CASE BRIEF/CASE

DIGEST
ATTY. RYAN LEGISNIANA ESTEVEZ, MA Rel. Ed., MPP
Director II, Chief, Political Affairs Office,
Office of Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III
 CASE BRIEF/CASE DIGEST
• Refers to the student’s condensation of an assigned case. It is a written
summary of the case. A case sometimes involves several issues.
Digesting the same would help the student in separating one issue from
another and understanding how the Court resolved the issues in the case.
The student does not need to discuss all the issues decided in the case in
his case digest. He only needs to focus on the relevant issue or the issue
related to the subject that he is taking. A case digest may also serve as a
useful study aid for class discussions and exams. A student who has a
case digest may not need to go back to the case in order to remember
what he has read.
• Important notes:
• - There is no one “correct” form of a case digest.
• - But there is a customary and generally accepted form of a case
digest.
• - Most important is that you keep your case digest brief without
shortchanging the facts.
 TYPICAL COMPONENTS OF A CASE
DIGEST/CASE BRIEF:
• 1. CAPTION
• 2. FACTS
• 3. ISSUES
• 4. RULING
 CAPTION
• This includes the title of the case, the date it was decided, and citation.
Include also the petitioner, respondent, and the ponente.

• -CHI MING TSOI v. CA, 266 SCRA 324,

Jan. 16, 1997, J. Torres, Jr.
 FACTS
• The facts describe the events between the parties leading to the
litigation and tell how the case came before the court that is now
deciding it.
• Include those facts that are relevant to the issue the court must decide to
and the reasons for its decision.
• Remember…....You will not know which facts are relevant until you
know what the issue or issues are.
 FACTS
• INCLUDE
• - WHO the plaintiff and defendants are
• - the BASIS for the plaintiff’s suit
• - the RELIEF the plaintiff is seeking
• - the RULING of the RTC on the case
• - and whether or not the CA – AFFIRMED OR REVERSED the decision
 ISSUES
• The QUESTION that the court must decide to resolve the dispute
between the parties in the case before it.

• HOW to find the issue?

• - Identify the rule of law that governs the dispute
• - ask how it should apply to those facts
 ISSUES
• It is usually written as a QUESTION that COMBINES the rule of law
with the material facts of the case: e.g.:

• Do the Habitual drunkeness and sexual infidelity of the husband constitute

psychological incapacity?

• Does abandonment by the petitioner for more than a year without

justifiable cause constitute a ground for legal separation?
• Does repeated sexual violence directed against a spouse-petitioner
constitute a ground for legal separation?

• Does the RTC erred in declaring the real property acquired by the
petitioner during the marriage as the petitioner’s exclusive property?

• Whether or not personal medical or psychological examination of the

respondent by a physician a requirement for a declaration of
psychological incapacity.
 RULING
• The court’s decision on the question that is actually before it. It provides
the answer to the question asked in the “issue” statement.

• If there are several issues, there will also be several holdings/rulings.

• But more important is HOW the court EXPLAINED ITS’ RULING

AND WHAT ARE THOSE THAT SUPPORTED its decision.
 RULING
• E.g. in a case of psychological incapacity:
• - REFER TO the provisions of Article 36 of the Family Code
• - STATE the substantial and procedural requirements for psychological
incapacity to exist
• - CITE earlier rulings of the Supreme Court on the subject
• - RELATE the facts of the case to the provisions of the law and the earlier
rulings of the Court.
 RULING
(CHI MING TSOI vs. CA, 266 SCRA 324)
• One of the essential marital obligations under the Family Code is to
“procreate children based on the universal principle that procreation of
children through sexual cooperation is the basic end of marriage.”
• In the case at bar, the senseless and protracted refusal of one of the
parties to fulfill the above marital obligation is equivalent to
psychological incapacity
• Judgment AFFIRMED.
 RULING
• Concurring and Dissenting Opinions.
• - This part is optional, but it would help to include them because there
are professors who ask for separate opinions in recitations.
 PRACTICE CASE DIGEST
• MARY GRACE NATIVIDAD S. POE – LLAMANZARES v.
COMELEC and ELAMPARO
(GR NO. 221697)

• MARY GRACE NATIVIDAD S. POE-LLAMANZARES v.

COMELEC, Tatad, Contreras and Valdez
( GR NO. 221698-700)