brief case 2

Please look up this book and read those chapter before writing, and if  you fine any other source that is related to Showalter (or another author) to support your analysis, please cite all your references  2 PAGES MAX

Brief the Stowers v. Wolodzko case on p. 135 (8th Ed.); p. 197 (9th Ed.).

Case Briefs require you to analyze an excerpt of a court’s opinion according to the five-part framework noted below.  The following subheadings below must be used to identify each part of the brief.  Do not repeat the prompts. Your brief must be written in paragraph form, with complete sentences, using the headings noted below.  Your Case Brief should be NO MORE THAN 2 PAGES in length.

Procedural Posture:  Who are the parties?  Who sued whom and why?  What did the court or jury decide?  Was there an appeal? To which court(s) was the case appealed.  Hint: If you are reading an appellate decision, focus on the appellate court’s analysis.

Facts:  Objectively review the facts considered by the court.  Cull and identify the facts that were most relevant to the court’s decision. Articulate the parties’ arguments based on these facts.

Legal Issue(s): What was the precise legal issue(s) (“question”) the court was asked to decide?  The issue should be stated as a substantive legal question. e.g. The United States Supreme Court considered whether an Oklahoma state law, requiring the forced sterilization of habitual criminal offenders, violated the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Holding:  What was the court’s precise legal holding (decision)? (The holding should “answer” the “question” presented by the issue.  You must then explain the court’s rationale, that is, why did the court hold as it did?  (The holding is the rule of law that emanates from the case.)  It is not: "plaintiff won"; "defendant was found guilty", or "the jury was right."  This is the most important section of your brief and requires your independent analysis.

Analysis and Implications:  Do you agree with the court’s holding and rationale?  Why?  Are there any facts that you would like to know that were not revealed in the opinion?  What is the importance/relevance of this case to the study of health care law?  How does this case inform the job of health care administrators?  Would the case be decided differently today?

Please note that reliance upon Showalter’s analysis of a particular case will be insufficient to complete your case brief.  Although it is acceptable to use Showalter (or another author) to support your analysis, I am looking for YOUR ANALYSIS.  Do not use another student’ brief or a commercially prepared law briefs to complete this assignment – I will be able to tell.   

There is also a video “How to Brief a Case,” located under the Additional Resources tab. 

Students should also be prepared to discuss their analyses during class sessions.