INSTRUCTIONS FOR ASSIGNMENT #1 AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR EXTRA CREDIT
IDENTIFY THE PARTS OF A COURT OPINION
In this assignment, read the recent U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) opinion in Bostock v. Clayton County. The following questions will guide you through the process. The point of this exercise is two-fold: 1) identify the parts of a court opinion; 2) see how much relative space is normally devoted to each part.
You are not expected to digest the content of case. This assignment is just to show you that court opinions are structured. At the end, I want you do a rough estimate of the percentage devoted to each part. While the numbers may vary from case to case, in general you will find:
• the caption is a fraction of the page to one page;
• the summary varies from a fraction of the page to two pages;
• the issue is one sentence to one paragraph;
• the rule is one paragraph to one page;
• the analysis is many pages;
• the conclusion is one or two sentences to one page;
• the decision (the “bottom line”) is typically one sentence.
[Note: What I really want you to see is how much space is devoted to “Analysis”. Law is about Analysis!]
Questions regarding the Case
Find the following parts of the case, by answering the questions below. An answer sheet is provided. Please use it — for our mutual convenience! When citing from the case, always use the page numbers from the case. I put the page numbers in bold. Because this is a slip opinion, the case begins on Page 1.
I have filled the instructions with “hints” on where to find the item. The “hints” are given in gray. To save space, the hints are not found on the answer sheet.
1. Citation: Normally on the first page. [See Miller, Chapter 1, Exhibit 1-5, for formatting guidelines. Hint: It is usually found in the header at the top of each page.]
2. Who is involved in the case?
a. Parties: Who petitioned the Supreme Court (the Petitioner)? Who is responding to the appeal (Respondent)? [Hint: Normally found near the top of the first page. The Petitioner may be the plaintiff OR the defendant. The Respondent will be the opposing party to the Petitioner. The “case name” is π v. Δ. You can abbreviate the case name to Bostock v. Clayton County or Bostock.]
b. Who heard the case? The name of the court and the names of the justices. [Hint: Normally found in the caption at the beginning of the opinion. The Court is often just above or just below the case name. The names of the justices (or judges) usually found on the first page below the case name. However, in this slip opinion, it is found after the case summary and before the “opinion of the court”.]
3. Where is the summary of the case? The summary has NO legal effect. It is provided for convenience only. [Hint: Normally found right after the caption and before the court opinion itself.]
4. Background: [Hint: The Background, Relevant Facts and Procedural History normally are found at the beginning of the case. Usually it is Background followed by Relevant Facts and Procedural History though sometimes the Procedural History is before the Relevant Facts.]
