THE COURT SYSTEM: IMPORTANT TERMS Flashcards
Plaintiff
person who brings the case against another in a court of law
Defendant
person or entity being sued
Jurisdiction
refers to a court’s power to hear the case (limited subject matter jurisdiction-like small claims or probate court v. general jurisdiction-virtually any civil lawsuit)
Appellant
person who applies to a higher court for a reversal of a decision of a lower
court on appeal
Appellee
- party against who the appeal is filed
Affirming
to confirm or ratify a ruling (permitted to stand)
Dissenting opinion
- expresses disagreement with the majority opinion of the court which
gives rise to its judgment
Reversal
when a high court decides the decision of the lower court is incorrect and
should be overturned (nullified)
Holding
a court’s decision on a matter of law in civil procedure
READ THE WHOLE CASE FIRST (at least once or more)
Case law is the heart of the law and reading them takes practice.
Learning to brief a case reduces the information from the case into a format that will provide you
help in understanding the case
BEST METHOD TO USE IS CALLED THE IRAC METHOD (ISSUE, RULE,
APPLICATION/ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSION)
Before the issue, write a brief summary of the facts of the case.
Issue
Identify the legal issue or problem that needs to be resolved in the fact scenario
Rule
Determine the relevant law or legal principle that applies to the issue
Application
Apply the law or legal principle to the facts of the scenario
Conclusion
Draw a conclusion based on your analysis and application of the law. This
should clearly state whether the legal issue has been resolved in favor of the plaintiff or
defendant, or if it remains unresolved
