Chapter 12 – Finding and Interpreting Court Opinions

Case Reporters

• Case reporters, or reports, are books that contain appellate court decisions.
• Reporters are generally divided into two categories — official and unofficial.
• They are official when published at the direction of state or federal statutes. All others are unofficial. The texts of the opinions published in the unofficial reporters are the same as those in the official ones.

Locating Court Opinions with Citations

• Citations provide:
  • Name of the case
  • Where it can be located
  • The court that decided the case, and
  • The year in which it was decided

Elements of Court Opinion

• Preliminary material and editorial features
• Facts of the case
• Law analyzed
• Issues raised
• Decisions reached
• Reasoning
• Concurring and dissenting opinions  

Mandatory Authority 

• Decisions that come from:
  • 1.A higher court
  • 2.in the same jurisdiction

Persuasive Authority

• Decisions that come from:
  • 1.An equal or a lower court from the same jurisdiction or
  • 2.From a higher court in a different jurisdiction

How Courts Decide

• When looking to Mandatory Authority courts will:
  • Base decision on prior Analogous cases or
  • Distinguish prior cases and reach contrary decision

Creating New Common Law

• In issues of first impression courts can create new common-law rules or defer to legislature
• By overruling precedent courts can create new law

Case Brief Format

• Case citation
• Facts
• Rule
• Issue
• Holding
• Reasoning
• Criticism

Seven Hits for Better Brief Writing

• Read the case first, then brief
• Develop a workable style
• Write based on the needs of your reader
• Cross-reference
• Paraphrase
• Use a dictionary
• Use but do not be misled by the court’s choice of terminology

Types of Court Opinions

• Those that interpret and apply enacted law
• Those deciding the constitutionality of law
• Those applying established common-law principles
• Those creating new common-law principles