Just in Case

“Let us from point to point this story know                                                                                                                                             

  To make the even truth in pleasure flow."

All’s Well That Ends Well, V,3; King of France, seeking final explanations

Let’s talk about the Statement of the Case. The procedural flow of every case tells a story of its own. It has a beginning, a middle, and ends up with you, dear appellate practitioner. Hence, I use the same method for the Statement of the Case that I do for the Statement of the Facts. I tell the parts of the legal story critical for a judge to apply the applicable rules and make decisions.

          While the Statement of the Facts is all about what happened before the lawsuit started, the Statement of the Case is all about what happened in the lower court. Whereas the Statement of the Facts lays out the story from your client’s view, the Statement of the Case tells the Court the scope of its review. It should include a description of the nature of the case, the course of proceedings (procedural history), and its disposition in the court below. Leave out procedural history that has no relevance to the issues on appeal. The point is to simplify what has happened legally for the Court as much as possible.

       A good Statement of the Case frames the issues on appeal and removes obstacles to the Court’s understanding of the matter.  A good appellate advocate is always a willing servant to the Court.

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