What is the Issue?
This is part 2 of the series, “What the Hell is an IRAC?”
In law school, students are charged with “issue spotting,” which means finding the question of law and sub-questions in the fact pattern provided. Many professors now specify the issue that they want the student to answer, but, many do not and still require that the student “spot” the issues. However, even if the professor provides the main issue in the question, the student will still have to find sub-issues under the main call of the question.
Issue questions would be something like:
- Is the defendant guilty of battery as a result of striking the plaintiff?
- Will the landlord be held liable for discrimination for refusal to rent to the plaintiff because the plaintiff is an attorney?
- Does the plaintiff have standing under the Fourth Amendment search and seizure clause?
These questions provide boundaries for the answer. In other words, if you want to answer the question “is the defendant guilty of murder,” there is no reason to talk about defamation or the local laws which affect the building codes in commercial projects. You might as well talk about the transmission of your car, because honestly, it is just as relevant.
KEY
- Understand the question that is being asked
- Define the framework of your answer specific to the question
- Practice spotting the issues and sub-issues for this type of question
Next, we will take a look at the rule and provide examples. See you there. –> What Is The Rule?
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