APPEAL BRIEF PROJECT (ARGUMENT ANALYSIS)

The following worksheet is designed to assist you in approaching the argument portion of an appeal brief.

Keep your basic argument simple:

1) Describe the court ruling and what the basis of that ruling was;

2) Describe the situations in which such a ruling would be appropriate. Include case references. Conclude with a summary of what these cases in fact establish;

3) Describe a factual situation in which the question of contributory negligence was left to the jury;

4) Compare our case to that case. Conclude with a summary of the conclusions you want the reader to reach.

5) Finish with the facts of the case that is virtually the identical with ours and conclude with a summary statement.

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For example:

You are 16 years old. Your parents are about to take your driving privileges away for a month because you got a ticket for speeding. You might argue as follows:

AYou say you=re going to take away my driving privileges for a month because I got a ticket for speeding (#1). That=s not fair.

Now if I had been driving while drinking....or driving recklessly.....now that would have been grounds for such a punishment...like you gave two years ago when Donald got a DWI the second day he had his license....or four years ago when Jimmy was caught drag racing over by the airport. They were things that would justify such a punishment (#2).

And remember when Jimmy lied to you about where he was going to spend the night when he was 16? All you did was ground him for a week You didn=t take away his driving privileges for that (#3).

What I did was no more serious than what he did. So that is all the punishment I should get (#4).

And remember when Beth got her first speeding ticket? All you did was make her be home two hours before her normal curfew for a month. (#5)

And she was going faster than I was!!! So that is the punishment I should get for this (#5).@

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Not bad, huh?

Don=t lose the reader. Make sure the argument naturally flows from one point to the next.

Summary:

What the court did was to find that her walking in front of an oncoming truck was contributory negligence as a matter of law (your parents decision to take away your driving privileges). You argue that this was wrong...that it should have left that issue for the jury (they should only shorten your curfew). You give examples of when the court=s actual ruling would have been appropriate (DWI and drag racing).

You then give examples of situations in which contributory negligence as properly left to the jury to determine (lying about where he was spending the night). You compare her walking across in front of the truck to those situations. Then conclude with a virtually identical case (Beth=s first speeding ticket).