P5
Spring
BRIEFING COURT CASES
Learning Objectives
At the end of this assignment
P5
Spring
BRIEFING COURT CASES
Learning Objectives
At the end of this assignment, you will be able to:
• Brief a court case
• Understand the significance of facts
• Appreciate how subtle changes in facts can make a huge difference in the outcome of a legal
proceeding
Assignment
• Read the Reading for P5 (Sample Brief) posted on Canvas.
• Read “Common Errors in Tax Research” in the Resources on Canvas.
• Prepare and submit case briefs according to the instructions below.
Instructions
Tax researchers have found that the preparation of a case brief—a concise summary of relevant
court case—is an invaluable tool, both when returning to a client’s research problem or when
constructing a research analysis for another client with a similar problem. You may work on this
assignment in pairs.
• Below are six pairs of court cases preceded by a group of letters. Select the cases that
correspond with the first letter of your last name. (You may use the letter for either partner if you
are working in pairs.) The cases citations below are not in the correct form. Be sure to look
at the Citation Forms document.
• Obtain the case opinions using RIA. Write a brief (1 ½ pages should be more than enough)
for each case and a one-page contrast of the two cases. (A sample brief is posted in the P5
assignment.) You will submit one Word document containing case #1 on the first page, case
#2 on the second page and the contrast on the third page. In comparing the cases, notice how
a subtle difference in the facts can completely alter the outcome. The third page of your
submission should focus on the differences in the cases and should be written as a narrative
rather than a numbered or bulleted list.
• Please submit the assignment (Case 1, Case 2 and Contrast) as a single Word document
attachment to Assignments by 10:00 p.m. on the due date (refer to the syllabus for the due date.)
If you are working in pairs, the team should turn in only one document with the names of both
team members included.
• Put your name in the header of your paper in this format: Last name—P5—A302 (or A551)—
spring 2024
1. (A-B) Oscar J. Hines, 72 T.C. 715, 718-719 (1979), and Jon L. Stolte, T.C. Memo 1999-271
2. (C) Everett W. Brizendine, TC Memo 1957-32 (1957), and Greta Starks, TC Memo 1966-134
3. (D-H) Welch v. Helvering, 12 AFTR 1456 (54 S. Ct. 8), and Harold L. Jenkins, TC Memo (1983-667)
4. (I-M) William T. Heywood, TC Memo 1994-575, and Donald C. Kimbrough, TC Memo (1988-185)
5. (N-V) Harold Dancer, 73 T.C. 1103 (1980) and Freedman v. Comm., 62-1 USTC 9400
6.(W-Z) Pevsner v. Comm., 46 AFTR 2d 80-5938 (CA-5), and Betsy Lusk Yeomans, 30 TC 757 (1958)
USE CASES # 1 for me. please take a look at the PDFs I’m going to upload
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