A case brief is a specifically structured summary and analysis of a judicial opinion. It is a tool. It creates a manageable outline of the important points of a judicial opinion and helps you understand an opinion’s complex parts.
For Case Brief 1, read and brief the Conroy v. Spitzer case.
To understand the case, you will need to read—and repeatedly reread—it carefully.
Your brief must follow this structure (use the J’Aire Corp. v. Gregory Sample Case Brief as a guide) and contain each of these component parts:
Procedural History
Facts (Focus on legally relevant facts)
Issue (What question is the court trying to answer in this case? State it in one sentence, as a question).
Holding (Answers the issue/question with a definitive decision based on the most legally significant facts of the case. State it in one sentence beginning with your answer to the question/issue: “Yes” or “No”).
Rule (main rule used to decide this case; in some cases it will be a preexisting rule, while in other cases it will be a new rule created by the court).
Court’s Reasoning (What were the most important cases that the court relied on, and why? What were the most important points/steps in the court’s thinking?)
Disposition (Result)
You may include an optional Other Thoughts or Evaluation section.
