San Diego Mesa College Google LLC v Oracle America Inc Analysis

research and develop a paper that addresses a significant Supreme Court case that has or may have a significant impact on business. There are so many cases each and every day that shape the legal future of the country and in some cases the world at large.

What is a case analysis format?

Your draft should contain at least 4 sections: an introduction; a body where you should include background information, an explanation of why you decided to do this case study, and a presentation of your main findings; a conclusion where you present data; and references.

COURT: CASE STUDY WORKSHEET

1.

WHAT ARE THE FACTS OF THE CASE?

What happened in this case?

Who were the people/organizations involved?

How did the lower courts rule on this case? (Note: This would be if the case was on appellate review)

2.

CONSTITUTIONAL QUESTION:

What is the constitutional question?

What specific part of the Constitution/statute is involved?

3.

COURT’S DECISION AND REASONS

This is the court’s answer the constitution/legal question.

Majority Opinion (a summary of the important points)

Dissenting Opinion, if given (a summary of the important points)

4.

EVALUATING THE DECISION AND PREDICTING THE IMPACT

What, if any, impact does this case have today?

1.

Name of the case

(Petitioner/

Respondent) and year

2.

Facts of the case

What happened in this case? Where? When?

Who are the parties involved?

How did the lower courts rule in this case?

Other relevant/precedent case(s), if applicable

3.

Constitutional or Legal Question

(provided in the court case summary document)

Who was the acting party?

Who was the recipient of the action?

What is the action that caused the controversy?

What is the specific part of the Constitution/statute involved?

Once the students have answered these questions, they should then develop the question (or issue) the court had to address in the case. The question should include all of the components. The question should be

phrased in such a way as to elicit a “yes” or “no” response. See bottom of next page for an example.

4.

Formulate Arguments for Both Sides of the Issue Students will identify the arguments of the petitioner and of the respondent. One way to begin this step is to have students identify the values/goals of each side. Rarely is a case strictly between good versus evil. More often, cases involve significant conflict between competing, equally important values (for example, freedom of speech versus the right of privacy or order)

5.

Court decision and reasoning

The Court’s answer to the constitutional/legal issue stated in part two above is the focus here. Students will identify the court’s reasons and rationale for its decisions. Significance Statement: In addition, students will have to evaluate and argue how their court case has had a significant

effect on American society. Students will be assessed on their accuracy and detail of the five elements of their brief and their significance

statement.