okinawa wrote:Case charts. So many case charts.
This. Some kind of flow charting is necessary. It probably helps to think about
how the material needs to be charted, though.
You know what the themes of the class are (probably searches, seizures, Miranda warnings and confessions). You'll then want to consider how those themes become exam questions: In X scenario, was the cops' search unlawful? Was their seizure unlawful? Was their questioning of the suspect unlawful? You'll want to lay out your information in a way that maps out the answers to those questions.
For example, you could start organizing your cases this way:
1) Did the cops commit an illegal search or seizure?
--A) If there was a search, was it legal?
----i) Searches authorized by warrants
------a) Search warrants
----------Rules from cases about search warrants go here
------b) Arrest warrants
----------Rules from cases about arrest warrants go here
----iii) Probable cause
----------Rules about probable cause go here
----iv) Reasonable suspicion
----------Rules about reasonable suspicion go here
----v) Search incident to arrest
----------Rules about searches incident to arrest go here
--B) If there was a seizure, was it legal?
----i) ...and so on and so forth.
There is no single "right" or "wrong" way to do it. Also, the above was recreated from memory of a two-year-old class, so it may not be the best structure for organizing the material. But it should give you a starting point.