Auburn University CRJ Legal Issues in Corrections Case Brief Essay

Case Briefs: The case-briefing exercises require students to analyze published judicial opinions and then summarize the salient points of the case within a single page. We will go over how to write a case brief in class. The case briefs will be graded using the grading rubric posted on Canvas. The third case brief is worth 14 percent of your cumulative grade

Purpose: The purpose of reading in the practice of law is different from the purpose of reading in many other disciplines. In law, you read not just to familiarize yourself with someone else’s ideas, but to be able to use the information to formulate and answer additional questions. This requires understanding judicial opinions. Therefore, passively reading cases is not sufficient; you must deconstruct judicial opinions into different parts and state those components in your own words in an easily accessible format. Case briefs reduce the volume of material and ensure understanding of the opinions for application in a new set of facts.

Directions: Brief United States v. Wells, No. 19-10451 (9th Cir. 2022), and use this link (Links to an external site.) as a “How To” guide for your case brief ((1) case name; (2) facts; (3) procedural history; (4) issue(s); (5) holding/decision; (6) rule; (7) rationale/reasoning; (8) final disposition; (9) and other opinions (dissent/concurrence)). Please keep in mind that while a case brief generally consists of similar topic headings, some professors/employers will have a preferred briefing format. You are only required to follow this general format in this class.

Formatting: One single-spaced page; 12-point font; Times New Roman font; one-inch margins; clear topic headings.

Grading Rubric for Case Brief #3.pdf