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Brief (law)

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A brief (Old French from Latin " brevis ", short) is a written legal document used in various legal adversarial systems that is presented to a court arguing why one party to a particular case should prevail.

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39-423: In England and Wales (and other Commonwealth countries, e.g., Australia ) the phrase refers to the papers given to a barrister when they are instructed. The brief or memorandum establishes the legal argument for the party, explaining why the reviewing court should affirm or reverse the lower court's judgment based on legal precedent and citations to the controlling cases or statutory law. To achieve these ends,

78-451: A Wales criminal justice system . England and Wales are treated as a single unit for some purposes, because the two form the constitutional successor to the former Kingdom of England. The continuance of Scots law was guaranteed under the 1706 Treaty of Union that led to the Acts of Union 1707 , and as a consequence English law—and after 1801 , Irish law —continued to be separate. Following

117-617: A Lloegr ) is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom . It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 . The substantive law of the jurisdiction is English law . The devolved Senedd (Welsh Parliament; Welsh : Senedd Cymru ) – previously named the National Assembly for Wales – was created in 1999 under

156-446: A copy of the original writ. A brief contains a concise summary for the information of counsel of the case which the barrister has to plead, with all material facts in chronological order, and frequently such observations thereon as the solicitor may think fit to make, the names of witnesses, with the "proofs," that is, the nature of the evidence which each witness is ready to give, if called upon. The brief may also contain suggestions for

195-543: A court, hence the name. Businesspeople and other white collar professionals also use briefcases to carry papers, and since the 1980s, electronic devices such as laptop computers and tablet computers. Some briefcases have only a main internal space, while others may have subsections, accordion sections, small pockets, or dividers. Briefcases may be made from leather, vinyl, durable fabric, thin metal (such as aluminium), or plastic. Leather, vinyl, or fabric briefcases may have externally-accessible pockets or sleeves in addition to

234-528: A dissent or concurrence if there is either in the particular case. The facts should include the important information from the case, and should also include the procedural history before it makes it to the supreme court. The issue statement should always be in the form of a question that will be answered in the rule section. Some schools prefer students to list the Facts, Issue, Holding, and Reasoning. England and Wales England and Wales ( Welsh : Cymru

273-415: A legal argument when the purpose of the law at issue may be clear, but the particular application of that law in service of that purpose is in dispute. The party filing the appeal – called the petitioner or appellant , who is attempting to convince the appellate court to overturn the lower court decision – is responsible for submitting his brief first. The responding party – the respondent or appellee, who

312-495: A similar structure: presentation of issue, presentation of facts, presentation of legal and policy arguments and presentation of outcome. In the United States, the practice of briefing cases for study began at Harvard Law School in the fall of 1870 with the introduction of the case method of teaching by Professor Christopher Columbus Langdell . Case briefing is a widely accepted pedagogical method among law professors today. IRAC

351-563: A statute of 1704, but are now obsolete, though they are still to be found named in one of the rubrics in the Communion service of the Book of Common Prayer . In the United States, the word differs in meaning from its English counterpart because attorneys in the United States exercise all the functions distributed in England between barristers and solicitors. A lawyer sometimes prepares for his own use what

390-415: A table of contents; a table of authorities listing the cases, statutes , and regulations that are cited; a presentation of the issues under review by the court, usually in only one sentence if possible; a statement of the case that presents the relevant facts and the previous history of the case in the lower courts; a summary of the legal standard of review that the appellate court should use in evaluating

429-417: Is a breach of etiquette to let this bag be visible in court. The only brief-bag allowed to be placed on the desks is the red bag, which by English legal etiquette is given by a leading counsel to a junior as a reward for excellence in some important case. This is still viewed as one of the great traditions of the bar. The red bag is embroidered with the junior barrister's initials and a handwritten note of thanks

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468-533: Is a matter of local court procedural rules. In Scotland a brief is called a memorial and in Canada it is called a factum. In Australia the tradition regarding briefs is almost identical to England, except that the use of brief bags is relatively uncommon. In Dutch and German , the word brief refers to a regular letter . In North American law schools , students usually study historical cases by "briefing" them. Law school briefs are shorter than court briefs but follow

507-441: Is an Abbreviation of Issue, Rule, Analysis (or some say Application), Conclusion. When a potential client has an interview with an attorney and tells of the legal problem, the attorney, or office paralegal, will review prior case law to find out if the client does indeed have a problem that has legal remedy. The formation of each case brief follows the same pattern: Facts, Issue, Rule, Analysis, Impact. A case brief may also include

546-457: Is called a "trial brief" for use at the trial. This corresponds in all essential particulars with the "brief" prepared by the solicitor in England for the use of counsel. But the more distinctive use of the term in America is in the case of the brief "in error or appeal," before an appellate court. This is a written or printed document, varying according to circumstances, but embodying the argument on

585-403: Is distinct from those of Northern Ireland and Scotland , and from Commonwealth realms . The national parks of England and Wales have a distinctive legislative framework and history. Briefcase A briefcase is a narrow hard-sided box-shaped bag or case used mainly for carrying papers and equipped with a handle. Lawyers commonly use briefcases to carry briefs to present to

624-429: Is satisfied with the lower decision – then files a reply brief within a specified time. Depending on the local rules of procedure, the court may allow or even require the parties to then file additional replies to the opposing party's briefs, multiplying the back-and-forth responses of the parties. Depending on local rules, the court may then decide the case purely based on the submitted briefs or may hear oral argument by

663-418: Is usually placed inside the bag. In many jurisdictions, the receipt of a red bag from a silk is seen as a rite of passage for a junior barrister. The use of such special bags eventually led to the briefcase . In English ecclesiastical law a brief meant letters patent issued out of chancery to churchwardens or other officers for the collection of money for church purposes. Such briefs were regulated by

702-733: The Government of Wales Act 1998 and provides a degree of self-government in Wales. The powers of the legislature were expanded by the Government of Wales Act 2006 , which allows it to pass its own laws , and the Act also formally separated the Welsh Government from the Senedd. There is no equivalent body for England , which is directly governed by the parliament and government of the United Kingdom . During

741-603: The Roman occupation of Britain , the area of present-day England and Wales was administered as a single unit, except for the land to the north of Hadrian's Wall – though the Roman-occupied area varied in extent, and for a time extended to the Antonine/Severan Wall . At that time, most of the native inhabitants of Roman Britain spoke Brythonic languages , and were all regarded as Britons , divided into numerous tribes. After

780-644: The red dragon of Wales was dropped and replaced with the unicorn of Scotland with the succession of King James I who demoted Wales' status on the coat of arms and on the first adaptation of the Flag of Great Britain . Prior to 1746, it was not clear whether a reference to "England" in legislation included Wales, and so in 1746, Parliament passed the Wales and Berwick Act 1746 . This specified that in all prior and future laws, references to "England" would by default include Wales (and Berwick-upon-Tweed ). The Wales and Berwick Act

819-641: The 19th century the possession of a brief-bag was strictly confined to those who had received one from a king's counsel (silk). King's Counsel were then few in number, were considered officers of the court, and had a salary of £40 a year, with a supply of paper, pens and purple bags. These bags they distributed among rising juniors of their acquaintance, whose bundles of briefs were getting inconveniently large to be carried in their hands. These perquisites were abolished in 1830. Brief-bags are now either blue or red. Blue bags are those with which barristers provide themselves when first called, and, in some jurisdictions, it

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858-561: The 20th century. Examples are the Welsh Language Acts 1967 and 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 . Measures and Acts of the Senedd apply in Wales, but not in England. Following the Government of Wales Act, effective since May 2007, the Senedd can legislate on matters devolved to it. Following a referendum on 3 March 2011 , the Senedd gained direct law-making powers, without

897-725: The Great in his Legal Code , c.  893 . However, after the Norman invasion of Wales in the 11th century, English law came to apply in the parts of Wales conquered by the Normans (the Welsh Marches ). In 1283, the English, led by Edward I , with the biggest army brought together in England since the 11th century, conquered the remainder of Wales , then organised as the Principality of Wales . This

936-399: The action is noted on the brief by counsel, or if the action is compromised, the terms of the compromise are endorsed on each brief and signed by the leading counsel on the opposite side. The brief-bag , in which counsel's papers are carried to and from court, now forms an integral part of a barrister's outfit, although today it is used primarily to carry counsel's robes. In the early part of

975-455: The admission or rejection of which is to be reviewed, or any extract from a charge excepted to, and an argument exhibiting clearly the points of law or fact to be discussed. This form of brief, it may be added, is also adopted for use at the trial in certain states of the Union which require printed briefs to be delivered to the court. In American courts , the brief typically has the following parts:

1014-421: The brief must appeal to the accepted forces such as statutory law or precedent , but may also include policy arguments and social statistics when appropriate. For example, if the law is vague or broad enough to allow the appellate judge some discretion in his decision making, an exploration of the consequences of the possible decision outside of legal formalism may provide guidance. Such arguments may also support

1053-616: The conquest, the Romans administered this region as a single unit, the province of Britain . Long after the departure of the Romans, the Britons in what became Wales developed their own system of law , first codified by Hywel Dda (Hywel the Good; reigned 942–950) when he was king of most of present-day Wales (compare King of Wales ); in England Anglo-Saxon law was initially codified by Alfred

1092-436: The decision of the lower court; a summary of the party's argument; and the full discussion of the legal and/or policy arguments explaining why the party believes it should win the case, which will be the most lengthy portion of the brief. The brief may also be accompanied by an appendix that includes copies of the lower court opinions and other documents or court opinions cited in the brief. The particular required format of briefs

1131-511: The law applicable to that business entity. A registered office must be specified as "in Wales" if the company wishes to use a name ending cyfyngedig or cyf , rather than Limited or Ltd. or to avail itself of certain other privileges relating to the official use of the Welsh language. Outside the legal system, the position is mixed. Some organisations combine as "England and Wales", others are separate. The order of precedence in England and Wales

1170-527: The legal system of the Kingdom of England. This was in part to update outdated Welsh laws, but also to control Wales alongside England; through these acts, the Welsh could be seen as equals to the English. This was reflected on both Henry VIII and Elizabeth I 's coat of arms where the dragon represented Wales and the lion represented England. As soon as the Tudor dynasty ended with the death of Elizabeth I , however,

1209-590: The main storage space. Some briefcases made of fabric may have a shoulder strap. Briefcases typically have a lock to protect the contents. Nowadays, briefcases may have padded internal pouches to protect laptop computers. Briefcases are descendants of the limp satchel used in the fourteenth century for carrying money and valuables. It was called a "budget", derived from the Latin word "bulga" or Irish word "bolg", both meaning leather bag (in Irish it also means 'stomach'), and also

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1248-633: The need to consult Westminster. This was the first time in almost 500 years that Wales had its own powers to legislate. Each piece of Welsh legislation is known as an Act of Senedd Cymru . For a company to be incorporated in the United Kingdom, its application for registration with Companies House must state "whether the company's registered office is to be situated in England and Wales (or in Wales), in Scotland or in Northern Ireland", which will determine

1287-427: The parties. Upon a barrister devolves the duty of taking charge of a case when it comes into court, but all the preliminary work, such as the drawing up of the case, serving papers, marshalling evidence, etc., is performed by a solicitor . The delivery of a brief to counsel gives him authority to act for his client in all matters which the litigation involves. The brief was probably so called from its first being only

1326-473: The question affected. Most of the appellate courts require the filing of printed briefs for the use of the court and opposing counsel at a time designated for each side before hearing. In the rules of the United States Supreme Court and circuit courts of appeals the brief is required to contain a concise statement of the case, a specification of errors relied on, including the substance of evidence,

1365-521: The source of the financial term " budget ". Godillot of Paris was the first to use a hinged iron frame on a carpet bag in 1826. There then followed the Gladstone bag and the Rosebery, an oval-top bag. Eventually these became the modern metal-framed briefcase. The first of what is known as the modern rectangular briefcase is said to have been invented in the late 1850s. In 2014, the global business bag market

1404-407: The two Acts of Union, Parliament can restrict the effect of its laws to part of the realm, and generally the effect of laws, where restricted, was originally applied to one or more of the former kingdoms. Thus, most laws applicable to England also applied to Wales. However, Parliament now passes laws applicable to Wales and not to England (and vice versa), a practice which was rare before the middle of

1443-416: The use of counsel when cross-examining witnesses called by the other side. Accompanying the brief may be copies of the pleadings , and of all documents material to the case. The brief is always endorsed with the title of the court in which the action is to be tried, with the title of the action, and the names of the counsel and of the solicitor who delivers the brief. Counsel's fee is also marked. The result of

1482-477: Was repealed by the Welsh Language Act 1967 , although the statutory definition of "England" created by that Act still applies for laws passed before 1967. In new legislation since then, what was referred to as "England" is now "England and Wales", while subsequent references to "England" and "Wales" refer to those political divisions. There have been multiple calls from both Welsh academics and politicians for

1521-517: Was then united with the English crown by the Statute of Rhuddlan of 1284. This aimed to replace Welsh criminal law with English law. Welsh law continued to be used for civil cases until the annexation of Wales to England in the 16th century by the Welsh House of Tudor . The Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542 then consolidated the administration of all the Welsh territories and incorporated them fully into

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