Confirm favorite deletion?
Civil Procedure Keyed to Friedenthal
Flowers v. Flowers
Facts
The mother and Plaintiff, Billie Charlene Flowers (Plaintiff) and the father and Defendant, R.A. Flowers, Jr. (Defendant), were involved in a child custody suit that took place in a small town where many members of the community were familiar with the case and its litigants. During voire dire, jurors were asked whether evidence showing Plaintiff was a social drinker would alone influence the juror’s determination as to who should have custody. The juror in question, Mrs. Schmidt, vehemently stated she was against the consumption of alcohol, but that she could be impartial even if the evidence showed Plaintiff got drunk a few times. The court overruled the challenge of the juror for cause. An affidavit of a fellow juror stated that Mrs. Schmidt made comments about how she felt sorry for the Defendant and admired him and that the Plaintiff had run out on the Defendant once before. These statements were made to other prospective jurors before Mrs. Schmidt was chosen and sworn to serve as a juror. At the motion for mistrial and motion for new trial based on the affidavit, the judge refused to hear the juror’s affidavit testimony. On the hearing for the motion for a new trial, the Plaintiff claimed that there were other jurors she did not like, including Mrs. Schmidt. Had Mrs. Schmidt revealed her true feelings about her partiality, the Plaintiff would have used a peremptory challenge on her rather than another juror.
Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
Access the most important case brief elements for optimal case understanding.
*Case Brief Anatomy includes: Brief Prologue, Complete Case Brief, Brief Epilogue
- The Brief Prologue provides necessary case brief introductory information and includes:
Topic:
Identifies the topic of law and where this case fits within your course outline.Parties:
Identifies the cast of characters involved in the case.Procedural Posture & History:
Shares the case history with how lower courts have ruled on the matter.Case Key Terms, Acts, Doctrines, etc.:
A case specific Legal Term Dictionary.Case Doctrines, Acts, Statutes, Amendments and Treatises:
Identifies and Defines Legal Authority used in this case.
- The Case Brief is the complete case summarized and authored in the traditional Law School I.R.A.C. format. The Pro case brief includes:
Brief Facts:
A Synopsis of the Facts of the case.Rule of Law:
Identifies the Legal Principle the Court used in deciding the case.Facts:
What are the factual circumstances that gave rise to the civil or criminal case? What is the relationship of the Parties that are involved in the case.Issue(s):
Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.Holding:
Shares the Court's answer to the legal questions raised in the issue.Concurring / Dissenting Opinions:
Includes valuable concurring or dissenting opinions and their key points.Reasoning and Analysis:
Identifies the chain of argument(s) which led the judges to rule as they did.
- The Brief Prologue closes the case brief with important forward-looking discussion and includes:
Policy:
Identifies the Policy if any that has been established by the case.Court Direction:
Shares where the Court went from here for this case.