court case briefing in Law ( legal writing )

i need help in my law class, i need to do a brief for a court case. 

i have upload the instruction of the brief (ppt). 

  

(1) Caption/Title

(2) Procedural History

(3) Facts

(4) Issue(s)

(5) Holding(s)/Decision(s)

(6) Reasoning/Court’s Analysis

i also upload the court case that need to be briefed (docx). 

Briefing Cases

Tips for Reading and Summarizing Court Cases

What is a Brief?
Case Brief:
Short summary and analysis of a single case.
Purpose: Prepared for use in class or work.
Identifies parties, facts, legal issues, and reasoning behind a court’s decision (among other things).
Objective.
No required format.
Courtroom Brief:
Written form of legal argument presented to a court.
Purpose: Persuade judge(s) to rule in one party’s favor.
Not objective.
Format generally governed by rule or custom.

Why Brief Cases?
Helps you understand the case.
Helps you remember the facts and issues.
Trains you to recognize important legal issues.
Forces you to read carefully, and to reread.
Prepares you for class.

Common Parts of a Case Brief
(1) Caption/Title
(2) Procedural History
(3) Facts
(4) Issue(s)
(5) Holding(s)/Decision(s)
(6) Reasoning/Court’s Analysis
(7) Dicta/Commentary/Other (optional)

(1) Caption/Title
Identifies the case being summarized
(A) Name of case & court issuing opinion; or
(B) Case Citation
For example:
Smith v. Jones, 325 F.2d 510 (3d Cir. 2001).

Case Citation Basics
Name of case, volume/reporter/page (jurisdiction year)
Smith v. Jones, 325 F.2d 510 (3d Cir. 2001)
Case Name
First name = “Plaintiff”
v. = versus
Second name = Defendant
Date Published
Volume 325 of the Federal Reporter 2d edition,
at page 510.
Third Circuit Federal Court

(2) Procedural History
The mechanics of the case:
Who is suing? (plaintiff)
Who is being sued? (defendant)
What is the “cause of action” or “claim”
recognised legal theory for gaining relief from the courts
How the lower court ruled in the case
Who is appealing?
To which court?

Include the current judgment in the Procedural History
This is the outcome of the case – What action the court (judge(s)) took to resolve the case.
For example:
(A) Affirmed
(B) Reversed
(C) Remanded (Sent back to the lower court for action consistent with the higher court’s opinion)

(2) Procedural History – Example
Procedural History:
Plaintiff, Julia Slocum, brought an action against the defendant, Food Fair Stores, to recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED).
Trial court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a cause of action and this appellate court affirmed that decision.

(3) Facts
“Necessary” vs. “Nice” Facts
Necessary Facts—Key to the court’s decision.
Nice Facts—Helps tell the story of the case.
Summary of relevant facts
Who did what to whom?
How?
Injuries and/or damages

(3) Facts – Example
Facts: Julia Slocum, asked a Food Fair Stores of Florida employee for the price of an item. The employee replied: “If you want to find out the price, you’ll have to find out the best way you can…you stink to me.” Julia claims to have suffered severe emotional stress, a heart attack, and aggravation of a pre-existing heart condition as a result of this statement.

(4) Issue(s)
The question(s) in controversy, which the court was obliged to answer.
Write in the form of a separate question
Yes or No (answer) form
Issues may be:
(a) Procedural; or
(b) Substantive

(4) Issue(s) – Example
Issues:
I. Does Florida recognise an independent cause of action for IIED?
II. Do the employee’s “insulting” words to the plaintiff give rise to a cause of action for IIED?

(5) Holding(s)/Decision(s)
The answer to each issue (question) before the court.
Begins with short answer (Yes, No).

(5) Holding(s)/Decision(s) – Example
Holding(s):
I. Yes. Florida does recognise an independent cause of action for IIED.
II. No. The clerk’s comments to the plaintiff do not give rise to a claim for IIED.

(6) Reasoning/Court’s Analysis
Rationale for the court’s decision.
The reasons the court used to reach it.
May include multiple steps.
Short Example:
1. Provocation requires intent.
2. Defendant did not intend to step on the tail.
3. Defendant did not provoke the dog.

(6) Reasoning/Court’s Analysis – Example
Reasoning:
The question of whether IIED is a cause of action in Florida is one of first impression. There is a strong trend in the law toward recognizing such an independent tort, and the court acknowledges this trend.
However, looking at the trend, recovery is deemed to be allowed when the conduct (including words) is “calculated to cause ‘severe emotional distress’ to a person of ordinary sensibilities,” absent special knowledge that the victim is hypersensitive, in a manner that “exceeds all bounds which could be tolerated by society.”
Here, the comments of the clerk to the plaintiff were “mere vulgarities” and not calculated to cause severe emotional distress.

(7) Dicta, Commentary, Notes (optional)
“Dicta” – commentary by the court that does not pertain directly to the case at hand.
Rule of Law – A general/broad rule that the case stands for, and that may apply as precedent in future cases.
Commentary – Questions that arise as you read. Does something seem wrong about the outcome?
Why was this case assigned? How does this case relate to other cases you are studying?

Case Brief Sample

Caption: Slocum v. Food Fair Stores, 100 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1958)
Procedural History: Plaintiff brought an action against the employer to recover for intentional infliction of emotional distress (IIED). The trial court dismissed the complaint for failure to state a cause of action and plaintiff appealed. The Supreme Court of Florida affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the complaint.
Facts: Plaintiff, Julia Slocum, asked a Food Fair Stores of Florida employee for the price of an item. The employee replied: “If you want to find out the price, you’ll have to find out the best way you can … you stink to me.” Julia claims to have suffered severe emotional stress, a heart attack, and aggravation of a pre-existing heart condition as a result of this statement.
Issues: Does Florida recognise an independent cause of action for IIED? If so, do the employee’s “insulting” words to the plaintiff give rise to a cause of action for IIED?
Holding: The court refused to address squarely whether the cause of action exists in Florida. But if Florida did recognise an independent tort of IIED, the clerk’s comments to Julia would not be of such a nature to give rise to the claim.

p. 1

Reasoning: The question of whether IIED is a cause of action in Florida is one of first impression. There is a strong trend in the law to recognise such an independent tort, and the court acknowledges this trend. However, looking at the trend, recovery is deemed to be allowed when the conduct (including words) is “calculated to cause ‘severe emotional distress’ to a person of ordinary sensibilities,” absent special knowledge that the victim is hypersensitive, in a manner that “exceeds all bounds which could be tolerated by society.” Here, the comments of the clerk to Julia were “mere vulgarities” and not calculated to cause severe emotional distress. Thus, the court stopped short of recognizing the tort in Florida, and even if it had, there was no cause of action in this case.
Dicta/Commentary: Although the court identifies the question of IIED as one of first impression in Florida and does not explicitly resolve it in this case, the court recognises a strong current of opinion in favor of the action throughout the nation. Under this emerging theory of IIED, recovery is allowed when the conduct (including words) is “calculated to cause ‘severe emotional distress’ to a person of ordinary sensibilities,” absent special knowledge or notice (Restatement) in a manner that “exceeds all bounds which could be tolerated by society” (Prosser).
p. 2

Edward Conti, Plaintiff, v. ASPCA et al., Defendants

Civil Court of the City of New York, Queens County

77 Misc.

2

d 61; 353 N.Y.S.2d 288; 1974 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1082
 
January 30, 1974

COUNSEL:

John J. Howley for plaintiff.
Thacher, Profitt & Wood (Raymond Hughes of counsel), for defendant.

JUDGES:

Martin Rodell,  [***2]  J.
OPINION BY: RODELL
OPINION:  [*61]   [**289]  Chester is a parrot. He is fourteen inches tall, with a green coat, yellow head and an orange streak on his wings. Red splashes cover his left shoulder. Chester is a show parrot, used by the defendant ASPCA in various educational exhibitions presented to groups of children.
On June 28, 1973, during an exhibition in Kings Point, New York, Chester flew the coop and found refuge in the tallest tree he could find. For seven hours the defendant sought to retrieve Chester. Ladders proved to be too short. Offers of food were steadfastly ignored. With the approach of darkness, search efforts were discontinued. A return to the area on the next morning revealed that Chester was gone.
On July 5, 1973 the plaintiff, who resides in Belle Harbor, Queens County, had occasion to see a green-hued parrot with a yellow head and red splashes seated in his backyard. His offer of food was eagerly accepted by the bird. This was repeated on three occasions each day for a period of two weeks. This display of human kindness was rewarded by the parrot’s finally entering the plaintiff’s home, where he was placed in a cage.
The next day, the plaintiff [***3]  phoned the defendant ASPCA and requested advice as to the care of a parrot he had found. Thereupon the defendant sent two representatives to the plaintiff’s home. Upon examination, they claimed that it was the missing parrot, Chester, and removed it from the plaintiff’s home.
 [*62]  Upon refusal of the defendant ASPCA to return the bird, the plaintiff now brings this action in replevin.
The issues presented to the court are twofold: One, is the parrot in question truly Chester, the missing bird? Two, if it is in fact Chester, who is entitled to its ownership?
 [**290]  The plaintiff presented witnesses who testified that a parrot similar to the one in question was seen in the neighborhood prior to July 5, 1973. He further contended that a parrot could not fly the distance between Kings Point and Belle Harbor in so short a period of time, and therefore the bird in question was not in fact Chester.
The representatives of the defendant ASPCA were categorical in their testimony that the parrot was indeed Chester, that he was unique because of his size, color and habits. They claimed that Chester said “hello” and could dangle by his legs. During the entire trial the court [***4]  had the parrot under close scrutiny, but at no time did it exhibit any of these characteristics. The court called upon the parrot to indicate by name or other mannerism an affinity to either of the claimed owners. Alas, the parrot stood mute.
Upon all the credible evidence the court does find as a fact that the parrot in question is indeed Chester and is the same parrot which escaped from the possession of the ASPCA on June 28, 1973.
The court must now deal with the plaintiff’s position, that the ownership of the defendant was a qualified one and upon the parrot’s escape, ownership passed to the first individual who captured it and placed it under his control.
The law is well settled that

HN1

HYPERLINK “http://www.lexis.com/research/” \l “clscc1” \t “_self”

the true owner of lost property is entitled to the return thereof as against any person finding same. (

Matter of Wright
, 15 Misc 2d 225;

36A C. J. S., Finding Lost Goods, § 3.)
This general rule is not applicable when the property lost is an animal. In such cases the court must inquire as to whether the animal was domesticated or ferae naturae (wild).
Where an animal is wild, its owner can only acquire a qualified right of property which is wholly lost when it escapes from its captor [***5]  with no intention of returning.
Thus in

Mullett
v. Bradley (24 Misc. 695)

an untrained and undomesticated sea lion escaped after being shipped from the west to the east coast. The sea lion escaped and was again captured in a fish pond off the New Jersey coast. The original owner sued the finder for its return. The court held that the sea lion was a wild animal (ferae naturae), and when it returned  [*63]  to its wild state, the original owner’s property rights were extinguished.
In

Amory
v. Flyn (10 Johns. 102)

plaintiff sought to recover geese of the wild variety which had strayed from the owner. In granting judgment to the plaintiff, the court pointed out that the geese had been tamed by the plaintiff and therefore were unable to regain their natural liberty.
 [**291]  This important distinction was also demonstrated in

Manning
v. Mitcherson (69 Ga. 447, 450-451;

Ann.

52 A. L. R. 1063)

where the plaintiff sought the return of a pet canary. In holding for the plaintiff the court stated “To say that if one has a canary bird, mocking bird, parrot, or any other bird so kept, and it should accidentally escape from its cage to the street, or

to [***6]  a neighboring house, that the first person who caught it would be its owner, is wholly at variance with our views of right and justice.”
The court finds that Chester was a domesticated animal, subject to training and discipline. Thus the rule of ferae naturae does not prevail and the defendant as true owner is entitled to regain possession.
The court wishes to commend the plaintiff for his acts of kindness and compassion to the parrot during the period that it was lost and was gratified to receive the defendant’s assurance that the first parrot available would be offered to the plaintiff for adoption.
Judgment for defendant dismissing the complaint without costs.

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