Briefing and Analyzing Cases in Constitutional Law offers a model to brief a court case. FIRAC stands for Facts, Issue, Rule(s), Analyze, and Conclusion. Read about this model and see an example of it in Appendix B. Then, select a United States Supreme Court case on the First Amendment and complete a FIRAC analysis using the worksheet below.
SUPREME COURT case:
FACTS: Lay out the facts of the case. (200 words)
ISSUE: Identify the legal issue.(50 words)
RULE: What provision of the First Amendment applies to the issue you have defined? (50 words)
ANALYZE: Analyze the case, applying the law to the facts of the case. (300 words)
CONCLUSION: Draw a conclusion. (200 words)