The Briefing

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. Appellate briefs 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. 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. Language Pre-trial briefs are exchanged between parties at a date set during the pre-trial conference to argue matters under consideration before trial. Trial briefs are presented at trial to resolve a disputed point of evidence. Legal briefs are used as part of arguing a pre-trial motion in a case or proceeding. Merit briefs (or briefs on the merits) are briefs on the inherent rights and wrongs of a case, absent any emotional or technical biases Amicus briefs are briefs filed by persons not directly party to the case. These are often groups that have a direct interest in the outcome. Appellate briefs are briefs that occur at the appeal stage. Memorandum of law may be another word for brief, although that term may also be used to describe an internal document in a law firm in which an attorney attempts to analyze a client's legal position without arguing for a specific interpretation of the law. IRAC case briefs are usually a one-page review done by a paralegal or attorney, ultimately used by the attorney to find previously decided cases by an appellate court, in state or federal jurisdiction, which show how the courts have ruled on earlier similar cases in court. Function 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, 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.