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Writing
a Legal Brief
Author:
Catharine Niuzzo Honaman
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| Time: |
3
days |
Preparation
Time: |
30
minutes to read over lesson |
| Materials: |
Access
to computers to write the legal briefs |
Abstract
Students will get together in their
groups to use the information that they found in the
previous lesson to write an appeals brief for their
side of the trial in Ricki Jones v. Metro City. They
will follow the format for writing a legal brief that
was learned in the Explore Lesson and incorporate the
legal, scientific, and environmental information that
they found while doing research in the Explain Lesson.
Purpose – This
is the Apply Lesson.
Students will write a legal brief to be used for
an appeals trial. They will use the actual format
that
is found in a real court of law and include pertinent
legal, scientific, and environmental information
that will make their brief effective.
Objectives
Students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate knowledge of the format of a legal brief by writing one
2. Synthesize information from multiple sources to write a persuasive document
3. Collaborate with peers to create a document which incorporates information
relevant to the project that was collected from multiple sources
English
Education Standard
WRITING
W-P1.
Use transitional devices; varied sentence structures;
active voice; parallel
structures; supporting details, phrases, and clauses;
and correct spelling,
punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage to
sharpen the focus and
clarify the meaning of writing
PO 1. Use transitions (e.g., conjunctive adverbs, coordinating
conjunctions,
subordinating conjunctions) where appropriate
PO 2. Vary sentence structure (e.g., compound, complex,
compound-complex)
PO 3. Use active voice as appropriate to purpose (e.g.,
creative writing)
PO 4. Use parallel structure appropriately
PO 5. Sharpen the focus and clarify the meaning of
their writing through the
appropriate use of:
- capitalization
- standard grammar and usage (e.g., subject-verb agreement,
pronoun agreement and consistency of verb tense)
- spelling, with the use of a dictionary/thesaurus (as needed)
- punctuation (e.g., comma, ellipsis, apostrophe, semicolon, colon)
W-P2. Write a persuasive essay that contains effective introductory and summary
statements; arrange the arguments effectively; and fully develops the ideas
with convincing proof, details, facts, examples, and descriptions
PO 2. Develop the point of view with ample and convincing support appropriate
to audience and purpose
PO 3. Create an organizational structure that includes an effective beginning,
middle, and ending
READING
Strand 2: concept 2: Functional Text
PO 2. Synthesize information from multiple sources
to draw conclusions
Teacher Background
It would be helpful if you understood
how and why court cases get appealed. This information
can be found in any 12th grade government textbook or
at the following web site:
http://www.aboutgovernment.org/judicialbranch.htm
It is also important to have knowledge of the format
of a legal brief as explained in the Explore Lesson and
on the following web site: http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/410/legalbrief.htm (Internet Legal Research and Writing Legal Briefs Describes
the parts of a legal brief)
Resource Websites
http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/410/legalbrief.htm (Internet Legal Research and Writing Legal Briefs Describes the parts of
a legal brief)
http://streetlaw.org/mockt2.html (The Street Law web site where the mock
trial information for Ricki Jones v. Metro City is found)
http://www.lexisnexis.com/associates/career/careerpd091101d.asp (Writing A Brief The George Orwell Way) |
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Activity
1. Begin the class by telling your students that although
it might seem a little bit intimidating to them to
put together a legal brief, as we often associate the
court system and legal communications as a world too
complex for the average individual to comprehend, they
have everything they need to succeed. Wayne Schiess
points out on his web site entitled Writing A Brief
The George Orwell Way that, “A Wisconsin supreme
court justice once said: ‘A lawyer should write
a brief at a level a 12th grader could understand.’” Furthermore,
lawyers today are being admonished to write in plain
language, not using overly convoluted grammar and antiquated
phrasing. So, at this point your students are well-prepared
for their task.
2. Have the students get together in their small groups once
again. They will need their work from the Explore Lesson in
which they learned the parts of the legal brief, the statement
of stipulated facts and applicable law from Ricki Jones v.
Metro City that you gave them, plus all of their research notes
from the Explain Lesson. Using the parts of the legal brief
as a structure to organize their information, the groups need
to create a legal brief to appeal the court’s decision
that was not in their favor. Emphasize that this type of document
will be the basis of their oral arguments when they are in
a moot court later on in the quarter. They will only have 30
minutes to argue their case for the moot court activity in
their government class Therefore, their brief must be clear,
to the point (That’s why it is a brief!), organized,
full of relevant information, and persuasive. These are the
aspects on which their legal brief will be evaluated by both
the judge (in the future moot court activity) and you the teacher.
In their brief they must show that they have analyzed the facts
of the case and have been able to construct a strong argument
for why their side should have won.
3. The students need to spend their time pulling together the
research that each did individually into a coherent and strongly
persuasive document. Everything in the legal brief for the
appeal must be presented in a way that unequivocally supports
the group’s side of the case. It should go without saying,
but make it clear that the students will need to do a rough
draft first that the members of the group critically read for
mechanical, organizational, content, and stylistic errors.
4. It is suggested that the students identify the sections
of the legal brief for you by noting in the margins where the
different parts are. As in the model brief, which they read
and analyzed in the Explore Lesson, it is permissible to combine
sections that logically dovetail together.
Closure
Students should go through the following checklist within their groups to make
sure that the legal brief that they wrote exhibits these features as
well as others which you may stipulate such as length, font size, etc.:
Mechanics-
The following are correctly used:
transitional devices
varied sentence structures
active voice
parallel structures
supporting details, phrases, and clauses
correct spelling
proper punctuation
correct capitalization
proper grammar and usage
Legal
Content/Organization- The following sections are
included:
1. Facts of the case -- a concise statement of the facts from
a legal point of view
2. Issue of the case -- what parties had standing, and what specific
concepts and terms were involved
3. Decision of the court -- including an analysis of any concurring
or dissenting opinions in previous case precedent
4. Reasoning of the court -- analysis of the thinking process
and logic used by previous judges
5. Citations to support previous judgments -- only the important
precedent cases, not all of them
6. Rule of law -- a concise summary of the main precedent established,
separate from the dicta, or circumstances of the cases
7. Dissent -- other rules of law implicit or inherent in dissenting
opinions
Stylistic
Organization- The following features are in evidence:
Effective introductory and summary statements
Arguments are arranged effectively
Fully developed ideas:
with convincing proof, details, facts, examples, and descriptions
Appropriate to audience and purpose
Effective beginning, middle, and ending
Information has been synthesized from multiple sources to draw
conclusions
Embedded
Assessment
Use the checklist from the closure section of the lesson
to base your evaluation of the written portion of this
lesson, the appeals legal brief.
You may also wish to evaluate how well the students in
each group worked together, whether all seemed to be doing
their share of the work, whether all were on task and contributed
positively for the three days of this lesson. Homework
None. |
Embedded
Assessment |
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