Deconstructing a Judicial Opinion All judicial opinions printed in books begin with a caption that provides the what, where, when, and who: 1. WHAT court is issuing the opinion? 2. WHERE is the court located? 3. WHEN was the opinion written? 4. WHO are the parties and WHO wrote the opinion? This information gives us the context in which to understand the opinion. Describe below what you learn from reading the caption of the assigned case. The next two parts may appear in several different ways: Option #1 1. Story 2. Path The "Story" is Option #2 1. Path 2. Story What happened between the litigants that caused someone to sue Option #3 Combined Story & Path The "Path" is how the case has traveled through the court system or actions a party has taken after the suit was filed Write down each fact you see in the An accurate statement of the facts should provide a complete picture of what happened to cause one (or both) parties to seek help from the courts. story. The path should be a timeline that begins when the lawsuit is filed. Use the timeline below to show the sequence of events between the parties and the "government. Draw in more dots as needed. Issue #1: Deconstructing an Argument Reason #1: Reason #2: Reason #3: Concluding Statement: Clues to Identifying Issues. After the "story" Look at Headings (if available) Look for words like: count, claim, allege, question, issue, whether Look for where the citations start Anticipate more than one! Issue #2: Reason #1: Reason #2: Reason #3: Concluding Statement: Issue #3: Reason #1: Reason #2: Reason #3: Disposition: In other words bow did the court "dispose of" or decide the case. This is usually one. Concluding Statement: Always be sure to note if there is a dissenting or concurring opinion. One or both of these, if present, will follow the majority opinion. Only the majority opinion is LAW.