Land Use and the Constitutions Case Briefs The brief must have the following seven components:
1) Title and Citation: This is the name of the case and its citation.
Example: Dolan v. The city of Tigard, 512 U.S. 374 (1994)
2) Facts: This is a short summary of the events that led to the case-identify original plaintiff and defendant and include only the most important details in terms of land use planning.
This should be a few sentences
3) Lower Court History of Procedure: What happened in the lower courts?
How did each court decide on the issue? List each court and its finding. This can be a bullet-point list.
4) Issue(s): This is the legal question (or questions) that the court is trying to answer in this case. Phrase each issue as a question of land-use planning. Make sure there is enough detail beyond “is it constitutional?” Also, make sure that it is a legal issue, rather one.
- For example, the following would not be a good statement of the issue: i. “Did the zoning ordinance violate the defendants” constitutional rights under the 5th amendment?
- This statements would be better:
- “In order to not be a taking, must the condition, for granting a permit for restricted land use, be substantially related to the reason for the land use restriction?”
5) Holding: This is the answer that the court has given to the issues. It should be one word for each issue: either “yes” or “no.”
6) Reasoning: This is the reasons that the court has given for its opinion. It will often be the lengthiest part of your brief, but it should not exceed a few paragraphs. Answer the question: “Why did the court decide the way it did?”
Don’t use exact quotes in this section: paraphrase and condense into your own words.
7) Planning Essentials: What do you think are the knowledge or skills issues for the planning profession? That is, what is the essential “lesson learned” from this case? This should focus on the applied planning aspects of the lesson.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
