b. Procedural issue: What is the appealing party claiming the lower
court did wrong (e.g., ruling on evidence, jury instructions, granting
of summary judgment, etc.)?
6. Judgment: This is the court’s final decision as to the rights of the parties,
the court’s response to a party’s request for relief. Generally, the
appellate court will either affirm, reverse, or reverse with instructions. The
judgment is usually found at the end of the opinion.
7. Holding: This is a statement of law that is the court’s answer to the issue.
If you have written the issue statement(s) correctly, the holding is often
the positive or negative statement of the issue statement.
8. Rule of Law or Legal Principle Applied
: This is the rule of law that the court
applies to determine the substantive rights of the parties. The rule of law
could derive from a statute, case rule, regulation, or may be a synthesis of
prior holdings in similar cases (common law). The rule or legal principle
may be expressly stated in the opinion or it may be implied.
9. Reasoning
: This is the court’s analysis of the issues and the heart of the
case brief. Reasoning is the way in which the court applied the rules/
legal principles to the particular facts in the case to reach its decision.
This includes syllogistic application of rules as well as policy arguments
the court used to justify its holding (why the decision was socially
desirable).
10. Concurring/Dissenting Opinions: A judge who hears a case may not agree
with the majority’s decision and will write a separate dissenting opinion.
Another judge may agree with the decision but not with the majority’s
reasoning and will write a separate concurring opinion. Note the
concurring/dissenting judge(s)’ reasons for refusing to join in the majority
opinion.
11. Additional Comments/Personal Impressions: What are your reactions to
and critique of the opinion? Anything you like? Dislike? How does this
case fall in line with the other cases you have read? Do not accept the
court’s opinion blindly. Assess the reasoning in each case. Is it sound?
Is it contradictory? What are the political, economic or social impacts of
this decision?
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