A legal brief is a document written by one or more of the parties.It includes the facts of the case, the legal issues to be determined, and references to applicable statutes.The brief is to convince the judge that your view of the case is the best way to resolve the issues.The particular court hearing your case will affect how you format the brief.The court may refuse to accept the brief if it isn't formatted correctly.This article will show you how to format a legal brief.
Step 1: Base your brief preparation on the court that is hearing your case.
The requirements for how you will compose your brief will be determined by this.Your case will either be in federal or state court.Federal District Courts, Federal Courts of Appeal, and the United States Supreme Court are part of the federal court system.State court systems usually have trial courts, appellate courts and the state supreme court.
Step 2: The reason for the brief should be established.
Briefs are either trial briefs or appellate briefs.The necessary elements of the brief will depend on whether you use it for a trial or an appeal.A trial brief is a written presentation of the facts and law that you feel backs up your argument as to why you should win your case.The person who started the lawsuit is known as the "plaintiff".You are called the "defendant" if you are the one being sued.An appellate brief is used when someone wants a higher court to overturn a trial decision.This is known as an appeal.To convince the higher court that the trial court's decision was wrong is the purpose of the appellate brief.
Step 3: Follow the court's rules if you find them.
There are rules of procedure that control how a brief should be written.To ensure that your brief is acceptable to the court, you need to follow these rules very carefully.The court rules can be found on the website of the federal courts.The rules governing federal appellate briefs can be found here.State courts have websites.Some procedural rules may be posted online.If your state doesn't provide this service, you'll have to check legal research sites online or go to a law library to find the rules.Most courthouses have law libraries that are open to the public.
Step 4: The important facts in your case should be on the list.
The sequence of events that led to your case being in court is set down here.The facts of a particular case determine which laws a court needs to apply to make a decision.
Step 5: Determine which legal points you need to address.
You need to identify the legal point in your case that needs to be solved.You signed a contract to sell your house.The buyer wants to back out of the deal because the house has pests.If the law allows the buyer to avoid going through with the contract, that's a legal point you want to address.A landlord who tries to evict you for non-payment of rent is obligated to accept your offer to pay.
Step 6: Understand the law.
You have to find the law that applies to the issues once you know the legal points.You will need access to federal or state statutes and legal cases that are similar to yours.Statutes and case law can be found on your state's official website.You may need more case law than is available on these sites.You have to pay to use online legal research services.You can research online or use the law books available at a law library.Law librarians can help you find the research tools you need, but it's up to you.
Step 7: You should have a list of the legal cases you plan to use.
When you find a legal source that supports your argument, you have to cite it in your brief.You will need the page number or section number for any portion of the legal source that you want to quote in your brief.If you want to have the case readily available, you should print it.
Step 8: Follow the court's rules.
The procedural rules of the court will tell you what type of formatting is needed.Line spacing is double-spaced for standard text, and one inch all around type size is usually 12 point.
Step 9: The cover page, table of contents, and table authorities should be prepared.
There are some pages from the brief.The cover page is where you can list the court name, the names of the parties involved in the case, and the type of brief.The table of contents is what you would expect.It shows the page on which each section begins.Statutes and case law citations are listed in the Table of Authorities.You can find an example of a table of authorities here.
Step 10: Write down the body of the brief.
This is the heart of the brief.The sections should be concise and to the point.A statement of facts is one of the standard sections.The information you compiled in Part 2, Step 1, will be used here.The facts should be laid out in a logical order from the beginning to the time the case was filed.There is a summary of the argument.You will summarize how you believe the law applies to your situation.There is an argument.You can expand on how the law applies to the facts of your case by quoting prior cases similar to yours.The word "arachne" is usually centered in capital letters.In a few lines, you will indicate the legal point you are making.The rest of the section should be double-spaced.The conclusion.This section is usually very short.You tell the court what you want it to do.You will respectfully request that the appellate court reverse the decision of the trial court.The conclusion section is where you sign the brief.
Step 11: You can set the page numbering.
pagination can be a bit tricky in a brief.Some courts may want your preliminary pages to be numbered in lower case roman numerals and the body of the brief to use standard numbering.Again, be guided by the court rules.This is where you can learn more about pagination.
Step 12: Consider hiring an attorney.
On the appellate level, brief writing and formatting can be difficult.You might want to retain an attorney to represent you on an appeal if you represented yourself at the trial.