Driebel, v. City of Milwaukee, 298 F.3d 622 (7th Cir. 2002)

CASE BRIEF GUIDELINES

1. Case briefs will be written in the following format (mandatory):

a. Title and Citation (e.g. Jones v. Smith, 123 F.3d 456 (11th Cir. 2004))

b. Type of Action (e.g. civil suit for money damages for violation of free speech rights under the First Amendment.)

c. Facts of the Case (Discuss relevant facts; what happened? Why is this matter in court?)

d. Contentions of the Parties (What are the best arguments favoring each party?)
• Smith argues that:
• Jones argues that:

e. Issue(s) (The issue relevant to the subjects studied in the module in which it is assigned, e.g. Were Jones’ rights under the First Amendment violated when he was fired for speaking at a political rally?)

f. Decision (How did the court rule on that issue?)

g. Reasoning (Why did the court rule the way it did? This is the most important part of the case.)

h. Rule of Law (What one legal point do we take from this case?)

2. Length: Should not exceed 2 pages.

CASE BRIEF EXAMPLE

CRJ 550
Legal Issues in Criminal Justice Administration

Case Brief Example

This is an example of a well-written case brief. Note the compliance with the required format and how the student gets right to the important points in plain language. If legal terms are encounter which are not understood, chances are that other students will not understand them, so it is best not to use them unless defined within the brief.

Assignment sub-heading:

TITLE AND CITATION:

TYPE OF ACTION:

FACTS OF THE CASE:

CONTENTIONS OF THE PARTIES:

ISSUE:

DECISION:
REASONING:

RULE OF LAW:

Please use Westlaw as one of the reference
Reference: