HOW TO MAKE A CASE DIGEST

1. READ THE WHOLE CASE FROM START TO FINISH

2. As you read the case, take note of which facts and issues you’ll include in the digest.
3. Start your digest with the title of the case, citation, date, and ponente (SC justice who wrote the
majority opinion).
4. Divide your digest into FACTS, ISSUE(S), and RULING sections.
5. Fill in the section on facts w/ the ones you chose earlier. Make sure that the sentences
flow with each other. You’re telling a story of…
6. Fill in the issue section. The “whether or not x x x” is the easiest to formulate. Some
cases have just one issue, some have many.
7. Fill in the section on the court’s ruling. How did the court resolve the issue? What was
the reasoning behind the ruling?
8. Finish it up!