“What is the level of competence needed to stand trial when the defendant is mentally retarded?” Later you will need to explain how are these issues are argued in the case, so cleariy stating the
question(s) will make writing that section easier. 3. Review of Literature: What does the scientific research say about these issues? Like any other research paper, conduct a brief review of
literature to see what professional journals say the issue at the heart of the legal question. What does behavioral science know about this issue? For example, when the legal question is the
competence of a mentally retarded defendant, you would need to find three or four research articles describing the cognitive capacities or limitations of individuals with intellectual deficiencies.
Are there a lot of differing opinions or conflicting research results? Is this an issue with little scientific information about it? If there is a clear consensus of professional opinion, what is
it? 4. Court Decision: What was the judgment in this case? Who did the judge or jury decide was right? If the opinion says, “We hold…” that’s the majority opinion. Just state the decision in a
sentence or two. 5. Rule of Law: What was the legal standard that comes out of this case? In some cases this will be clearer than others, but basically you want to identify the principle of law on
which the judge or jury is basing the resolution of the case. This rule of law will be used in future cases to make judgments. For example, the Rule of Law in Miranda v. Arizona is that ‘evidence
obtained by police in a custodial interrogation of a suspect is not admissible in court to prove guilt unless the suspect was given warnings about his constitutional rights. Those rights
included….’ In other words, state why this case is important. 6. Reasoning: What were the judges’ reasons for deciding the case the way they did? How were the issues argued9 The iccantjpo
opinions as well, which is important to state why some judges disagreed. Did the majority opinion consider the scientific