To "brief" or outline a court case is a useful tool of analysis. While there exists no set formula or "right way" to write a brief, it usually follows the steps in the acronym IRAC: Issue, Rule, Application, Conclusion. In making your brief, you should include the following:

1. Title and Citation:

   Case titles generally take on the names of the parties involved in the case. For example, in the case Smith v. Jones, Smith is the party asking the Court to reverse a lower court's holding; Jones wants the Court to affirm that holding.
   

   A citation acts as the "address" to find a case. Since 1874, a standard format has been followed and all cases are contained in the United States Reports (abbreviated U.S. in case citations). For example, if a case citation is 520 U.S. 1. This means that this case is found on page 1 of the 520th volume of the United States Reports.
   
   Either the names or the citation will allow one to locate a case in Lexis-Nexis, but to be complete you should inlclude both.

    
2. Facts of the Case:

   In brief, note the facts of the case that a) describe the issue at hand and b) have brought the case to this point. Basically you should answer the questions of who did what to whom and why. It is also important to note the holdings of the lower court(s) (i.e., the legal history of the case) so that you understand the what the Supreme Court "reverses" or "affirms."
   

3. The Vote:

   What is the vote in this case? How many justices are in the majority? Who is the author of the majority opinion? What justices join that opinion? Who offers concurring or dissenting opinions?
   

4. The Law and/or Constitutional Provisions at Issue:

   Since Supreme Court decisions involve the interpretation of the Constitution, laws, and/or court precedents, it is important to note just what the Court is being called upon to interpret.
   

5. The Legal Questions:

   In this section of the brief, identify the specific question or questions before the Court. What are the issues that the Court is being asked to address? Often, these can be posed by framing the questions in a yes-no format.
   

6. The Opinion of the Court:

   In this section, present the decision of the Court and its justifications for that ruling. It is important to note the reasoning that the Court uses to arrive at its decision. How and why does the Court answer each of the questions identified previously?
   

7. Concurring/Dissenting Opinions:

   When a member of the Court agrees with the outcome of a case, but either disagrees with the Court's reasoning or wishes to present a different point of view, he or she will offer a concurring opinion.
   
   A dissenting opinion is authored by a justice (or justices) when he or she believes that the decision of the Court is wrong. The basis of the dissent may derive from a different reasoning in the case, or from a different understanding of the facts of the case or the relevant precedents.
   

8. Evaluation of the Case:

   What is important about this decision? Is the argument sound? How does it fit with previous decisions of the Court? What are the possible implications for this decision? If the case is narrowly decided, what are the differences noted by the dissenters and what bearing might they have on future cases?

The point of the exercise is to extract the most important elements of the case. It is a brief, not a research paper.