Researching a Supreme Court Case
The Supreme Court resolves some of the most pressing and controversial issues in
the United States today. The Court receives thousands of petitions each year, thus each
case it decides to hear typically is one that tackles a politically volatile issue. To
familiarize yourself with the process by which cases reach the Supreme Court and to
better understand the political significance of one the Court’s decision, you will be
required to research a case. This project will satisfy first semester’s research paper
requirement. Papers are to have a title page and to be at least five pages (no more than
seven – do not count the title page or works cited), doubled-spaced, in 12-point, Times
New Roman, and with one-inch margins.
The following outline will guide you in your research and writing and each item
should be addressed in your paper. All references are to be cited in proper format and
included in a bibliography. This is a formal research paper and will count 20% of your
semester grade. A PowerPoint presentation will also be included in this assignment –
written details to be distributed later.
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What is the title of the case?
Who is the plaintiff in the case?
Who is the defendant in the case?
Explain, in detail, the original case.
Who had original jurisdiction in the case?
Remember that appeals courts cannot make a decision on issues of fact, only on
issues of law. What was the issue of law in question before the appeals court?
7. What was the decision of the appeals court?
8. Why did the Supreme Court agree to hear this case?
9. In whose favor did the Supreme Court find?
10. What was the final vote?
11. Who wrote the majority decision?
12. Summarize the majority decisions.
13. Who wrote the dissenting opinion?
14. What were the main points of the dissention?
15. What is the political impact of this decision?
16. Do you agree with the majority opinion or the dissenting opinion? Why? Be
thorough!
Date for Case Sign Up: Wednesday, October 30. 2013
Paper Due: Wednesday, November 20
PPT Due: Tuesday November 26
Requirements: 8-10 slides with 3 to 5 images not including title slide and works cited.
Can include, but not limited to, the parties involved, background, point of law, decision,
and historical/political impact. Upload paper to SafeAssign and email the PPT.
Reading a Supreme Court Decision
Every discipline has its own literature, and the literature of the study of the Constitution includes judicial
opinions. It is essential, therefore, to acquire a talent for reading cases because they represent the medium
thorough which a court speaks. Students will find it helpful to take careful notes in the form of an outline
on the cases they read. Making the outline is called briefing a case. Thorough case briefing consists of a
summary of at least seven elements.
Name of the Case. Always located at the beginning, the name or title identifies the parties to the
case. The name of the person or entity bringing the case to the Supreme Court appears first; the party being
brought to the Court is listed second. The v. stands for “versus” or “against.” So in Davis v. Bandermer
(1986), Davis was one of the several Indianan officials. Bandermer was one of several Indiana Democrats
who had convinced a district court that Davis and the others were maintaining a constitutionally invalid
legislative apportionment plan. Having lost in the court below, Davis wanted the Supreme Court to
overturn the district court. In cases on certiorari the petitioner brings the case against the respondent. In
cases on appeal, the appellant brings the case against the appellee. At times the terminology becomes
confusing in a criminal case, in which the person charged with the crime is often called “the defendant.” In
the Supreme Court the defendant may now be the petitioner, respondent, appellant, or appellee, but the
justices in their opinions may refer to “the defendant” in one paragraph and “the respondent” in another and
still be referring to the same individual.
Facts. Cases are real, not hypothetical, controversies between parties. The issues of a case arise
from circumstances or events that have prompted one or both parties to seek redress or resolution in court.
The facts of a case may or may not be in dispute, but they are always a factor in how cases are decided.
Question(s). The facts of a case present one or more issues or questions for decision. Most of a
judicial opinion is an effort to answer those questions. Although even a relatively simple case may
generate many questions, counsel in the Supreme Court seek review only of those of the gravest importance
– to the parties involved and to the nation. Ordinarily, the Supreme Court decides questions of law, not
fact. In reviewing a criminal conviction, for instance, the Court is rarely concerned with a defendant’s
actual guilt or innocence. Rather, the justices focus on procedural issues, such as the admissibility of
evidence or the lawfulness of an arrest.
Decision. A decision is the result or outcome of a case. The Court’s opinion provides answers to
the question(s) the case raises. For example, a government agency has, or has not, exceeded its authority
under the low or the Constitution. Typically in the Supreme Court, decisions take the form of affirming
(accepting) or reversing (rejecting and setting aside) the judgment of the court below. When reversing, the
justices will often remand (send back) a case to the lower court for action “not inconsistent” with the
Court’s decision.
Reasoning of the Majority Opinion. As explained in the previous section, the goal of the Court’s
decision-making process is a statement reflection the consensus of a majority of the justices. It explains
why a certain question requires a certain answer. An exercise in persuasion, the majority opinion attempts
to justify the decision the Court has reached.
Reasoning of Separate Opinions. Concurring and dissenting opinions should be examined
closely because they may shed light on what has been decided. Dissenting opinions highlight weaknesses in
the majority’s reasoning. Concurring opinions may indicate the limits to a line of reasoning beyond which
certain members of the majority are not willing to go. Both may highlight legal trends – where a decision
has come from and where it might be going.
Votes. The Supreme Court sits as a collegial body. That is, all justices normally take part in each
decision. The Court’s quorum now stands at six. Awareness of the votes of individual justices can alert the
reader to shifts in a justice’s position.
Adapted from American Constitutional Law: Introductory Essays and Selected Cases, 10th ed., by Alpheus
Thomas Mason and Donald Grier Stephenson, Jr., Prentice Hall, 1993.