Who is a legal brief written for

It is the purpose of this guide to direct you to some materials that may help you create a correctly formatted and persuasive brief. This guide is broken into two main parts. Below are some terms you may run into when starting work on your brief.

All the following definitions come from Black's Law Dictionary. Definitions of Words Referring to Parties in a Lawsuit. A party who appeals a lower court's or agency's decision, usually seeking reversal of that decision. A party against whom an appeal is taken and whose role is to respond to that appeal, usually seeking affirmance of the lower court's decision. A party who presents a petition to a court or other official body, esp.

In most appellate courts in the United States, the parties are designated as appellant and appellee. Often the designations depend on whether the appeal is taken by writ of certiorari or writ of error or by direct appeal. Someone who is not a party to a lawsuit but who petitions the court or is requested by the court to file a brief in the action because that person has a strong interest in the subject matter.

Prachi Darji. Is Weed or Marijuana Legal in India? Weed, marijuana, bhang, charas, ganja and so on, cannabis in India has been given numerous names and forms. What is a Writ Petition? How do you file one in Court? Writ Petition is an order given by the High Court to a lower court directing them to act or stop acting in a certain way. The article talks about Writ Petition, the types of writ petition, how to file a writ petition in court and the format of each writ.

Legal Services. Goverment Registrations. Book Consultation. Divorce Startup Criminal Licenses. Employment Corporate Civil Marriage. Contact Us Blog Write for us Careers. Appellate brief An appellate brief is a written legal argument presented to an appellate court.

Student brief A student brief is a short summary and analysis of the case prepared for use in classroom discussion. The parties and how to keep track of them Beginning students often have difficulty identifying relationships between the parties involved in court cases. The following definitions may help: Plaintiffs sue defendants in civil suits in trial courts. Student briefs These can be extensive or short, depending on the depth of analysis required and the demands of the instructor.

Title and Citation The title of the case shows who is opposing whom. Facts of the Case A good student brief will include a summary of the pertinent facts and legal points raised in the case. The fact section of a good student brief will include the following elements: A one-sentence description of the nature of the case, to serve as an introduction. A statement of the relevant law, with quotation marks or underlining to draw attention to the key words or phrases that are in dispute.

A summary of the complaint in a civil case or the indictment in a criminal case plus relevant evidence and arguments presented in court to explain who did what to whom and why the case was thought to involve illegal conduct. A summary of actions taken by the lower courts, for example: defendant convicted; conviction upheld by appellate court; Supreme Court granted certiorari.

Issues The issues or questions of law raised by the facts peculiar to the case are often stated explicitly by the court. Reasoning The reasoning, or rationale, is the chain of argument which led the judges in either a majority or a dissenting opinion to rule as they did. Separate Opinions Both concurring and dissenting opinions should be subjected to the same depth of analysis to bring out the major points of agreement or disagreement with the majority opinion.

Analysis Here the student should evaluate the significance of the case, its relationship to other cases, its place in history, and what is shows about the Court, its members, its decision-making processes, or the impact it has on litigants, government, or society.

Further information and sample briefs Many of the guides to legal research and writing include a discussion of student briefs, appellate briefs and other types of legal memoranda used by practicing attorneys.

Examples and more information can be found in the library books listed below: Bahrych, L. Legal writing in a nutshell 4 th ed. Paul, Minn. S68 Clary, B. Successful legal analysis and writing: The fundamentals 2 nd ed. Law C53 ] Edwards, L. Legal writing and analysis 2 nd ed. Law and Reserve Room KF E ] Garner, B.

The winning brief: tips for persuasive briefing in trial and appellate courts 2 nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press. Law KF G37 ] Hames, J. Legal research, analysis, and writing 5 th ed. H36 ; For 3 rd ed. H36 ] Putman, W. Legal analysis and writing 2 nd ed. Law KF P87 ] Ray, M. Legal writing--getting it right and getting it written 4 th ed. R39 ] Shapo, H.

Writing and analysis in the law Rev. New York: Foundation Press. S5 ] Slocum, R. Legal reasoning, writing, and persuasive argument.