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Family Law Keyed to Weisberg
Hanke v. Hanke
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*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:
Mr. and Ms. Hanke divorced, with Ms. Hanke being granted custody of the parties’ child and Mr. Hanke being granted unsupervised bi-weekly four-hour visitations pending a mental health examination. Mr. Hanke had previously admitted sexually abusing his 11-year old stepchild. There was also overwhelming evidence of other instances of excessive punishment with sexual overtones. Mr. Hanke stated that he was drunk when the incident occurred, but he did not need therapy for alcoholism. He did have therapy for the sexual abuse incident. Mrs. Hanke was pregnant with the parties’ child at the time of separation and the separation occurred as soon as she learned that her 11 year old child had been sexually molested by Mr. Hanke. Criminal charges were brought against Mr. Hanke regarding the incident, and a plea bargain was entered into which provided for supervised visitation of the parties’ child. Following one of Mr. Hanke’s unsupervised visits, the child reported sexual abuse. A doctor’s examination concluded that prior abuse could not be excluded as the reason for scarring in the child’s genital area. A doctor evaluated Mr. Hanke pursuant to court order. He found that Mr. Hanke stated he abused his stepchild to get at her mother; that the stepchild was physically abused by him long before the sexual abuse; that Mr. Hanke should not be placed in situations alone with his child; that he should not continue to use alcohol; that he had not come to terms with his abuse of alcohol as a factor in the abuse of his stepchild. Ms. Hanke’s attorney, the attorney representing the Department of Social Services, and the attorney representing the child all requested supervised visitation. There was a small amount of contradictory evidence that Ms. Hanke was overreacting to the situation and that Mr. Hanke was not a danger to their child. The court initially ordered unsupervised visitation, then ordered overnight visitation, with one of four people close to Mr. Hanke to be presnt during visitation. The court refused to protect the child further, finding overnight visitation appropriate.
- 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.