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Family Law Keyed to Weisberg
Blair v. Blair
Citation:
147 S.W.3d 882 (Mo. Ct. App. 2004)Only StudyBuddy Pro offers the complete Case Brief Anatomy*
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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.
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- 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:
In July 1976, William Jerry Blair (Husband) and Nancy Blair (Wife) had a one-night stand. At that time, Wife was also married to Jim Farra and involved in a long-standing relationship with Sam Kelly. Wife gave birth to son, Devin, on April 26, 1997. Husband visited Wife and Devin in the hospital but did not question paternity and did not have further contact with Wife until 1979. In January 1979, Wife told Husband that he was Devin’s father and they resumed their sexual relationship. Wife separated from and petitioned for dissolution of marriage to Farra in March 1979. Wife then became pregnant with Husband’s child and gave birth to their daughter Oralin on March 13, 1980. Wife’s marriage to Farra was dissolved in December 1980 and several days after he divorce became final, she and Husband were married on December 22, 1980. Husband later adopted both Devin and Oralin. On November 20, 2001, Wife filed a petition for dissolution of her marriage to Husband and Husband filed an amended answer and cross-petition requesting that the marriage be annulled on grounds of fraud. Husband claimed that Wife had fraudulently represented to him before their marriage that he was Devin’s father and had thereby induced him to marry her. He also then proved he was not Devin’s father and that Devin was instead the son of Kelly.
- Issue(s): Lists the Questions of Law that are raised by the Facts of the case.
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- 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.
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