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How to Make a Case Digest

The document provides a comprehensive guide on how to create a case digest, emphasizing its importance for law students in understanding legal principles and preparing for bar examinations. It outlines a systematic approach to digesting cases, including reading the entire case, taking notes on key information, adhering to a structured format, and ensuring accuracy and completeness. The process of digesting cases is highlighted as a crucial skill that enhances legal comprehension and prepares students for their future careers.

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Krystal Grace D. Padura
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15 views

How to Make a Case Digest

The document provides a comprehensive guide on how to create a case digest, emphasizing its importance for law students in understanding legal principles and preparing for bar examinations. It outlines a systematic approach to digesting cases, including reading the entire case, taking notes on key information, adhering to a structured format, and ensuring accuracy and completeness. The process of digesting cases is highlighted as a crucial skill that enhances legal comprehension and prepares students for their future careers.

Uploaded by

Krystal Grace D. Padura
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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HOW TO MAKE A CASE DIGEST

After going through the case digests you submitted, I deem it necessary to start our legal research
subject with this topic.

As you might have realized already, making a case digest is a fundamental skill every law student must
have. There is nothing easy about it. The sheer amount of time and effort you put into making digests is
just tremendous!

Many find this difficult because of several reasons. Some maybe new to the concept. Some do not know
how to start. And some are just not accustomed to reading.

But the idea of a case digest is very simple. Read and summarize. Read well, summarize properly.

It is from studying the law as they are applied in actual cases that, you, law students appreciate and
understand the law and the legal system. By digesting cases, you learn how substantive laws and
procedural laws are applied in coming up with a decision. This will open you to the legal system, its
entire gamut of legislation, logic, and philosophy.

When coming to class, law students must be prepared with their assigned cases. As the mind is limited,
it can only store so much information allowed within the limited time of preparation. So a case digest
will be helpful in remembering the important details and ruling of each case. Unless of course you are a
boy genius or someone with a photographic memory.

Digesting cases is necessary for your future bar examination. This task is undoubtedly tiring and
stressful. But believe me when I say that it will raise your chances in passing the bar. Without case
digests, bar examinees will have a convoluted memory of how the principles and doctrines are applied in
actual cases.

Case digests are important, but the “process” itself of making them is what matters most. Case digests
are always available in the internet. However, copying them or just having a compilation of digested
cases is not enough. It is the skill, value, and mindset that you develop in digesting cases that help you
hurdle the bar exam. Immersing yourself in the text of the case and imbibing the mind that penned the
decision will make you a true student of the law and eventually an excellent lawyer in the future.

1. READ THE ENTIRE CASE.

Read everything, from the start to finish, from the heading to the last footnote. Remember that you
cannot digest what you did not read.

Read until you understand. Read it by heart. Read as many times as necessary to understand the content
of the case. This is the right way. There is no shortcut.
The entire text of cases is now available online. Here is a list of websites:

a. Supreme Court E-library


b. Lawphil.net
c. www.chanrobles.com
d. Jaromay, Laurente Law Office On Line Library

2. While reading, TAKE NOTE OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION, namely:

a. Full names of the petitioner and respondent;


b. Action filed;
c. Lower court’s ruling;
d. Important persons, events, places
e. Main arguments of petitioner and respondent
f. Ponente (Justice who wrote the majority decision)
g. Date of the Decision

If you have a limited time, do this. Always bear in mind your subject and/or topic. Reading without
taking down notes will be time consuming. Your notes will be your pointers later when you begin to
draft the digest.

3. STICK TO AN ACCEPTABLE FORMAT OF THE CASE DIGEST.

Divide your digest into FACTS, ISSUE(S), and RULING.


These are the three main parts of the case digest.

4. SUPPLY THE SECTIONS ACCORDINGLY. There must be flow and coherence in your statements.
The digest must capture the story narrated in the case, the relevant issues, and the relevant ruling. In
here, you must learn how to do away with the not so important facts, issues, and explanations. Focus
your eyes on the subject and the topic.

a. Organize your facts.

b. Choose relevant issues.

c. Summarize the ruling and how each point was explained.

5. Pause for a while, then read again your output. MAKE SURE THAT IT IS COMPLETE AND
ACCURATE. Being complete means that the all the essential facts, issues, and rulings are present. Do not
copy the entire case. Being accurate means that you did not deviate from the written text of the case.

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