Assignment Documents
Refer to the following Case Law for this assignment: Regina v. Cunningham.pdf
Refer to the following sample case briefing as a guideline on how to format the assignment: Sample Case Brief
Objective for this Assignment
Through this assignment, the student will learn how to brief a court ruling. In writing a case brief, one’s task is to essentially summarize a court ruling (sometimes called a court “opinion” or “judgment”). In many ways, a case brief can be compared to a book report, as it is meant to summarize the key aspects of a larger body of information. The general aspects of a case addressed by a student brief include (but are not limited to) the following:
facts of the case (what transpired between the parties involved before the case was brought to court)
issues (the questions that the court in this specific case addresses)
majority, concurring, and dissenting opinions (the judge’s reason for deciding the way he/she did)
holding (the final verdict or decision of the court)
analysis (the student’s original commentary regarding the significance of the case)
It is essential in criminal law to understand the history and reasoning behind the laws and rules of law that govern our criminal justice system. Everyone has heard of the Miranda Rights, but do you know how those rights came about and when must police officers read someone their Miranda rights (hint – they DO NOT have to be read every time someone is arrested!)? An example of a case brief using Miranda v. Arizona is provided above in the sample case brief.
You do not need to “Google” the case to write the case brief. If you just read the case, all of the information you need to write the briefing is there. You are just summarizing each case. Your instructor will be able to tell if you copied and pasted from the internet. If you are caught doing this, you will receive a zero for the assignment. Any repeat offenses will result in you being referred for academic discipline and a zero for the assignment. Students who read the case and put it in their own words receive higher grades and learn more than those who do not. Each case has been assigned to you for a specific reason or lesson. You will learn nothing from copy and paste.
Submission Format
Each assignment will be submitted to the appropriate dropbox in a .doc or docx format.
Your paper should be double-spaced and include a centered title. Any sources used should be properly cited in APA format.
