a brief summary, comment, or explanation that precedes a chapter, report, etc.
What is a headnote?
Headnotes are summaries of a point of law that appear at the beginning of a case. Headnotes are written by editors at Westlaw and Lexis (sometimes the language is verbatim from the text of the opinion). ... When citing a case, you should only cite to the actual text of the opinion written by the judge or justice.
How do you write a headnote?
The elements of a headnote should be:
- brevity.
- clear writing.
- identification of issues.
- identification of useful points.
- listing of authorities (statutes, cases, and authors)
- identification of counsel.
