How to read a court case

As with other reading material, the best way to read a court case is to read the entire case and then take notes as you reread. Court cases present an extra challenge for two reasons: (1) the unfamiliar legal terminology and (2) the difficulty in determining what is important and what can be ignored. To help separate the "wheat from the chaff" you should try briefing the case. Briefing a case helps you to focus on the important issues.

As you read the case, answer the following questions:

1. Begin with the name and citation of the case.

2. Is this case being decided by a trial court or an appellate court? (Note: most cases you read will be appellate cases, because the opinions of trial courts have less precedental value)

3. In the original case, who was the plaintiff and who was the defendant?

4. What was the original complaint? (libel, invasion of privacy, violation of a statute, etc.)

5. What were the facts that led to the complaint?

6. What was the trial court's decision? (who "won" the case)

7. What are the legal questions/issues that are being raised on appeal?

8. What is the present court's decision (is the original decision affirmed, reversed, or remanded?)

9. What rule or test is the court using to decide the outcome? This will relate to the legal question that must be decided.

10. What reason does the court give for using this rule?

Sometimes the court makes your job easier and says "The issue before the court is" or "we apply the following test" Other times you have to reread the case a few times to figure out what the issue or rule is! The above ten steps spell out the briefing process in detail. To summarize:

What are the FACTS?

What LEGAL QUESTION or ISSUE is the court trying to answer?

What is the DECISION?

What is the RULE OR TEST the court used to reach its decision?

What is the court's REASONING?

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Star Gazing

Went out for lunch + shopping with my mum and Sis today. Didn't know "This Fashion" also sells men's clothing, and they are really cheap and has very nice designs. Selling at less than $20, some even below $12.

Went back to Ngee Ann Poly for some star gazing since they are having a school camp in there. It's been a long time since I last star gazed. The sky was good. Saw the moon, Pleiades, Orion Nebula and Andromeda galaxy. Satisfied!

Book Review

Norwegian Wood By Haruki Murakami

"When he hears her favourite Beatles song, Toru Watanabe recalls his first love Naoko, the girlfriend of his best Friend Kizuki. Immediately he is transported back almost twenty years to his student days in Tokyo, adrift in a whild of uneasy friendships, casual sex, passion, loss and desire - to a time when an impetuous young woman called Midori marches into his life and he has to choose between the future and the past"

Picked up this book in Kinokuniya when I was searching for a book to read. Norwegian Wood was first written in 1987 by author Haruki Murakami and later translated to many different languages.

It's a simple love story, set in the early days. But reading the book I felt that it seems to be describing the modern times people live. Written like a flashback, Watanabe, describes about his college life, the friends he met and lost, Naoko and Midori. His world is in a confusion. Somewhat a loner but always a sincere guy. How he treats and cares for Naoko while she's in her dark times. And the meeting of a somewhat werid and straightforward girl, Midori where she just talks everything under the sun, loves to ask embarrassing question. So in the end, he searched for the answer to his heart. Overall it's a pretty interesting read on his interactions with the 2 girls.

Overall it's a good read. Will be picking up on his other book "Dance Dance Dance".

Orchard Lights

Was supposed to go Sentosa for a suntan with QX and Lysia today, but they changed it to shopping at Orchard due to only 3 of us. These 2 little girls go shopping can take the whole day to buy dresses and accessories. Now I know why most girls take a long time to do their shopping. Cause there's really TONS of female apparels to compare. Earning a woman's money seems easy, yet so difficult. Hugging to their dresses while discussing to buy or not can easily clock 1 hour.
At night walked around looking at the Christmas decorations in Orchard. Not very nice. Maybe it's still early, not much of Christmas mood yet. Lol.

Base Anniversary Dinner 2006
14 Nov


Eileen Wee.. very friendly and pretty lady!

Was there for the anniversary dinner that night. Glad they found a great emcee for the night. Last year was Abigall!

Our Special Day....

You've Got Mail!

Received a letter from dear. Hmm so secretive...


what does it contain? Hmmmm.....




"Bikini photo?"
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"Bikini photo!!!"
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Hhahaha! I love you Dear.

Fucked Up Day

Got 14 extras of COS cause of the stupid EOD thing. Unable to report proper strength. Basket.

Never liked our OC anyway. Feel like giving him one nice punch.

Quite an accurate quiz from Candice's blog. It almost describes what I am!

Get to know yourself better - Click here

Your view on yourself:
You are down-to-earth and people like you because you are so straightforward. You are an efficient problem solver because you will listen to both sides of an argument before making a decision that usually appeals to both parties.

The type of girlfriend/boyfriend you are looking for:
You are a true romantic. When you are in love, you will do anything and everything to keep your love true.

Your readiness to commit to a relationship:
You are ready to commit as soon as you meet the right person. And you believe you will pretty much know as soon as you meet that person.

The seriousness of your love:
Your have very sensible tactics when approaching the opposite sex. In many ways people find your straightforwardness attractive, so you will find yourself with plenty of dates.

Your views on education
Education is less important than the real world out there, away from the classroom. Deep inside you want to start working, earning money and living on your own.

The right job for you:
You're a practical person and will choose a secure job with a steady income. Knowing what you like to do is important. Find a regular job doing just that and you'll be set for life.

How do you view success:
You are confident that you will be successful in your chosen career and nothing will stop you from trying.

What are you most afraid of:
You are concerned about your image and the way others see you. This means that you try very hard to be accepted by other people. It's time for you to believe in who you are, not what you wear.

Who is your true self:
You are mature, reasonable, honest and give good advice. People ask for your comments on all sorts of different issues. Sometimes you might find yourself in a dilemma when trapped with a problem, which your heart rather than your head needs to solve.

The Prestige



From acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan ("Memento," "Batman Begins"), comes a mysterious story of two magicians whose intense rivalry leads them on a life-long battle for supremacy full of obsession, deceit and jealousy with dangerous and deadly consequences.

From the time that they first met as young magicians on the rise, Robert Angier (HUGH JACKMAN) and Alfred Borden (CHRISTIAN BALE) were competitors. However, their friendly competition evolves into a bitter rivalry making them fierce enemies-for-life and consequently jeopardizing the lives of everyone around them.


Watched this with Jenny and Neil. Been wondering what's the mystery about this film on magic. 1 word after the movie - CAPTIVATING. You'll watch 2 magicians vying for the ultimate attention. Then attention gained is called The Prestige. Cause this means you are the greatest magician alive. They will try to guess and outperform each other's ultimate magic tricks.
The film is loaded with lots of flashbacks. It's abit confusing but each of this flashbacks will piece together and lead you to the ultimate answer, the ending. You'll never feel sleey watching this.

5/5 stars!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween

NS Jargons

Welcome back to Hitori's NS Jargons again! Today I'm going to introduce are:

"Chu(4) Peng(1)" - Hokkien phrase for ORD(Operational Ready Date) which means the end of NSF life and back to civilian life. Literally means out of army. Usually used by people of older ages when they ask your parents if you have finished serving your NS. HOWEVER it's more commonly known as funeral.

"Ki(2) Chia(1)" - Hokkien phrase for loading up on the vehicle. Simply put it: Up the lorry. The funny thing is..... it also means loading up on the funeral van on your funeral.




Feeling sick today.

End of a Long Weekend

It's the end of the long weekend. Days gone by so quickly. Soon it will be back to the army again.

Hot Stuff



Wanna introduce this tasty seaweed snack. The seaweeds are so crispy that they crackle and pop on every bite that you take. Taste very good too. Comes in 3 flavours, spicy, wasabi and original. I like the wasabi. The wasabi flavour will just get to you once you place your taste buds on the seaweed. HOT!

Hari Raya Puasa

Visted the "New Asia Bar" at the Raffles City Hotel. It's actually located at the top floor of the hotel, 71 STOREYS HIGH. At the top you can view the sight of the whole city while you chill out with your friends. Entrance is free before 9 pm. Minimum age for guys is 23 years old while females is 18 years old. Happy hour prices before 9 pm, the menu which they provide you is already at happy hour prices. My friend cheated me saying that drinks are half price during happy hours. Tried the drink Metropolis and Stamford Tower. Metropolis is a mix of berries and alcohol. While Stamford Tower is a mix of Alcohol + pineapple plus other fruity ingredients. But I find it's too fruity, can't even taste the alcohol. Drank my friend's "Peachy", a mixture of Peach and Volka I think. Sounds abit like "Bitchy" don't you think? Think that has a bit more alcohol, felt abit tipsy BUT NOT DRUNK. Left there around 10 pm and headed home. Forgot to bring a camera to take a picture. The view is beautiful on a clear starry night.

Long Weekends

The start of my one week of leave. First day and I'm starting to get bored. I should start some reading up of books which I haven't been doing for a few years.

Death Note



Watched this movie today. It's a movie adaptation of a largely popular Japanese Manga "Death Note". It's about a boy who had a notebook, which whoever name is written on it, will die. And he used it to kill all the wanted criminals in the world. However, his deeds has crossed the line between Justice and Murder......
This movie is a worth to watch if you had not read the manga. The twists are simply good. One thing to complain is that the actors in the movie are too ugly. Lol. Reminder: This movie is only part 1. There will be part 2 coming soon.

Hazy Days

Been quite tired lately. I just fell asleep during work while waiting for the people to finish up their job. Refreshing sleep for that while. Wonder the lack of energy is due to the haze? At least got dear to perk me up every day. 3 more days to long weekends!!!

Rob-B-Hood



Watch this movie finally after so much delays. Was supposed to watch it last week. Anyway it's a really funny film! And the baby is just so adorable! Do watch it! It's a good action/comedy film!

Dinner at Wakaru at the Cuppage. I must say that I'm quite disappointed with the new Wakaru. Dinner portions seemed smaller now, Wasabi looks diluted, plus my favorite soft shell crab is no longer delicious anymore. I miss the previous, more family like Japanese restaurant.

Tag Board Down

I think Tagboard has gone defunct. So now I'm using Cbox. So those having Tagboard also, do make a change.