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FIRAC Worksheet

Appendix B: Briefing and Analyzing Cases in Constitutional Law offers a model to brief a court case. FIRAC stands for Facts, Issue, Rule(s), Analyze, and Conclusion. Read about this model and see an example of it in Appendix B. Then, select a United States Supreme Court case on the First Amendment and complete a FIRAC analysis using the worksheet below.

SUPREME COURT case:

FACTS: Lay out the facts of the case. (200 words)

ISSUE: Identify the legal issue.(50 words)

RULE: What provision of the First Amendment applies to the issue you have defined? (50 words)

ANALYZE: Analyze the case, applying the law to the facts of the case. (300 words)

CONCLUSION: Draw a conclusion. (200 words)

Hall, D. E. & Feldmeier, J. P. (2012). Constitutional law: Governmental powers and individual freedoms (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.