Case Brief Example for Law Students | Free Download PDF

An example of a case brief condenses an entire judicial opinion into a focused, study-ready format that helps law students understand how courts analyze disputes. It strips a decision down to its legally relevant core so you can review cases faster and recall them accurately during class and exams. 

In this article, you will learn:

• How facts are selected and framed for legal relevance.
• How courts state issues and apply legal principles.
• How holdings and reasoning connect to the final disposition.
• How to brief a case efficiently for class and exam preparation.

Read the article to see the full breakdown in context.

Case Brief Examples

This case brief example PDF shows how a real brief looks when it’s organized as a clean, readable document. Each section of the brief follows the order law students use for class and exams, so you can see how facts, issues, rules, and reasoning fit together on the page.

This case brief example for law students PDF presents the same case in a column-style format. Viewing both versions side by side helps compare structure, spot key differences, and understand how layout affects clarity.

This additional criminal case brief example for law students shows how criminal cases are briefed in document format, highlighting charges, legal standards, and judicial reasoning clearly.

IRAC Case Brief Example

IRAC is a simplified briefing lens that breaks a case into Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion. It helps isolate factual and legal questions quickly and track judicial reasoning. For quick prep and exam review, IRAC keeps analysis tight. This law school case brief example shows how IRAC works in practice using a clear, study-ready case brief proper outline format.

Key Elements of a Case Brief

A case brief includes seven core components that help law students track how a court analyzed a dispute. Each section serves a specific purpose in understanding the decision. Below is a brief explanation of each component, followed by detailed examples later in the article.

1. Case name - Identifies the parties and the reported decision
2. Procedural history - How the case moved through the courts
3. Facts - Legally relevant events that led to the dispute
4. Issue - The precise legal question the court addressed
5. Rule - The legal principle applied to decide the case
6. Holding - The court’s direct answer to the legal issue
7. Reasoning - Explanation of what the court relied on to reach its decision

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Case Name

This part identifies the case and tells the reader exactly what decision you’re briefing and where it appears. It includes the parties’ names, the official reporter citation, the court, and the year. This information anchors your brief and prevents confusion when multiple cases involve similar facts or issues.

To see how this information is structured, here is a template:

Case Name + Citation + Court + Year

Using that format in practice, here’s how it looks in a completed brief: 

Palsgraf v. Long Island Railroad Co., 248 N.Y. 339 (New York Court of Appeals 1928)

Writer tip: Always copy the citation directly from the opinion or syllabus. Small citation errors can cost points on exams and make your brief harder to verify.

Procedural History

This section tracks how the case moved through the courts and explains the procedural posture of the opinion you’re briefing (for example, an appeal, a motion to dismiss, or a ruling on summary judgment).

When writing procedural history, separately answer these questions:

• What did the trial court decide?
• Who appealed or filed a motion?
• What did the appellate (or intermediate) court do, if applicable?
• What court is deciding the case now, and what is it reviewing?

To see how these steps come together in a brief, review the sample procedural history paragraph below:

The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the defendant. The plaintiff appealed that ruling. The intermediate appellate court reversed and remanded the case. The defendant then sought review by the state supreme court, which is now reviewing whether summary judgment was properly granted.

Facts

This section summarizes only the legally significant facts that influenced the court’s decision. A strong facts section excludes background details and focuses on actions, conditions, and circumstances directly tied to the outcome. In a case brief example for students, facts are selected because they help explain why the court affirmed or reversed the decision and how it ruled on the issue.

The example below shows how a facts paragraph isolates only what mattered to the court’s analysis:

The defendant left a loaded firearm unattended in an unlocked vehicle parked on a public street. A minor gained access to the vehicle, removed the firearm, and later discharged it, causing serious injury to another person.

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Issue

The issue states the exact legal question the court must resolve. It is usually written as a clear, focused question that can be answered yes or no. Framing the issue precisely helps isolate the legal dispute and keeps the brief tied to the court’s interesting alternative analysis. The issue should connect the key facts to the relevant legal standard without adding conclusions or arguments.

The case brief issue example below shows how an issue is framed as a neutral legal question based on the facts:

Does a defendant act with criminal negligence when they leave a loaded firearm unsecured in a vehicle, creating a substantial risk of harm to others under the applicable statute?

Rule

This section states the legal principle the court applies, not the result it reaches. The rule explains the standard that governs the issue and comes from statutes, prior cases, or well-established doctrine. It should be written as a general statement of law, separate from the facts of the case and distinct from the holding, which applies the rule to only those facts.

The example below shows how a rule is stated as a neutral legal standard rather than a case-specific conclusion: 

A person acts with criminal negligence when they fail to perceive a substantial and unjustifiable risk that their conduct will cause harm, and that failure constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care a reasonable person would observe under the circumstances.

Holding

The holding is the court’s direct answer to the legal issue. It states who wins and why, often in a short, decisive statement. The holding applies the rule of law to the facts without expanding into a full analysis.

The example below shows how a holding gives a clear answer while staying brief and outcome-focused:

Yes. The trial court’s grant of summary judgment is reversed because the defendant owed a duty of care that was breached under the applicable negligence standard.

Reasoning

This section explains how the court reached its holding. It connects the rule to the facts by showing the logical steps the judges followed and which facts mattered most.

The example below shows how reasoning links specific facts to the governing legal standard:

The court reasoned that leaving the firearm unsecured created a foreseeable risk of harm. Because the defendant knew the vehicle was accessible to others and failed to take basic precautions, the conduct satisfied the statutory requirement of criminal negligence.

Writer tip: Follow the court’s logic step by step. If you can’t explain why one fact mattered more than another, the reasoning section needs tightening.

Optional Sections

Some case briefs include optional sections for concurring and dissenting opinions. These parts explain how individual judges agreed with the outcome for different reasons or disagreed with the majority’s reasoning or result. Including them is most helpful when a professor emphasizes judicial reasoning or policy debates. 

For related academic planning, see scholarships for criminal justice majors.

Case Brief Example Template

This PDF case brief template helps you organize cases quickly. Each section includes short prompts to guide your notes. It’s designed for class reading, outlining decisions, and reviewing key points before exams.

Final Thoughts

This guide walked through a practical student case brief example and showed how to read and organize it, from identifying legally relevant facts to following a court’s reasoning step by step. 

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