Case Brief Template

Parties Involved

​[Plaintiff.FirstName][Plaintiff.LastName]/[Plaintiff.Company] is the plaintiff and [Defendant.FirstName][Defendant.LastName]/[Defendant.Company] is the defendant.

Citation

(Provide citations for what you're basing your brief on so that your audience can easily refer to the source material if needed. Include the dates of the citations.)

Procedural History

(Describe the history of the case, e.g., whether it has been in the state or federal courts, at the trial or appellate level, etc., and which court ultimately heard the case as you're presenting it now and how it ended up there.)

Issue

(State the issue before the court in a question format using one question per issue, e.g., is Defendant liable for the damages that Plaintiff incurred?)

Facts

(Describe the key, legally significant facts of the case to paint an accurate picture, e.g., the Defendant was driving his/her vehicle on ABC Road when they were distracted by taking a phone call on their cell phone and hit the rear of the Plaintiff's vehicle which was stopped at a red light.)

• Fact #1

• Fact #2

• Fact #3

Rule of Law

(State the rule of law being applied in the court, e.g., is the court applying manslaughter charges or homicide, and why?)

Reasoning

Based on the facts and the rule of law, the court finds that (state the position that the court held based on the various facts and rules of law that have been presented).

Judgment

The court decides that [Defendant.FirstName][Defendant.LastName]/ [Defendant.Company] is (verdict).

Dissent (optional)

(If there was a dissenting opinion for the case you're reviewing, it's important to include it by writing a sentence or two about the dissenting opinion's point of view.)