IN THE SUPREME COURT FOR THE STATE OF FLORIDA

No. 19FC-[SCXX]-[MMDDYY]CCA-X

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

[If the Intro is a summary of your general argument, the Question(s) is a one-line summary of the legal core of the argument. The question is usually (but not always) structured as "Does (Law/EO/Action) violate the (xth) Amendment protection against (....)." You may also want to specify which section or sections of the law are unconstitutional. You will answer the question(s) in your arguments,]

I. JURISDICTION

The jurisdiction of this court is invoked under Kamdan State Rules of Court, Art. II, § 1.

II. INTRODUCTION

[Introduce and briefly summarize your case. Writing a good introduction is a good test of how thought out and prepared your case is, and will help you organize your overall argument. The argument should be as simple as possible and not overly complicated; if you're having trouble writing a concise and clear intro, try to rethink and restructure your argument.]

III. ARGUMENT

[Be methodical about your argument. Discuss the issue at hand in the law/order etc. Cite the relevant offending sections, and explain their effect. Then cite the appropriate Constitutional section/amendment.

You then need to discuss the precedent at hand and apply it to the relevant facts at issue in your case. This is likely the most challenging portion of the case for a less-experienced petitioner. Look up relevant cases, read the decisions (or good summaries) and cite them. Find some good quotes that back up your argument. When you read those cases, note the cases that they then cite in turn. Keep following the trail of cases and reading them. If there are cases that undermine your argument, you have an ethical obligation to bring these to the attention of the Court as well. If you can, you should be able to explain why those cases do not apply on the facts at issue in your case and distinguish them from the “better” cases you believe are more relevant and appropriate for the Court to consider.

America uses a common law system. Without going into depth, that means that the law builds on itself, with new decisions and cases adding to our legal landscape. There are many factors that Courts consider when evaluating cases, including the age of the case, the relevance of the case to the questions you address, and the underlying legal principles involved. You should be able to explain how much “weight” the Court should give a case based on these factors. Newer cases can be better than older cases, and the more recent a case is, the more it should be relevant to you. However, older cases are still relevant, especially if they more specifically impact your case than a newer case, and particularly if they have been frequently cited for a particular proposition. The more “weighty” precedent you can (appropriately) cite, the stronger your case will be. You will need to carefully read the cases to determine its impact.

Some other points you will want to address in this section are severability (whether striking down one portion of the law as unconstitutional invalidates the whole law), any other evidence you wish to present (statements made by the respondent that back your claim up), and historically relevant evidence (some Supreme Court opinions refer back to Colonial and even older British law as foundational principles).

It’s important to note that while the Court thoroughly and intently considers the case and the legal arguments, and considers reasoning not necessarily brought up by the Petitioner or Respondent, we will not do the work for you. Do not rely on the Court to bail you out if you formulate a weak argument.]

IV. CONCLUSION

[In conclusion, you will summarize your argument. Just like in your school essays, restate your introduction, and frame your argument. Conclude that the law/action etc. is unconstitutional for the reasons you have outlined.]

FILED: [MM/DD/YY]