What was the decision the Court, often times referred to as the majority opinion

What was the decision the Court, often times referred to as the majority opinion

DECISION OF THE COURT (0-25 points): What was the decision the Court, often times referred to as the majority opinion. You should provide a detailed explanation of what the court decided in the case….how they interpreted the law, legal principles/guidance established by the Court, etc. For purposes, this is the heart of why we review cases and, as such, this section should contain sufficient detail to fully explain the decision.

Notes: This section is the heart and soul of the analysis and a one sentence explanation that the Court ruled in favor of one of the party’s favor won’t cut it. The expectation is for you to carefully read the decision which will explain the interpretation of the law by the court, its application to the facts of the current and future cases. Why the court chose to rule the way it did in overturning, or upholding, a lower court’s decision. This is 25 points of the total score, as a result it should have a good level of detail and explanation of the Court’s decision. It should be at least a 6-8 paragraph explanation of what the Court decided. It is not simply acceptable to simply say: “The Court ruled that Colorado law recognizes the theory of Implied Contract.” Certainly, we want to know what the Court decided but the instructive part of this exercise is to understand what was decided, why they reached that decision and implications of that decision.

DISSENTING OPINIONS (0-10 points): Dissenting opinions are sometimes filed by the justice(s) who disagree with the majority opinion of the court. The opinions set forth the dissenting justices view of the case and the decision they believe should have been reached by the court. Though these decisions have no force of law in terms of deciding the case, they can reveal other legal theories that might be open for pursuit in the future and give a window into alternative views of the law that may signal where the Court might move in a future case. Notes: Review Courts are made up of multiple justices. In deciding a case, the majority rules and one or more of the justices in the majority will write the opinion of the Court (Decision of the Court above). However, in cases where there is not a unanimous opinion, one of more justices in the minority will write an opinion explaining why the majority decision was wrong and their view of the case. This is called a Dissenting Opinion. The Dissenting Opinion does not have the force of law because it is not the opinion of the Court but it is instructive to understand the viewpoint of those justices who opposed the majority decision as it might give insight into how the Court might decide a future case with different facts. 3-4 paragraphs summarizing the Dissenting Opinion, if there is one, should suffice. If there was no dissent, simply state that fact and move on.

Please use the attachments as references. There will also need to be Power Point Bullets for both DECISION OF THE COURT and DISSENTING OPINIONS.