translation studies. retrospective and prospective views

The fact section of a good student brief will include the following
elements:
1. A one-sentence description of the nature of the case,
to serve as an introduction.
2. A statement of the relevant law, with quotation
marks or underlining to draw attention to the key words or
phrases that are in dispute.
3. A summary of the complaint (in a civil case) or the
indictment (in a criminal case) plus relevant evidence and
arguments presented in court to explain who did what to whom
and why the case was thought to involve illegal conduct.
4. A summary of actions taken by the lower courts, for
example: defendantconvicted; conviction upheld by appellate
court; Supreme Court granted certiorari.
Following all the steps, the law-school student learn specific terms of
Common law with their content, the implied parties in a common-law trial,
enriches his or her vocabulary in context, makes analogy with his or her
legal system, and, eventually learn to synthesize and put in one’s own
word a piece of information.
A well-written opinion starts out by telling us the legal issue upfront.
Language that the court uses might include such phrases as:
"The question before us is whether...."
"This case was brought before us to decide whether..."
Appellate courts hear a case on appeal when there has been a
problem with the case in the court below. The problem could be an error
that the court made or the appellate court may want to take the case
because the lower courts in its jurisdiction are not consistent in their
decisions. By taking this case, it gives the higher court a chance to give
guidance and establish precedent for the lower courts to follow. If students
are having trouble spotting the issue, then they shall be recommended to
try to key into the word "whether", it often signals what the turning point
for a case.
V. Decisions
The decision, or holding, is the court’s answer to a question presented
to it for answer by the parties involved or raised by the court itself in its
own reading of the case. There are narrow procedural holdings, for
example, “case reversed and remanded,” broader substantive holdings
which deal with the interpretation of the Constitution, statutes, or judicial
doctrines.
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