Brett's Top 10 Tips to Making Sense of Planning
Law Cases
Tip 1: Read the case carefully & in
detail; do NOT merely skim the case
- You will be reading heavily edited appellate opinions which are written for lawyers & judges, not students
- It will be tough, dense reading; just keep slogging through it – everyone struggles with this stuff, not just you!
- Focus more on the substantive planning issues than procedural matters; you’ll figure this out with time
- If you do not read the case prior to class, you are guaranteed to be lost & confused
Tip 2: Look up unknown words and make list of definitions
Tip 3: Re-read the case, using a highlighter to note
key passages
- Yellow highlighter = key facts
- Blue highlighter = legal issue(s)
- Orange highlighter = court’s holding OR legal rule
- Green highlighter = court’s reasoning / rationale for its decision
Tip 4: Brief the case = crease a 1-page “case brief” of key elements
of the opinion
- Case name: Smith v. Jones
- Court & author of opinion: US Supreme Court / Justice Stephens
- Year: 2007
- Parties:
- At trial court:
- Plaintiff (who originally filed the suit): Smith
- Defendant (who got sued): Jones
- At appellate court:
- Appellee (who is appealing the lower court decision): Jones
- Appellant (who is responding to the appeal): Smith
- Facts: Opinion should lay out the key facts of case; useful to create short
summary in your own words.
- Legal issue(s): Should be a very specific yes / no question.
- Ex. Is economic development a public use under the Takings Clause of
the 5th Amendment of the US Constitution? (from Kelo
v. City of New London)
- Holding(s): How the court decided as to the legal issue(s).
- Court’s reasoning: The reasoning the court used to support its holding.
- Potential discussion Qs: Brainstorm Qs that might be asked during the in-class
discussion.
Tip 5: Review the case brief prior to the class in which
it will be discussed
Tip 6: Have your case brief handy during the in-class
discussion
Tip 7: During the in-class discussion, listen carefully
to your fellow students. Don’t space out!
Tip 8: After the class discussion, revise your case
brief if you missed major points discussed in-class
Tip 9: Prior to exams, create an “outline” summarizing
the key points of each case and the larger body of law they represent. (I
will provide some tips on how to do this later on in the semester.)
Tip 10: If you’re
really confused, ask your buddy (1st), the TA (2nd), or Prof. Hooker (3rd)
for help.
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