Case Brief Questions and Answers

If you have questions about the case brief assignment, I'll post your question here (without your name) and my answer. Send your questions to me by email -- gm19@txstate.edu. I'll post the questions here with the most recent ones on top.

Questions and Answers:

1. Do you want us to type it doubled space?

It should be double-spaced. (I just posted a response to a similar question on the blog).

2. What we can only find 4 sources, it seems like any source I find is giving me the SAME exact information. Any ideas on that?

Try a newspaper archive, such as The New York Times archive through the library database. Do a search during the week after the decision was announced. That should give you more sources for credible information.

3. In the recommendations sections, that is merely our thoughts and opinions correct?

Review the PowerPoint slides in TRACS for specifics, but yes, I’m looking for your opinion and recommendations.

4. I am still having a little difficulty understanding how you would like us to cite something inside the analysis section..if we are reading something from the Westlaw page but we found that through Campus Research. After our sentence do we just say: lalalala.. (Westlaw) or lalala...(Westlaw, & the case)? I'm really confused.

I’m trying to keep it simple. First, anything that you read should be a source under references. Use the same style you’ve used on papers in other classes. For internal citations, just put the author and page number in parentheses (Martinez, 23). If you are quoting a particular judge or justice, then include his or her name and the page number (O’Connor, 2399). Again, this isn’t an assignment on citations, so just use your common sense. Ask yourself, does this citation allow the reader to look up the source? That’s all I’m looking for.

Question:
I have submitted my paper to turnitin but I did not see an originality report. Does this take some time to get it reviewed? And do I need to check back with the site or will they send an e-mail with the "grade?"
Answer:
It should be fairly quick. One the page where it shows that you’ve submitted your paper, there should be a percentage number with a box (yellow or green or some other color). Click on that color box and the report will pop up.

Question:
Should the length be roughly 3 - 5 pages, double-spaced, using a 12-pt font (I am guessing)? How specific do you want each section to be (in our own words of course)?

Answer:
The length will vary, but I’m expecting somewhere between 3 and 5 pages. The paper should be double-spaced with a 12 point font. You should use a standard font like Times New Roman.

As for specificity, you should include enough detail to tell the story of the case. It varies by the case, but you should include enough specific detail as is necessary so that the brief is complete and coherent.

Question:
I was wondering where you would like for us to put our names on the case brief and if you need to know what class period we are in.

Answer:
It is not necessary to turn in a cover sheet. Just put your name, Media Law, and your class (9:30 or 12:30) at the top and you'll be covered.

Question:
I was wondering whether you wanted paragraphs with full complete sentences for each section or say, for example, bullet points in the FACTS section of the paper.

Answer:
I prefer complete sentences and discourage bullet points. In the Facts section, it should read like a narrative that tells the story of the case.

Question: Is there any way that we could know our case a bit sooner or is that part of the assignment, being able to work quickly?

Answer: It's a good question, but to be fair to the first 17 students who got their assignments, I need to make sure everyone has the same amount of time to work on the assignment. For the first batch, they have nine days from the time they learn their case assignment to the day that it is due. In fairness, when I assign the cases for the rest of the class, they will get nine days until the due date, also. Also, the cases are part of the chapters we are studying at that time, so I don't want students to get too far ahead and work on cases that aren't on the next exam.

Question: So in regards to citations about the basic facts, issue, rule, & anaylsis of the case we don't need to have a direct citation right there with those..correct? Just make sure we cite on the reference page? If we use quotes or information in the other sections we must use a citation right there with those and on the reference page?

Answer:
I want to make it easy, so let's do this. If you are quoting or paraphrasing something, you should use parenthetical citations with the author's name and the year of the publication, for example: (Martinez, 2008). That should be included in the text of your Case Brief. Then, you should be sure to include that source in the reference section. Again, I'm not going to be a stickler when it comes to citations. But, you should make sure to cite information and use your own words as much as possible.

Question:
As far as references go, I know that one site everyone visits is Wikipedia. What are your feelings towards using Wikipedia because I have found it to be helpful sometimes and other times not so helpful?

Answer:
Wikipedia is not to be trusted. While there is a lot of good information on Wikipedia, as you have experienced, it's not always helpful.

On one hand, I like that anyone can contribute to the content, but the editing process seems problematic to me since so many errors make it onto Wikipedia. Here's how Wikipedia describes what is and isn't: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:What_Wikipedia_is_not

In my opinion, you should treat anything you see on Wikipedia with skepticism. It is not a reliable source of information and it should not be used as a source for your case brief.

Question:

In regards to the case briefs for MC 4301, do the references need to be referenced in the paper or can we use them to gather information about the case and then cite them on the reference page?

Answer:
Good question. Most of the case brief should be based on the court opinion (facts, issue, rule, analysis). For the other sections, you should cite in the paper with parenthetical citations. Let's keep it simple -- just use the last name of the author and a page number, then include the full citation on the reference page. I'm not going to be a stickler about the citation -- so long as I know that you are citing a source, and provide reference information so that I can find it.