Describe criminal procedure and evidence.
Describe criminal procedure and evidence.
February 29, 2024 Comments Off on Describe criminal procedure and evidence. Uncategorized Assignment-helpBriefs and Critiques
You will brief and critique one court case for each section of this course, for a total of four cases. The cases to brief are assigned to you, and the cases can be found in the textbook.
Your brief should be in a summary format using full sentences in your own words. Don’t retype the case. No bullet points or lists. Each section must contain the title of the section: Facts, Reasoning, etc. Additionally, the Holding does usually begin with a “Yes” or “No” but please respond in a full sentence (Ex. “Yes, the court held that Defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated). Grading rubrics specific to the briefing activity identify levels of performance along the continuum of distinguished, proficient, limited, and unsatisfactory. For each case you brief, divide your analysis into the following sections:
Citation
What the citation tells you about the parties to the case, the jurisdiction (where it was decided), and the likelihood that it is still good law (i.e., how old is it?).
Facts
What is the dispute and what brought these parties into court?
Procedural History
Where did this case begin? What was the decision? How many times has it been appealed? To which courts has it been appealed? What was the result at each level?
Issue
What does the majority opinion at this level see as the most important legal issue(s)?
Result
Was the case affirmed, reversed, or remanded? This should be stated in a full sentence.
Holding
Answer to the legal question. Should be a “yes” or “no” and stated in a full sentence.
Reasoning
What reasons did the court give for deciding as it did? History? Public policy? Are the reasons given the real reasons the court decided as it did?
This section should be the longest of your brief in which you explain/summarize (in your own words) the reasoning behind the decision that was made by the case. This will often include discussion of precedent cases and how they apply. The court’s reasoning may also include definitions from statutes or from the dictionary, historical facts, quotes from philosophers, etc.
The brief should have a comprehensive summary of how the reasoning of the court, tests used, statutes relied on, cases relied on, etc. form a connection between the facts and the decision.
NOTE: anytime the court sets forth a test it used to decide the case, that test is essential to include in your brief, as it can be used in the future to analyze factual scenarios with the same issue. You do not need to summarize the dissenting opinion(s) (if applicable) in the Reasoning section (or any section of the brief). This section is arguably the most important section of the brief