Statement of Facts
Every case begins with a unique story. This section is used to provide your client’s story to the reader. It is the section of the paper that requires little (if any) understanding of legal concepts. It is, instead, based on the legally relevant facts from your client’s situation. Think of yourself as the neutral narrator who needs reader to understand all of the important facts that led to this action. Facts are considered to be relevant when they relate to the legal rules at issue.
It is important to remain objective. This means that facts should not be slanted in any way.
- (slanted version) The police officer intruded into defendant’s home without a justifiable reason.
- (objective version) The police officer entered the home without a warrant.
Students may feel funny remaining neutral when they feel loyalty to their new client. This means that students may not want to point out any facts that could potentially have a negative impact on the case. It is important, however, to tell the story accurately by including all of the legally relevant facts, and background facts, even ones that may paint your client in a more negative light. The reason for this is to be sure that the partner to whom you are writing has a complete understanding of the story. Therefore, try not to worry about client loyalty, because the best thing you can do for a client is provide all of the information to ensure all of the lawyers are prepared for the next steps in the litigation process.
Legal conclusions, legal analysis, and references to case law do not belong within this section. It is meant to be factual only.
Telling a story may not require much legal knowledge, but it does require strong organization. A disorganized version of facts can be difficult to read and understand. The most common way to organize a story is by using chronological order. This method starts with the first event and progresses through the events as they happened. Most stories can be told this way, and it will usually promote clarity. Another method of organizing the facts is when the story has multiple issues. In this instance, the story can be told issue by issue instead of in a timeline order.
Below is a video about the Statement of Facts section:
