Constitutional Law Keyed to Cohen
United States v. Virginia
InstructorMatthew Steinberg
CaseCast™ – "What you need to know"
Facts
The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a military college that only allows admissions to men. VMI stands as the only all male public institution in the state of Virginia. The mission of VMI is to “produce ‘citizen-soldiers,’ men prepared for leadership in civilian life and in military service.” VMI education features “[p]hysical rigor, mental stress, absolute equality of treatment, absence of privacy, minute regulation of behavior, and indoctrination in desirable values.” The United States sued Virginia and VMI for the school’s admission policy. The District Court ruled in favor of VMI but, it was reversed and remanded by the Circuit Court suggesting that the state and VMI “[a]dmit women to VMI; establish parallel institutions or programs; or abandon state support, leaving VMI free to pursue its policies as a private institution . . . .” Therefore, according to the suggestions of the Court of Appeals, VMI proposed a “parallel program for women: Virginia Women’s Institute for Leadership (VWIL).” As a result of this proposal, the District Court ruled that the plan met equal protection requirements. The Court of Appeals affirmed the District Court’s decision. The judgment of the Court of Appeals was reversed.
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.