1. CHAPTER 5
How to Brief a Case

2. The Bluebook Rule 5 - Quotations
Quotes of fifty or more words are blocked with no quotation marks
Quotes of 49 words or less are set in quotation marks and placed in the text
Periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks
All other punctuation marks are placed outside quotation marks if part of the quote

3. Components of a Case Brief
Name and citation of case
Judicial history
Facts
Issue(s)
Rules
Analysis
Decision

4. Components of a Case Brief Rules
Primary sources of law carry the most weight and should the focus of research
Constitutions
Statutes
Case Law
Administrative Regulations

5. Components of a Case Brief Writing
Each component should be written as a separate section and labeled with a heading
A certain amount of redundancy is to be expected

6. Components of a Case Brief Analysis
Separate all relevant, explanatory and legally unimportant facts
Look for:
Factual similarities
Factual unknowns (gaps)
Factual differences

7. Approaching a Legal Research Project
Case briefs are only a part of most projects
Be sure to understand the directions
Create an outline
Fill in with key words
Decide on approach used
Chronological
By court
Write one section at a time
Keep notes for checking quotes and citations

8. Approaching a Legal Research Project (continued)
Summarize pertinent documents
Organize summary using same format as document
Reflect, but don’t change document
Continue to review directions
Edit
Grammatical errors
“Voice” problems
Consistence
Effectiveness