Case Brief Legal Research and Writing:

Brief the case of Costanza v. Seinfeld, 181 Misc. 2d 562, 693 N.Y.S.2d 897 (Sup. Ct. N.Y. County 1999). Your brief may be no longer than 2 pages single-spaced. While the case that you have to brief is attached, I strongly encourage you to do some research on Nexis Uni about the case.

Please take a look at the three handouts that I have attached here. The first handout outlines how to brief a case with a detailed explanation of each part of the case brief. The second handout provides an example of a properly done case brief. The third handout is a copy of the i-rubric that I will apply when grading the case brief. If you would like to read the case briefed in the model case, please find the case on Lexis at Delanhanty v. Hickley, 564 A.2d 758 (D.C. 1989). While carefully considering these materials, please remember that you need to brief the Constanza case for submission.

Don't hesitate to contact me if you run in to problems with this assignment. And remember – don't make it more complicated than it needs to be. Additionally – good writing is good writing, whether you are writing a case brief or a research paper. Don't forget what you already know about writing.

Remember that case briefs are used to highlight the key information contained within a case for use within the legal community as court cases can be quite lengthy.

When writing case briefs, all information must be properly cited. Make sure you are not copying and pasting from your source. Most of the material should be paraphrased; quotations should make up no more than 10% of the brief. Note: since the purpose to is highlight and summarize key information, merely copying and pasting from the case does not accomplish this goal. You must summarize the facts in your own words, using quotations sparingly.