Case: JDB vs North Carolina
Your case brief/analysis should be 700-1,000 words in length (not including your Reference page). Use distinct headings to clearly identify each element (prompt) of your case brief.
Case Brief Prompts
Your case brief should include each of the following elements:
- Legal and Procedural History: What is the history of the selected case? What prior courts heard the case? What were the rulings of the involved prior courts?
- Facts: What are the critical facts of the case? Identify the parties and the facts that were considered in the Court’s ultimate holding.
- Issues: What were the specific legal question(s) presented to the U.S. Supreme Court? Present the issues in clear and concise question format. If there were multiple legal questions, list each issue separately.
- Holding (Decision): How did the U.S. Supreme Court answer the issues? What was the Court’s final decision with respect to each issue?
- Court Rationale: Summarize the U.S. Supreme Court’s reasoning. Why did the Court rule in the way that it did? How and why did the Court arrive at its ultimate answers to the legal issues?
- Analysis: Share an original analysis and interpretation of the case and the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling. What is the case’s significance? How do the rights of juveniles in this case compare to the rights of adults in criminal cases? How has the case impacted our courts? How has the case impacted our government and/or our citizens? Do you agree with the Court’s analysis?
Using Sources
Formatting & Sources
Please write your paper in the APA format. As part of your research, you may refer to the course material for supporting evidence, but you must also use at least two credible, outside sources and cite them using APA format as well. Please include a mix of both primary and secondary sources, with at least one source from a scholarly peer-reviewed journal.
