5 to 8 pages.
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This main case will be the key case that you are briefing on. The cases cited in the main case
serve as the initial precedent that the court relied upon to determine the outcome of the conflict. You
will utilize the online LexusNexis/Nui database to find your complete main case and the
precedent cases cited in the Main case. Also conduct a “ Shepards” tab research of cases that came
after your Main Case. (these cases either followed (green); cited (blue); distinguished (yellow); or
overruled (red) aspects of the Main Case. Therefore, you will need to use your main case in Nexis Nui
and use the upper right dropdown menu Tab of “Shepards” to “Shepardize” your main case then
summarize these for your presentation as well. The term “Shepardize” is the legal research process of
reading more recent cases that have either followed, distinguished or overruled the holdings of your
selected main case. Do not use cases that deal solely with the “procedural” issues (i.e. legal
standards associated with granting of procedural motions), instead, use the cases that discuss and
decide the issues that are about the law and applicable facts. You can e-mail these cases to yourself so
that you can have them with you when you prepare the paper.
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1) Case name AND Citation – the numbers and letters that are the “address” of the case AND the page
number from the text,
2) Facts – Expand these beyond those listed in the text. In other words, pull the original case, read it,
and write a brief in a manner that would add more understanding (e.g. who the parties to the
lawsuit are and why they are involved in this case, etc.) Search newspapers and other documents
for more information on the parties…
3) Issue, or Issues – The legal issues, also called the “cause of action” in the law, those legal situations,
which give, rise to the case.
4) Holding – The basic ruling of the court that resolves the issue but do not quote the court.
5) Reasoning – Review the legal theories or principles that the court uses in deciding the case. There
may be more than one, so do a thorough analysis.
6) Implications – In this instance, how does this case relate to the subject matter of the chapter and the
course as a whole.
