Submit a responsive post to a fellow student’s original post. Content for this post cannot be supported by the textbook or assigned reading materials. The source MUST be primary authority or secondary (i.e., scholarly) source obtained from FNU’s Library or LexisNexis.
All citations must meet APA or Bluebook formatting criteria.
Every post must meet word-count parameters: 250 to300 words/post.
All posts must be proofread and edited before submitting (grammar, spelling, coherence, and use of regular Times New Roman [size 12] font.
Once a source is cited, that specific source cannot be subsequently cited by another student as his/her source. However, all sources can most definitely be referenced, scrutinized, or praised (i.e., highlighting factual discrepancies, faulty data, points of interest, etc.).
Fellow students post:
Geoffrey Beere
3/21/22, 1:08 AM
Week Three – Post Three
Elements of a Reported Case
Reported court cases are published in such a way that they are easy to read. They are separated into different parts, and they are set up in the same format for every case. The case begins with the citation which contains the volume number, page number, and the name of the “reporter” where the specific case can be found. Some citations, such as U.S. Supreme Court citations, contain the year that the case was decided. Also in the beginning of a reported case is the caption, which provides the names of the parties to the case and their position, such as plaintiff or defendant. The next item is the syllabus, which is a short summary of the case written by the publisher. Also found near the beginning of the case are headnotes, which are short summaries of a specific point of law that is included in the text of the opinion. The number of the headnote corresponds to the number in brackets in the opinion. Underneath the headnote are a series of numbers which are called key numbers. The key number system is a research indexing system created by West, where each area of law has a topic name, and each specific topic or subtopic has their own key number. To find additional cases on a particular topic, searches can be done by just looking at that key number.
There is another section that lists the names and cities of the attorneys together with the specific parties they represent. Along with the name of the attorneys, the name of the judge or judges who wrote the opinion is also provided. Next is the most important part and that is the actual court opinion. The body of the opinion usually contains the same basic information in all cases, such as the facts of the case, information about the prior proceedings (case history), issues or issues, rule of law (the law that controls the case), holding (when the court applies the law to the facts and comes up with a final decision), reasoning (when the court explains why the law applies to the present dispute), disposition/relief granted (a statement by the Court providing the order of the court based upon the court’s holding), concurring opinion (an opinion by another judge who agrees with the majority opinion but for a different reason than the majority) and lastly the dissenting opinion (an opinion by a judge who disagrees with the majority and wants to present their own opinion).
