Legal Analysis
Rationale
Rationale
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What it is
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Reason for the decision or holding
“The opinion”
Utilizes traditional forms of logic
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Deductive
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Start with rule
More commonly used in legal reasoning
Rationale, cont.
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The Holding is a rule of law that the
appellate court reaches
The decision or conclusion is the result
Rationale describes how the court
reached its conclusion or holding
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Includes the arguments it accepts and the
argument it rejects
Importance of Rationale
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When a reason for a rule fails, the rule also
fails
In applying case law to your facts, case law
applies when facts and issues are the same
When facts are different, you must look to
rationale
When reason for original rule no longer is
valid, then rule must change
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i.e. Brown v. Bd of Educ. & Plessy v. Ferguson
Rationale
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Reason for Court’s Holding
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Based on logical reasoning
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In a case brief you are summarizing the
Court’s reason for its decision
Forms of Legal Reasoning or
Analysis
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Rule Based Reasoning
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Analogical Reasoning
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Comparing and distinguishing cases
Policy Based Reasoning
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Rules found in codes
Rules found in cases
Good of society
Principle-Based
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Appeals to a trait valued by society (morality,
justice, fairness, etc.)
Analogical Reasoning
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Appears in almost all case opinions
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Comparison of facts
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Dickerson pg 298 (comparison with Long)
Writing the Rationale
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Remember this is a summary—not a
commentary
Describe the rules that the court is
relying on in reaching its conclusion
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Cases, statutes, constitutional provisions,
public policy
Describe how court applied to rules to
facts of case to be briefed
Rationale Should Include
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Major Rules of Law
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Constitutional provisions, cases, codes, public
policy
May involve synthesis of various cases
Analysis of Law and Facts
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Why the court is using these rules
Is a case stare decisis?
Is case analagous?
Does a statute apply?
Does public policy control
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How the court applies the rules to your facts
Identify Major Rules
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Select major rules
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Constitutional provisions
Codes
Cases: Look for cases that are analyzed,
not just mentioned
DO NOT CITE SECONDARY SOURCES AS
AUTHORITY FOR RULES
Primary Law vs. Secondary
Sources
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Primary—constitutions, codes, cases,
rules/regulations
Secondary sources—describe or explain
primary law
Pg. 254-256
Writing the Analysis in the
Rationale
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Usually follow the same order as the
court does
If possible follow deductive reasoning
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state general rules of law relied on by court
and then show how the facts of the case
relate
Writing the Rationale/analysis
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1. Identify the holding before writing
2. Ask: In general how did the court arrive
at the holding (conclusion)
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Did the court rely on cases, statutes, other
considerations
HINT
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Go through rationale part of opinion
In margin, write one sentence summary
of each paragraph
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Then consolidate and condense
Example
Rationale:
Rules:
Fourth Amendment to U.S. Constitution The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches.
Common Law: Until the 20th century a search occurred only if there was a trespass as defined by
common law; at common law a visual surveillance was never a search because the eye could not trespass.
Katz v. U.S. A non-trespass situations was held to be a search. The Court held that electronic
eavesdropping of a telephone conversation on a public telephone was a search because the defendant had
a reasonable expectation of privacy in the call.
Application
The Court discussed the effect of technology on the right to expect privacy and recognized that various
situations might require different results. In the case of the search of the interior of homes, the most
commonly litigated area of protected privacy, there is a ready criterion, with roots deep in the Fourth
Amendment and in common law. Individuals have an expectation of privacy within their home. Relying on
Katz v. U.S., the Supreme Court stated that even though police did not physically enter the home,
obtaining evidence from within the home through the use of modern technology was still a search. To
withdraw protection of this expectation would be to permit police technology to erode the privacy
guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment.
Examples
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Arizona v. Hicks
San Diego v. Roe
Gideon v. Wainwright
Brown v. Bd. Of Educ.
Briefing Cases
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Case Name and Citation
Judicial History
Facts
Issue(s)
Holding(s)
Rationale
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Rules
Analysis
Conclusion
Case Briefs
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Summary of opinion
No room for personal commentary or
opinion
Book briefing
Identify parts of brief in margin of case
Briefing v. Notetaking
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In addition to briefing, you may need
other “notes” on a case for later use
Quotations--You may want to use
language of court in Memorandum, trial
brief or appellate brief
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Note pages from official and unofficial sources
of all quotes