LAW 201 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Headnote, Mischief Rule, Golden Rule
14 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Module 2: Introduction to Legal Reasoning/ Case Briefing
Module 2A: Legal Reading
Why do we read cases?
• The law is for everyone
• To learn the law
• Because the law changes every day
• Because the law is interesting
Beginning to read a case:
• Which jurisdiction?
o Ex. Ontario, Alberta, foreign
• Who is suing whom?
o Who is the plaintiff?
o Who is the defendant?
o Who is pursuing charges and against whom?
• Which level of court?
o Trial level? Did the judge hear evidence and make findings of fact?
o Appeal?
1. Scan for headings
2. Read the headnote
3. Read the facts
4. Figure out what happened
5. Figure out why it happened/ the decision
Module 2B: Writing a Case Brief, Finding a Case Law
Case briefing is the first and fundamental step in legal reasoning
• Memo writing, factum writing and academic writing to follow
Two main ways lawyers use legal reasoning:
• To figure out how a judge reasoned the outcome in a decision ex. How a judge solved a
legal puzzle (case briefing)
• To solve a legal puzzle themselves (memo writing, factum writing)
The point to figuring out how a judge solved a puzzle:
• To learn the law
o The law grows by cases (case law)
• To explain the law to others
o What is the point of the case?
• To extract the rule so you can use it elsewhere
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Module 2: introduction to legal reasoning/ case briefing. Why do we read cases: the law is for everyone, to learn the law, because the law changes every day, because the law is interesting. Beginning to read a case: which jurisdiction, ex. Did the judge hear evidence and make findings of fact: appeal, scan for headings, read the headnote, read the facts, figure out what happened, figure out why it happened/ the decision. Module 2b: writing a case brief, finding a case law. Case briefing is the first and fundamental step in legal reasoning: memo writing, factum writing and academic writing to follow. Two main ways lawyers use legal reasoning: to figure out how a judge reasoned the outcome in a decision ex. How a judge solved a legal puzzle (case briefing: to solve a legal puzzle themselves (memo writing, factum writing) If case law grows by adding new rules, you need to be able to extract those rules.
