Confirm favorite deletion?
Criminal Law keyed to Dripps
Thacker v. Commonwealth
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. Review the Facts of this case here:
John Thacker (Defendant) was attending a church festival with two other young men, Doc Campbell and Paul Kelly. The three men became intoxicated throughout the day. Between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m., the three men left the church and began walking down the county road. Down the road was a tent in which Mrs. J.A. Ratrie, her husband, four children, and a servant were camping for the summer. However, Ratrie’s husband was not present when the three men came upon the tent. Defendant and the other men noticed a lit lamp in the tent. Defendant commented that he was going to shoot the light out. The other men told him not to. The three men appeared at the back of the tent and asked Mrs. Ratrie if she could take care of them for the night. She declined, saying she did not have the room. The men turned and left. While walking away, Defendant fired three shots from his gun, two of which went through the tent and one passing through the head of the bed Ratrie was lying, just missing her head and her baby who was sleeping with her. Defendant was charged with, and convicted of, attempted murder and he appealed.
- 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.