Case Law What it is
How to Locate
How to Read
How to Brief/summarize
How to Use case law in legal analysis
CASE LAW –WHAT IT IS Written decision from an appeal or
similar proceeding that is A. Published and B. Final C. Majority or plurality decision
Compare to concurring and dissenting opinions
Comes from Court of Appeals or Supreme Court (either state or federal)
Effect of Stare Decisis
Cases that are stare decisis are MANDATORY authority
Other cases can be cited a Persuasive authority
Stare Decisis – Federal Cases
U.S. Supreme Court decisions binding on all federal and state courts
U.S. Federal Courts of Appeals Decisions binding only on trial courts in
same circuit Decisions may be binding on state court
in circuit if constitutional or federal issue
Stare Decisis--California
U.S. Supreme Court Cases—stare decisis on all courts
California Supreme Court Stare decisis for all California
appellate and superior court California Courts of Appeal
Stare decisis for all Superior Courts
Final Decisions
No case is “case law” until and unless it is final
Cases are not final if Higher court has granted review Deciding court grants a rehearing
Locating Case Law
By citation (in print or online) Obtained through secondary source Obtained through code annotations
By Full Text search (online only)
Case Law Publication Slip Opinions
www.supremecourt.gov Case Reporters
Official vs. Unofficial Advance Sheets
Internet Westlaw and Lexis Free Sources
California Case Reporters Official:
California Reports (Cal.) California Supreme Court Cases
California Appellate Reports (Cal. App.) California Appellate Court Cases
Unofficial: California Reporter (Cal. Rptr.)
California supreme and appellate decision after 1959 Pacific Reporter (P.)
California Supreme Court cases California Appellate court cases before 1959
D.A.R.
Free Internet Access
California www.courts.ca.gov
Federal Google Scholar www.law.cornell.edu http://lp.findlaw.com/
Cite:SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED
STATES_________________
No. 01–7574_________________
DAVID ALLEN SATTAZAHN, PETITIONER v.PENNSYLVANIA
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF
PENNSYLVANIA, EASTERN DISTRICT[January 14, 2003]
Reading A Case Identify majority/plurality decision from
concurring or dissenting opinions Identify the deciding court and distinguish
what lower courts did and said from what this court says and does
Identify the parties—at trial and at all levels of appeal
Identify the legal issues or questions to be decided
Identify the holding or answer to questions Summarize the reasons
Components of a Case Brief—One Format
Judicial History
Facts
Issues
Rules
Analysis
Conclusion
© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Case Brief—Other Format
Judicial History Facts Issue Holding (Conclusion) Rationale
Rules the Court Relies On Analysis of Rules
Judicial History
Reflects the appellate process
Case will be either appeal or writ
This is what happened before case was heard by deciding court (published case)
Judicial History—Gideonin text (pg 88) Trial Court:
Appellate Court:
Supreme Court granted certiorari. Do NOT give the Supreme Court’s
final decision
Writing a Factual Statement
Types of Facts found in cases: relevant, explanatory and non-essential
Use only relevant and explanatory facts
Determining Relevancy Look to the issue
24
Issue The Question Presented
Legal issues are specific questions raised by the facts.
Issues may also be thought of as the questions the parties to a lawsuit bring to the court for resolution.
© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
Issue - BE SPECIFIC
NEVER ask, “Did the trial court/appellate court err?”
Legal question + determinative facts Always unique to the case
Put it in question format A proper issue tells you all about the
case
Example-- LOPEZ
Is the Gun Free Zone Act, which makes it a crime to possess of a gun near a school, a constitutional exercise of congressional power to regulate interstate commerce?
Can you tell what this case is about?
Holding/Conclusion
This is the answer to the question raised in the issue, put in complete sentence format:
Another exampleHOLDING -- LOPEZ
The Gun Free Zone Act is unconstitutional because it is not within the congressional power to regulate interstate commerce.
Rationale
This is really a summary of the whole opinion.
Include the rules the court relies on (cases, codes or constitution)
Explain how the court analyzes these rules
FINDING AND USING CASE LAW
Case law is used to provide an answer to a legal dispute resulting from a set of facts
Both finding and using case law relates to the facts of your case
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Review the factual situationDetermine if the factual situation
is controlled by federal law or by state law or by both
Use research books that contain the proper law
© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
FINDING CASE LAW
Annotated Codes (found by using topical indexes)
Secondary Sources (found by using topical indexes)
Online full-text searching Topical index words come from
your facts
USING CASE LAW
Rule of stare decisis requires that you compare the facts and issues of your case to the case law
Case law used in various briefs/ memoranda of law--
EXAMPLEComparison of case with Terry v. Ohio
Like Officer McFadden in Terry, Officer Rose was conducting a lawful pat search when he felt an object in the outside pocket of Respondent's very fine nylon jacket (T. 9). Also, like Officer McFadden, Officer Rose testified that he was able to identify the seized object because of its distinctive shape and consistency (T. 9-10). The difference between this case and Terry is that the item seized in this case was a controlled substance rather than a weapon. n15
The Starting Point
Discovering the facts of your case Client, witnesses, investigation, discovery,
transcripts Initially analyzing and sorting your
facts Relevant Explanatory Non-essential
Initially identifying issue
Sorting the Facts Relevant Facts: are
absolutely essential, they cannot be ignored
Explanatory Facts: clarify the relevant facts
Non-essential Facts: play no real role in the legal situation (not too many in case law)
© 2000 by Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458
STEP 4 – WRITE ISSUE (i.e. Did the school violate Speeker’s
First Amendment rights in suspending Speeker students received extra credit for attending?)
RULE (This is the holding of Morse and other cases)
Application (This is where you compare and distinguish your facts; if facts are different also refer to relevant statements from the rationale of the cases)
Conclusion (Answer the question you present in issue.)