How to compare two judgments: facts and reasoning worksheet
Compare facts, issues and reasoning in two judgments with a practical worksheet.
Two judgments on a similar subject may answer different questions or depend on different facts. A comparison worksheet helps you study those differences instead of looking only at who won. This is a reading method; it does not decide whether a judgment binds a court or predict an outcome.
Identify each decision first
Find complete texts in reliable sources and record court, jurisdiction, date, identifier, level and procedure. Note the version consulted and missing information. Check whether both decisions address the same question and time context: sharing a keyword or language is not enough.
Use a two-column worksheet
Copy this for A and B: reference and link | court and date | relevant facts | issue examined | cited law or sources | reasoning | decision | unresolved differences | exact passage. Include paragraph or page references so you can return to the original. Mark missing information as pending rather than guessing.
Fictional example without an outcome: “A: delivery notified by email; B: method of notice to be confirmed.” Ask whether that difference appears in the reasoning and why it might matter; do not invent a consequence. A superficial similarity does not prove the cases must have the same result.
Compare facts and reasoning
Separate parties’ submissions from facts the decision treats as established or relevant. Identify the question the court actually addresses and the reasoning linking its sources to the facts. Do not turn the outcome into a universal rule or attribute a party’s argument to the court.
Georgetown’s case-comparison guide recommends explaining facts, reasoning and relevant differences. It is written for United States legal education; how precedents and decisions are treated varies by legal system and requires local verification.
Check before using the worksheet
Find the original text, check jurisdiction and later history using appropriate resources, and investigate relevant changes in legislation or later decisions. A citation in a summary or generated by AI does not by itself establish what a passage says. Record what you searched and any limits.
Legal Assistant AI offers document analysis and case-law search; it can help generate questions for comparing decisions. Verify each answer against the originals, do not upload confidential information without permission, and seek qualified advice if the comparison affects a real decision.