article 2176 shows that obligations arising from quasi-delicts or tort, also
known as extra-contractual obligations, arise only between parties not otherwise bound by contract, whether
express or implied.

When an academic institution accepts students for enrollment, there is established a contract between them,
resulting in bilateral obligations which both parties are bound to comply with. For its part, the school undertakes
to provide the student with an education that would presumably suffice to equip him with the necessary tools
and skills to pursue higher education or a profession. On the other hand, the student covenants to abide by the
school’s academic requirements and observe its rules and regulations. Necessarily, the school must ensure that
adequate steps are taken to maintain peace and order within the campus premises and to prevent the breakdown
thereof.

In the circumstances obtaining in the case at bar, however, there is, as yet, no finding that the contract between
the school and Bautista had been breached thru the former’s negligence in providing proper security measures.
This would be for the trial court to determine. And, even if there be a finding of negligence, the same could give
rise generally to a breach of contractual obligation only.

4. CONCLUSION
So That's all that you need to know with regards to digesting cases. I hope these helps and please let me know
what you think about digesting cases. We're also open for other suggestions just leave it on the comments
section. THANK YOU AND GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR DIGESTS!

Reference:
Law Student's Coffee Table
http://letstalkaboutthelaw.blogspot.com/2015/04/lets-digest-guide-on-how-to-digest-case.html