Analyzing and Briefing a Court Decision

Safety and health professionals work with and for the law on a daily basis. In the United States, laws can be made by the executive branch (i.e., executive order) or the legislative branch (i.e., new laws), and the judicial branch is to review and assess the validity and applicability of these laws. This assessment by the judicial branch of our government is often called case law and is the evaluation, assessment, and decisions of the courts at all levels up to and including the U.S. Supreme Court. 

Safety and health professionals should be aware that there are state courts as well as federal courts, and even specialty courts such as family law courts and traffic courts. Although the court name may vary, both the state and federal courts possess a hierarchy wherein each court decision can be appealed to a higher court by any of the parties involved in the actions. The highest court in most state judiciary systems as well as the federal judiciary system is the Supreme Court. For safety and health professionals who may be unfamiliar with their individual state judiciary system or the federal judiciary system, it is important to acquire a basic knowledge of the levels of the courts, namely, the specialty courts, such as tax court, the district or trial courts, where most trials take place, the appellate courts, and the state top court or the U.S. Supreme Court. 

When reading a court decision, safety and health professionals may wish to utilize 

Read the case again and identify the court s decision. 

If an appellate case, identify if the decision was unanimous or split. 

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