Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
By Elaine M. Deering, J.D. (based on
readings for Week 1)
$100 -- What are Cases?
•
•
•
•
A.
B.
C.
D.
Written decisions of judges
Laws made by Congress
Laws made by lawyers
Published laws
$200 – What Kinds of Cases Are
Analyzed in a Case Brief?
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Lower court decisions only
Appellate and federal district court decisions
Pending cases (not yet decided)
Cases that have been decided in the last ten years
Any cases that would be useful for a client matter or
for a class
$400 – Why do legal professionals and
students write case briefs?
A. Because court rules require it
B. To review the main points of a case to help
you better understand it
C. To store your research for future reference
D. To use as a reference in writing a legal memo
$500 – What is the difference between
a case brief and a legal brief?
A. The case brief is written by a legal professional; the
legal brief is written by the judge
A. A case brief describes many cases; a legal brief
describes one case
B. A case brief summarizes one case; a legal brief
contains a legal argument based on many cases
C. A legal brief is a formal version of a case brief.
$1,000 – When preparing a case brief,
how should you proceed?
• A. Start outlining the case
• B. Discuss the case with others to make sure you
understand
• C. Write the conclusion while it’s fresh in your mind
• D. Read it as many times as necessary till you
understand it
• E. Whatever works best for you
$2000 – Which is the best format for
writing a case brief?
• A. Detailed case brief format
• B. FIRAC
• C. Varies with instructors or supervising
attorneys
• D. IRAC
• E. CRAC
$4000 – What does the “A” in FIRAC
stand for?
• A. Attributes
• B. Appellant
• C. Attorney
• D. Analysis
$5000 – What is a “case of first
impression?”
A. The first case of its kind; no previous
precedent on point
B. The case was decided impulsively, arbitrarily,
and capriciously
C. A case in which the decision was in favor of
the attorney who spoke first
D. A tentative opinion, subject to revision
$10,000 – You are working on a case and recall
briefing a similar case last year. How should you
proceed?
• A. Retrieve the case brief and re-use it
• B. Shepardize the case to make sure it’s still good law
and then rebrief if necessary
• C. Don’t use it because it’s been used already
• D. Use the case brief prepared by Lexis to save time
$20,000 – What is a case brief?
A. An outline of a written court opinion
B. An overview of a case written by the editorial staff
C. A paper detailing an attorney’s arguments in court
based on several cases
D. Introductory remarks by the judge in the written
opinion
$25,000 – What is the focus of a case
brief on an appellate opinion?
• A. The attorney’s arguments on behalf of the client
• B. Alleged legal errors by the trial judge
• C. Why the case is no longer good law
• D. The opinion of the person preparing the brief on
whether the case is a good precedent
$50,000 – Using FIRAC, which of the following is
included in the Rule section?
• A. Substantive facts on which the court relied
as a basis for its ruling
• B. A concise statement of the relevant facts
and applicable rule before the court
• C. The legal principle that the court applied in
issuing its ruling
• D. The decision or holding of the case
that applies the rule
$100,000 – Using FIRAC, which of the following
is included in the Facts section?
• A. Information regarding the conduct of the parties
on which the court relied as a basis for its ruling
• B. A concise statement of the relevant facts and
applicable rule before the court
• C. The legal principle that the court applied in issuing
its ruling
• D. The decision or holding of the case
that applies the rule
$200,000 – How should you use case
briefs provided by Lexis and Westlaw?
• A. To get a quick overview of the case and
determine its relevance
• B. As a draft of your case brief
• C. Cut and paste with attribution instead of
redoing it yourself
• D. Don’t use them at all, as it is illegal
$400,000 –What is a holding?
• A. A law of any kind
• B. Property contained in a client’s estate or
portfolio
• C. A ruling or decision of the court
• D. An attorney’s strategy in handling a case
$500,000 – Why will the format of
case briefs sometimes differ?
• A. Cases on point require a different style from other cases
• B. The style you use depends on the style preferred by the law
firm or instructor
• C. Not all cases contain all components of the standard case
brief style
• D. The style of the brief depends on the length of the case
$600,000 – Which set of facts should
you include in your case brief?
A. All facts in the case
B. Only the facts relevant to the issue you are
researching
C. Only the most interesting facts
D. Only the facts that will help your case
$700,000 – When you write your Issues
section, which is the best approach?
• A. Be as detailed as possible
• B. Include all facts and rules
• C. Include as many questions as you can, being as creative as
possible
• D. Be succinct, but include any facts and rules applicable to
the legal question at hand
• E. Skim the case to see whether the court defined the issue
$800,000 – What does the word “we”
refer to in a court opinion?
• A. The entire staff of attorneys who worked on the
case
• B. The “royal” we, standing for the court itself
• C. The parties and people affected by the ruling
• D. The jury
• [Hint: When you write the brief, use the third person]
$900,000 – How do you determine the
precedential value of a case?
• A. Unless the facts are identical, the case has no precedential
value
• B. If the cases are similar, you can compare them by analogy
• C. If the cases are different, you can distinguish the cases
• D. Look at the length and jurisdiction of the case to determine
its value
$1,000,000 – Which is true about
plagiarism in writing a case brief?
•
A. Give the full case citation at the beginning of the brief. After that, it’s understood all
material comes from the case.
•
B. Give the full case citation at the beginning of the brief and use quotation marks or
block style to show direct quotes
•
C. Plagiarism is not an issue in legal materials because all opinions are public documents
•
D. Plagiarism is not an issue in case briefs because the Bluebook, not the APA manual,
controls