Download - Synthesis legal readers
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Analysis of Multiple Cases Through Synthesis:
LRW I
© Professor Rutledge
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Earlier—Analogies & Distinctions
• Case comparison is based on the premise that like cases should be decided in like manner1
• Making valid predictions involves drawing analogies from similar cases– Similar issues, possibly fact patterns– Applicable reasoning & policy statements
See Professor Gregory Berry, Synthesizing Rules http://www.law.howard.edu/faculty/pages/berry/advice/synthesispart2.htm (accessed July 14, 2004).
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When Writing
• Demonstrate that the case is binding legal authority
• Assure the reader that the facts you’re comparing were key facts in the decided case
• Give reader enough information to make independent comparison
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Analyzing Multiple Cases
• Multiple cases address issue
• Precedent has different fact patterns to client’s case and one another with different results
• Goal: Reconcile diverse results and advise client
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Synthesis
• Purpose – to find collective meaning in cases
• Rules of law are clarified through multiple cases
• Involves more than listing cases
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When to Synthesize
• No express definition of an element
• Rule not expressly stated
• Definition is vague
• Cases analogized don’t address all the determinative facts
• Several cases are all relevant in some way
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• Cannot fully understand a rule of law from just one case
• After reviewing several cases, communicate the standards the court will apply
• Collective legal proposition more important than a list of case briefs
Why Synthesize
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Synthesis is a Common Process
• We synthesize information daily
• Creating a chart may help, especially if it is a complex issue
• Synthesis can be a difficult skill that requires practice
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Example of Synthesis- Trespass²
A. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land to smell his award winning roses. Held: Professor Berry liable for trespass
²Id.
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B. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land seeking to escape a mob of angry law students bent on attacking him for giving them low grades. Held: Professor Berry not liable for trespass.
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C. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land seeking to escape a mob of angry law students bent on attacking him for giving them low grades. While evading his pursuers, Professor Berry accidentally tramples on Mr. Jones' award winning roses. Held: Professor Berry liable for damages to roses.
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What do the Three Cases Stand for Collectively?
A. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land to smell his award winning roses. Held: Professor Berry liable for trespass.
B. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land seeking to escape a mob of angry law students bent on attacking him for giving them low grades. Held: Professor Berry not liable for trespass.
C. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land seeking to escape a mob of angry law students bent on attacking him for giving them low grades. While evading his pursuers, Professor Berry accidentally tramples on Mr. Jones' award winning roses. Held: Professor Berry liable for
damages to roses.
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Look for the Common Threads
• In each case, Professor Berry was trespassing on someone’s land without permission, but the results were different
• The decision maker considered different factors to modify the rule
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• A. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land to smell his award winning roses. Held: Professor Berry liable for trespass
• The proposition in the first case is that a person is liable for trespass if they enter someone’s land without permission
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B. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land seeking to escape a mob of angry law students bent on attacking him for giving them low grades. Held: Professor Berry not liable for trespass.
• This case modifies the rule established in the first case. A person is relieved of liability from trespass when it is necessary to protect oneself from physical danger.
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C. Professor Berry ignores a sign warning trespassers to keep out and enters Mr. Jones' land seeking to escape a mob of angry law students bent on attacking him for giving them low grades. While evading his pursuers, Professor Berry accidentally tramples on Mr. Jones' award winning roses.
Held: Professor Berry liable for damages to roses. • This case refines the rule further. When someone
trespasses out of necessity, they are still liable for any actual damage to the property.
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Sample Chart
Trespass Necessity Property Damage
Liable for Trespass
A. Yes No No Yes
B. Yes Yes No No
C. Yes Yes Yes No, but liable for property damage
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What’s the collective meaning?
• "A person who enters the land of another without permission is liable for trespass except where entry is necessary to avoid physical danger, in which case a person is liable only for actual damage to the property."
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Fruit Hypo
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Fruit Hypo Instructions
• Take 5-7 minutes with the document on then next sheet and follow the instructions
• This should be done independently
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Using the Factors
• Identifying the factors– Factors – categories of facts the court considers
to decide an issue– Elements are conditions that must be present,
but factors are guidelines the court will consider
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First, Find the Common Threads
• Identify the common threads in the cases
• Look for patterns that explain the holding– A particular fact– Combination of factors– Policy considerations– Once locate pattern, easier to locate the factors
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After Locating Common Threads
• Tie the common threads together– The synthesized rule should reflect the different
cases, definitions, limitations and exceptions, in a coherent statement
– When writing start with the synthesized rule, then go to supporting cases
• Organize your analysis around the common threads, not the individual cases
• Apply synthesized rule to client’s problem
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Group Synthesis Exercise
• Groups of 4
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Synthesized Rule?
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• Exercise can be found on the next sheet. Determine a rule under each “case”
• Next, determine a combined synthesized rule that incorporates all of the cases
• You will have 15-20 minutes to complete this exercise
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Fruit Hypo Answer
Synthesized Rule: A fruit of vibrant color belongs in a window display as long as it does not perish within a week and does not require preparation before it can be eaten. All other produce must go into the bin.
New synthesized rule: A fruit or vegetable of vibrant color may be in a window display as long as it needs no preparation prior to eating.
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Recap of Past Lessons
• Mandatory/Binding & Persuasive/Non-Binding Precedent
• Sources of Law• Determinative Facts• Holding versus Dicta• Reading Statutes & Cases• Breaking legal rules into elements• Defining Legal Issues• Selling Analogies & Distinctions
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The Current Pieces: What We Know
• Issue - Defining involves looking at the elements systematically
• Rule – looking for binding precedent – the holding, not dicta
• Facts - finding the essential• Analysis – applying the law
to your case• Synthesis – finding collective
meaning in multiple cases
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Putting the Pieces Together
• Goal: communicate your legal analysis in writing, apply your analysis to the client’s facts, and make a prediction.
• Case comparisons allow us to predict whether precedent controls our client’s situation.
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Now that you know the issues and essential facts . . .
• Look for binding primary authority
• Usually authority won’t have identical facts, so– Look for cases that have
addressed the issue, and look for similar facts. Determine if
• The court’s reasoning
• Underlying policy arguments
apply to the client’s case
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Remember
• Binding Precedent: – Same jurisdiction– Higher court– SIMILAR
• Remember the general principle of stare decisis & binding precedent– Like cases should be decided in like manner
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Where We’re Headed . . .
• Learning to draft legal analysis• Learning to organize legal analysis• Learning about legal proofs
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Legal Writing
• Different
• Based on deductive reasoning– Start with the conclusion and justify it
• Must be reader-focused
• Legal readers need context– Easier to understand information when you
know the relevance
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Legal Readers
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Burden of Legal Writing
• Writing for a hostile audience– Lawyers are skeptical– organization of your analysis matters
• Writing for busy audience– Lawyers are busy. Want the bottom line first
• IRAC – legal proof for proving your conclusion to the reader
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Your Audience
• In all writing, especially legal writing you must consider the audience
• Having all the pieces is important, but the correct order matters too
• Expectations of Legal Readers – format, legal proof
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Next Week
• IRAC, legal proofs and deductive reasoning