1L prep — skills
A case brief is your one-page map of a judicial opinion — the facts that matter, the question the court answered, and the reasoning you'll be asked about in class. Every 1L briefs cases; the students who brief well walk into cold calls calm. Here's the method, step by step, plus a template you can print or download.
The method
Read for the story first: who are these people, what happened, who won. Don't brief on the first pass — you'll highlight everything and learn nothing.
Tip: opinions often bury the holding. The first paragraph and the last two paragraphs usually tell you who won and why.
How did this case get to this court? Who sued whom, what did the lower court do, and what is being asked of this court now? Write one or two sentences. (Example: "Plaintiff sued for negligence; trial court granted summary judgment for defendant; plaintiff appeals.")
Not every fact matters — only the ones the court's reasoning depends on. Ask: if this fact were different, would the outcome change? If yes, it's in your brief. Aim for five to eight sentences.
Tip: the "but-for" test for facts. The color of someone's car is rarely relevant; whether the driver ran a red light always is.
Phrase it as "whether" the facts satisfy a legal rule: "Whether a five-year-old who moves a chair knowing someone is about to sit down commits battery." One sentence. If you can state the issue crisply, you understand the case.
The rule is the legal principle the court applied (e.g., "battery requires intent to cause harmful or offensive contact"). The holding is the court's answer applied to these facts ("Yes — knowledge to a substantial certainty satisfies intent"). Keep them separate: rule first, then holding.
Why did the court decide this way? Summarize the court's logic — and note the strongest argument for the losing side. Professors live in this section: "What would the dissent say?" is a favorite cold-call follow-up.
Tip: never copy the opinion's language wholesale. Rewriting forces understanding; copying fakes it.
Print this page or download it as plain text. One template per case.