When it comes to building compelling and well-founded legal arguments, practitioners have to understand one of the most important tools at their disposal: points and authorities. These elements play an essential role in any legal argument, providing both the logical steps and the authority to support an argument.
Let’s start with understanding what exactly points and authorities are. According to Black’s Law Dictionary, “points and authorities” are defined as “[a] set of written materials used as legal support for a particular argument…. Points and authorities typically include, but are not limited to statutory law, judicial decisions, and scholarly treatises or articles.” In other words, it’s a compilation of evidence and legal support used to back up a party’s position in a court proceeding.
Points and authorities give legal practitioners the power to show why a court should decide their case in their favor. This is accomplished by providing various relevant legal citations that can be presented to support a particular argument. Most points and authorities are presented in the form of a brief, an argumentative document that is filed with a court outlining the legal basis for why the court should consider the case in one party’s favor.
In order for a point and authority to be effective, it must be argued in a manner that reflects an in-depth knowledge of the relevant legal issues. Legal practitioners must be aware of existing legal principles, precedents, and cases that are applicable to their argument. It’s also important to be familiar with the court’s rules and protocol when filing points and authorities, as an improperly formatted brief can weaken an argument.
At its core, points and authorities are all about building a robust legal argument. For lawyers and legal professionals, understanding and utilizing points and authorities should always be a priority when preparing a legal argument. Doing so can help ensure a stronger legal argument and ultimately lead to better outcomes in the courtroom.