SmartBrief
Confirm favorite deletion?
Administrative Law Keyed to Breyer
Gibson v. Berryhill
Citation:
411 U.S. 564 (1973)Facts
Prior to 1965, Alabama law permitted corporations to operate optical departments with licensed optometrists as employees. After statutory changes in 1965, the Alabama Optometric Association, whose membership was limited to independent practitioners, filed charges against optometrists employed by Lee Optical with the Alabama Board of Optometry. The Board, composed exclusively of Association members, brought a parallel suit in state court. After winning in state trial court, the Board scheduled license revocation hearings against the optometrists. The optometrists filed a federal civil rights action seeking to enjoin the Board proceedings, claiming the Board was unconstitutionally biased. The district court found that the Board was impermissibly biased because: (1) it had prejudged the case by previously filing similar charges in state court; and (2) Board members had a substantial pecuniary interest in the outcome, as they stood to inherit the business of corporate optometrists if their licenses were revoked. While the federal case was pending, the Alabama Supreme Court reversed the state trial court, holding that Alabama law did not prohibit optometrists from being employed by corporations.
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.