Assignment B: Legal Brief

University of Regina Educational Administration 310

Due Date: February 24, 2010

Means of Submission: Electronically to darrylinvic@hotmail.com or in paper form during class

Format: APA style, 5 pages

Considerations:

Case briefs are documents prepared by students as a study aid when trying to capture the essence and importance of court decisions. A case brief summarizes a court decision by outlining, at a minimum, the facts of the case, the legal issues raised, and the rationale for the court’s decision.

The underlying purpose of a legal brief is to incisively cut to the essentials. It therefore develops skills in identifying, clearly stating and succinctly summarizing issues—skills which are important for professionals in their workplace.

Generally, a legal brief will have five sections:

PART I: Summary of the facts.

Include answers to the questions: Who, What, When, Why and Where about the issue. You should also indicate the location and name of the court and the date in which the decision was rendered, and the names of the plaintiffs and the defendant(s).

In one or two paragraphs, provide a concise summary of the incident that brought the case before the court. This will include a description of the crime or complaint and the circumstances causing the original issue. This is actually one of the more difficult parts of the brief since it requires you to clearly identify and concisely state only that information needed to understand the case. The legal record itself usually includes a lot more information than is needed for your brief.The issues being addressed in the case (see the following section) will help you determine what facts are especially important for your brief.Note that the case name will typically show two parties. In a criminal case the first party is invariably the government (probably The Queen versus…and the second party is the defendant) However, a case before an appellate court may result in a switch when a defendant (now the appellant or petitioner) seeks action against the Crown (now the appellee or respondent).

PART II: Summary of the legal issues.

Phrase, in your own words, the legal question the court has tried to answer in this case. State the issue as a question (e.g., “Can a police officer. . .?”). Sometimes the issue is made very clear in the opinion (e.g., “This case presents the question. . .”, “The issue in this case is . . .”) but in others, it is not quite so “in your face.” Even when the issue is blatantly presented in the opinion, you should still phrase it in your own words, for several reasons. First, court opinions often address several legal issues. Second, court opinions are often long, wordy, and filled with

unfamiliar terms. As a result, putting the issue in your own words will help you understand it better.

PART III: Description of the claimants and their position

Describe the background of the claimant(s), petitioner or sometimes the defendant by giving a brief background about them and their position. Describe why they think they have a claim (their argument). This section may be several paragraphs long. Their position often includes preceding cases that they believe establish legal rules or points relevant to their argument.

PART IV: The court’s decision.

How has this court resolved the issue? What was the outcome? What action did the court take? Explain the court’s decision on one or two sentences, focusing instead on the reasons for the decision (rations decidendi) and describing other comments that may not be central to the decision but nevertheless relevant (obiter dicta).

Why did the court reach the decision it did? What arguments justify the decision? Because judges often write many pages when justifying and explaining their decisions, this can be a difficult section for students to write. In their reasoning, courts will often point to the preceding cases that set out legal rules or precedents that may be the same or different than those of the complainants (plaintiffs). The doctrine of stare decisis requires judges to align their decision with legal principles established in previously decided cases. As a result, court opinions take considerable space to show how the current decision is consistent with the established principles. Your job is to state, as succinctly as possible, the rationale provided by the court’s majority decision.

PART V: Your opinions on the case

Provide your own views on the arguments made and of the court’s decision, explaining its pertinence for this course. This section should be several paragraphs long, and might keep the following questions in mind:

1. What familiar situations in Saskatchewan schools would this case apply to?2. What important principles are set out in this case that might serve as guidelines for

teachers or individuals when in schools?

3. What are the implications for my conduct when teaching or interacting with students, parents, administrators and/or officials outside the school?

4. In what ways does the case seem to overlook important aspects of schooling?

RUBRIC FOR EVALUATING LEGAL BRIEFS

4 3 2 1

Acc

urac

y of

Con

tent

Positions and arguments succinctly but thoroughly developed

Relevant details supported by well-chosen, pertinent quotes from the case

Integration of ideas through analysis, synthesis, or evaluation as appropriate

Positions and arguments clearly but not concisely described in some ways

Relevant details supported by pertinent quotes in most areas

Integration of ideas through analysis, synthesis, or evaluation in most areas

Positions and arguments outlined but not precisely nor thoroughly set out

Lack of relevant supporting details from the case

Ideas summarized without analysis, synthesis, or evaluation in some areas

Unclear & disjointed presentation of legal positions and arguments

Absence of critical insight into pertinent or central positions and arguments in the legal case

Ideas summarized without analysis, synthesis, or evaluation

Org

aniz

atio

n

Clearly stated focus on central purpose of the case throughout

Succinct introduction that skillfully addresses purpose, audience, & content

Conclusion that sparks insight, reflection, or action

General purpose clear but may be implied

General introduction that covers the overall case

Conclusion provides closure and does more than summarize

Unclear purpose in some areas

Introduction may not be concise or fully relate to cases’ basic relevance

Conclusion may only summarize opinions but does not apply to Saskatchewan context

Missing or unclear purpose

Absence of introduction to the case or one that does not tie it to course

Missing or irrelevant concluding section which describes case’s applicability to Saskatchewan context

Voi

ce/W

ord

Cho

ice

Clear sense of audience

Maintains personal voice; Adopts appropriate tone, level of formality, & style

Clear, concise, accurate description of legal case essentials

General sense of audience

Consistent personal voice with appropriate tone, level of formality, & style in most areas

Use of accurate and succinct words in most areas

Unclear sense of audience in some areas

Inconsistent personal voice and/or inappropriate tone, level of formality, & style in some areas

Uses more words than necessary to summarize the text.

No sense of audience

Inconsistent personal voice and/or inappropriate tone, level of formality, & style in several areas

Inaccurate, imprecise or unclear wording in several areas

Sen

tenc

e F

luen

cy

Sentence structure effective and varied

Sentence structure varied and effective in most areas

Sentence structure lacking variety and effectiveness in some areas

Incorrect or awkward sentence structure so that it interferes with the clarity of ideas

Con

vent

ion

Appropriate grammar & mechanics & proofreading

Correct citation & documentation

Minor errors of grammar & mechanics that are not necessarily distracting or confusing to the reader

Citation & documentation with only minor errors

Grammar & mechanicalerrors may at times distract or confuse the reader

Citation & documentation with frequent minor errors or occasional major errors

Errors of grammar & mechanics interfere with the clarity of ideas

Extensive and major citations & documentation errors

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