Case Brief
Brief the case University of Texas at Arlington v. Williams, 459 S.W. 3d 48 (Tex. 2015), which is attached as “Williamscase.docx”
Please use the approved case brief format that includes the following parts: (1) Facts, (2) Procedural History, (3) Issues Statements, (4) Holdings, (5) Reasoning, and (6) Decision.
Case briefs are used to highlight the key information contained within a case for use within the legal community as court cases can be quite lengthy.
When writing case briefs, all information must be properly cited. Make sure you are not copying and pasting from your source. Most of the material should be paraphrased; quotations should make up no more than 10% of the brief. Note: since the purpose to is highlight and summarize key information, merely copying and pasting from the case does not accomplish this goal. You must summarize the facts in your own words, using quotations sparingly. When writing case briefs, you must give credit to all the information you use. Make sure you aren’t copying and pasting from your source. Most of the information should be rewritten in your own words. Quotes shouldn’t make up more than 10% of the brief. Note: Since the point is to highlight and summarize important information, you can’t just copy and paste from the case to do this. You have to put together a summary of the facts in your own words, using quotes only when necessary.
Please take a look at the three handouts that I have attached here. One handout outlines how to brief a case with a detailed explanation of each part of the case brief. Another handout outlines how I will grade these case briefs. The third handout provides an example of a properly done case brief. If you would like to read the case briefed in the model case, you can find it at Delanhanty v. Hickley, 564 A.2d 758 (D.C. 1989).
Legal case names should be done in standard “Blue Book” format. For example: York v. Smith, 65 U.S. 294 (1995). For further information see Cornell University Law School Website and look under the “How to Cite” section. Bluebook citation information is also found in the course materials and announcement sections of the class.
