Effective Case Reading Techniques for Law Students 5 months ago

 

As a law student, cases will form part of your everyday life in law school. Its importance is unquestionable, the New Civil Code itself states that judicial decisions applying or interpreting our laws shall form part of our legal system. While useful for exam purposes, knowing how to read a case effectively will definitely come in handy for class recitations. With that being said, here is a step-by-step process to effectively read a case.

 

 

 

Preliminary Things to Take Note Of:

 

Ponente

The ponentes is the writer of a court’s majority decision. Different ponentes have different writing styles.

 

G.R. Number (G.R. No.)

The G.R. No. is the case docket number assigned by the Supreme Court for purposes of identification and distinction. Taking note of the G.R. No. is a way for you to make sure that you are reading the correct case.

 

Date of Decision

Take note of the date of a Decision, since it may be an old one — the rules embodied therein may have already been superseded by subsequent and newer case law.

 

Parties

Make sure to identify and distinguish between the petitioner/s and respodent/s.

 

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Step 1: First Read

Your first read of a case should just be a quick run through of it. 

It’s alright not to understand everything about a case in its first read, since the first read, at most, should only give you a feel of what the case is about. Aside from skimming through the full text, another good way to get an overview of the full text is to read a case digest.

Step 2: Read Through the Facts, Issues, and Ruling

Your subsequent readings of a case should now focus on the details — filtering out its relevant parts from those which are not.

As a general rule of thumb, skim and familiarize yourself with the procedural antecedents (i.e. lower court rulings) and non-syllabus related doctrines. On the other hand, focus on the facts, issues, and syllabus-related doctrines.

 

The following are components that you should look out for upon your subsequent readings:

1. Facts, Arguments, and Procedural History

A case is differentiated from another by its factual antecedents. And when it comes to fact-dependent subjects such as Criminal Law, it is important to pay extra attention to the facts. The arguments of each party gives you an idea as to the cause of action and defenses of the parties involved. A case’s procedural history, i.e. the rulings of the lower courts, is also beneficial to take note of for you to have an idea as to how the case reached the Supreme Court. This is especially important for cases on Remedial Law.

 

2. Issue and Ruling of the Supreme Court

This is arguably the most important part of a case, so read this part thoroughly! It’s important to fully understand how the Supreme Court applied legal provisions and/ or legal doctrines to the particular set of facts. In this latter part of the case, make sure to pay attention to the following:

 

a. Issue-Spotting

Issue-spotting is especially important for answering essay questions in exams. It is when a student uses a fact pattern to trigger relevant legal concepts. Very little, if any,  time is devoted to teaching law students this skill [1]. Notwithstanding, issue-spotting is a skill that will be improved overtime through reading cases. 

 

 

b. Ratio Decidendi 

Knowledge of the law is the key to being able to spot issues quickly and accurately, even while under stressful conditions (such as recitations or perhaps in a final exam [2]). Make sure to understand the ratio decidendi or the “rationale for the decision [3].” Be mindful of obiter dictum, as well or those comments, suggestions, or observations of a judge in an opinion which are not necessary for the resolution of a case. These do not have any binding authority — you could not cite them as precedent [4].

 

c. How the Supreme Court Applied the Legal Rules Involved

Be sure to understand how the Supreme Court applied relevant legal rule/s to the particular set of facts presented. Doing so will enable you to fully understand the essence of the rule of law involved — its qualifications, requisites for applicability, cases of non-applicability, among others. Professors may ask you situational, hypothetical questions to test your knowledge of the law.

 

3. Legal doctrine

The legal doctrine is the “moral of the story.” This should be your main takeaway after reading a case.

 

Step 3: Make a Case Digest

Making a case digest is highly recommended, as it is an excellent way to retain and review the aforementioned relevant parts of a case. Want to know how to create a comprehensive case digest? Read How to Digest a Case: A Step-by-Step Guide!

 

To end

While every law student approaches a case-reading differently, skills such as dissecting a case, identifying the relevant facts, and issue-spotting are skills that every law student must possess for purposes of recitations, exams, and even in practice.

 

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[1] The Law School Playbook. “Mastering Issue Spotting on Exams.”

[2] WARREN, Jennifer. “The Value of Issue Spotting and Strategies to Improve Your Skills” (2016).

[3] Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. “Ratio Decidendi.”

[4] People v. Macadaeg, G.R. No. L-4316 (1952).

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