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I recently finished LEEWS and decided to crack open a few assigned cases for my Torts class this week. Immediately following a short read or two, I decided to "flesh out" the black letter law.. (I decided to IRAC for the first week. I have the "RULE," but that isn't the black letter law, right? How do we know what to look up in the commercial outline? Maybe this is the difficulty meant by analysis. But, as a new 1L is this a common struggle?

Any takers?

You're way behind, bro. I'd help but it might complicate things

blendpose wrote: I decided to IRAC for the first week. I have the "RULE," but that isn't the black letter law, right?

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Don't get boggled down by the term "black letter law."

Not every case that you will be assigned necessarily contains "black letter law." However, generally, every case that you have to read will have: 1) an issue to be decided; 2) a rule of law; 3) an application of the rule to a particular set of facts; and 4) a decision based on the application of the rule to the set of facts. Your job is to figure out how to spot this stuff and analysis it.

Black letter law is generally defined as the principles of law that are well settled. Black letter law is generally what you would find in a horn book/commercial outline. For example, the elements required to establish negligence are: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

The rule cited in a particular case may not necessarily be the "black letter law," as the rule may not be well settled. In certain instances, a judge may be making rules up to reach a certain outcome. Nevertheless, the goal of reading and outlining cases is to figure out the rule/legal theory that you are learning, and how to apply the rule to a set of facts.

I.P. Daly wrote:Don't get boggled down by the term "black letter law."

Not every case that you will be assigned necessarily contains "black letter law." However, generally, every case that you have to read will have: 1) an issue to be decided; 2) a rule of law; 3) an application of the rule to a particular set of facts; and 4) a decision based on the application of the rule to the set of facts. Your job is to figure out how to spot this stuff and analysis it.

Black letter law is generally defined as the principles of law that are well settled. Black letter law is generally what you would find in a horn book/commercial outline. For example, the elements required to establish negligence are: duty, breach, causation, and damages.

The rule cited in a particular case may not necessarily be the "black letter law," as the rule may not be well settled. In certain instances, a judge may be making rules up to reach a certain outcome. Nevertheless, the goal of reading and outlining cases is to figure out the rule/legal theory that you are learning, and how to apply the rule to a set of facts.

I appreciate the feedback.