Analysis of Multiple Cases Through Synthesis:

LRW I

© Professor Rutledge

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).

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

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

Synthesis

• Purpose – to find collective meaning in cases

• Rules of law are clarified through multiple cases

• Involves more than listing cases

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

• 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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

• 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

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.

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.

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

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."

Fruit Hypo

Fruit Hypo Instructions

• Take 5-7 minutes with the document on then next sheet and follow the instructions

• This should be done independently

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

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

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

Group Synthesis Exercise

• Groups of 4

Synthesized Rule?

• 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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

Where We’re Headed . . .

• Learning to draft legal analysis• Learning to organize legal analysis• Learning about legal proofs

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

Legal Readers

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

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

Next Week

• IRAC, legal proofs and deductive reasoning