Case Briefing Project (50 points)

Go over how to brief a case using Appendix B on page 555 (sample brief on
pages 556 to 558)

FIRAC (Facts, Issue, Rule, Analysis, and Conclusion) Method of Briefing Cases
o Facts
 Important facts or background information that gave rise to
the case
o Issue(s)
 Legal issue(s) does the Court have to decide
o Rule
 Rule or law that applies to the issue(s) which the Court will use
to decide the case
 Could be a provision of the Constitution, a statute, and/or an
older case (a.k.a. “precedent”)
o Analysis
 Describe how the Court applied the Rule to the Facts
 Describe how the Court explained its reasoning
 Include a brief summary of any concurring and dissenting
opinions in this section
o Conclusion
 What was the Court’s ruling
 How did the Court answer the Issue(s)

Explain Project
o We will separate into 6 groups (I have already made the groups-list
groups by class right in lesson plan)
o Each group will be assigned a specific power of the presidency and the
excerpt of a USSC case that explains/interprets that power
o Description and analysis of the presidential powers as well the case
excerpts can be found in the book
 Domestic Powers
 GROUP ONE: Executive Orders (Youngstown Sheet &
Tube Co. v. Sawyer)-pages 212 to 215
 GROUPS TWO: Emergency Powers (Korematsu v. U.S.)pages 228 to 233
 GROUP THREE: Emergency Powers (Ex Parte Endo)pages 228 to 230, 233 to235
 Foreign Affairs Powers



GROUP FOUR: Executive Agreements (Dames & Moore
v. Regan)- pages 239 to 243
War Powers
 GROUP FIVE: War Against Terrorism (Hamdi v.
Rumsfeld)- pages 245 to 250
Presidential Immunity
 GROUP SIX: Presidential Immunity (Jones v. Clinton)pages 253 to 257
o Students will have this block to read the assigned pages and prepare a
“visual brief” of the assigned case (read the case excerpt carefully and
closely)
 Create a Keynote presentation which contains one or more
slides for each of the FIRAC steps
 Slides must include bullets, not long sentences (these
will be your notes as you present the case to the rest
of the class)
 You can include visuals or internet video links which
will assist you in describing the case
o Student groups will make their presentations to the rest of the class
 Audience members will fill out a spider map for each of the
presentations
 A leg for each of the five FIRAC steps
o Rubric
 Individual Grade
 Group Work Performance (staying on task, using iPad
appropriately, contributing to the group)-10 points
 Presentation (knowing your portion of the Keynote,
effectiveness of your explanation, not reading directly
off of slide, clarity and eye contact)-10 points
 Group Grade
 Keynote Text Slides (slides contain “notes” or “bullets”
not drawn out sentences, addressing each of the FIRAC
steps including any concurring and dissenting opinions,
overall effectiveness of the Keynote in explaining the
case)-25 points
 Keynote Visual Slides (visuals pertain to the case,
visuals assist in understanding the case)-5 points