---
title: "IRAC Case Brief Extractor Prompt: Issue, Rule, Application, and Holding vs Dicta."
description: "Download the IRAC Case Brief Extractor JSON preset for Vezz me. Highlight judicial opinions on Google Scholar, CourtListener, or Justia and extract Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion."
canonical_url: "https://vezz.me/prompts/irac-case-brief-extractor/"
type: "pseo-prompts"
category: "prompts"
topic: "Legal Education Preset"
intent: "Best for 1L–3L law students, paralegals, and legal researchers briefing judicial opinions on Google Scholar Case Law, CourtListener, and Cornell LII."
---

# IRAC Case Brief Extractor Prompt: Issue, Rule, Application, and Holding vs Dicta.

Download the IRAC Case Brief Extractor JSON preset for Vezz me. Highlight judicial opinions on Google Scholar, CourtListener, or Justia and extract Issue, Rule, Application, and Conclusion.

> **Best fit:** Best for 1L–3L law students, paralegals, and legal researchers briefing judicial opinions on Google Scholar Case Law, CourtListener, and Cornell LII.

## Live Webpage Walkthrough

- **Source:** Appellate Opinion Excerpt — Respondeat Superior (Frolic vs Detour) (`scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=example`)
- **Recommended Context Mode:** Detailed

**Highlighted Passage:**
> In determining whether an employee's deviation from an assigned delivery route falls within the scope of employment under respondeat superior, we distinguish between a 'frolic' (an abandonment of the employer's business in pursuit of personal errands) and a 'detour' (a slight deviation as to time and distance that remains foreseeable incidental to the trip). Here, the driver deviated 400 yards off the exit to buy coffee during a 6-hour haul. The trial court erred in granting summary judgment for the employer as a matter of law.

**User Question (Shortcut):** "Extract a structured IRAC case brief and separate the binding holding from dicta."

**Vezz me On-Screen Answer:**
1. **Procedural Posture & Facts**: Plaintiff appealed the trial court's grant of **summary judgment for the employer** after a delivery driver went 400 yards off-route for coffee during a 6-hour trip and caused an accident.
2. **Issue**: Whether a 400-yard stop for coffee during a 6-hour haul is an outside-the-scope 'frolic' as a matter of law, or raises a triable jury question as a foreseeable 'detour'.
3. **Rule**: Under *respondeat superior*, a minor, foreseeable geographic/temporal deviation incidental to work is a **detour** (employer liable), whereas complete abandonment for personal business is a **frolic**.
4. **Application**: A 400-yard coffee stop on a 6-hour drive is minor and foreseeable; a reasonable jury could find it a mere detour.
5. **Conclusion / Holding**: **Reversed** summary judgment for employer and remanded for trial.

**Suggested Follow-Ups:**
- "What hypothetical change in facts would turn this detour into a frolic as a matter of law?"
- "Condense the Rule and Holding into a 2-line doctrinal outline bullet."

## Custom Prompt Preset for Vezz me

- **Preset Name:** IRAC Case Brief Extractor
- **Recommended Context Level:** Detailed
- **JSON Preset Download:** https://vezz.me/prompts/presets/irac-case-brief-extractor.json

```text
Brief the selected judicial opinion excerpt using strict legal analysis: 1) Procedural Posture & Dispositive Facts: who sued whom, how did the lower court rule, and which 2–3 facts were legally dispositive?, 2) Issue: frame the precise legal question ('Whether...'), 3) Rule: state the governing doctrinal rule, statute, or multi-factor test, 4) Application / Reasoning: how did the court apply the rule to these facts and why did it reject the counterargument?, and 5) Conclusion & Holding vs Dicta: state the binding holding and separate any notable dicta or dissent.
```

**Why it works:** Preserves procedural posture (e.g., Rule 12(b)(6) vs Summary Judgment) and explicitly separates binding holding from non-binding dicta—the two things generic AI summaries always blur.

## Step-by-step workflow

1. **Download and import the IRAC Case Brief Extractor JSON**: Save `irac-case-brief-extractor.json` and import it into Vezz me.
2. **Highlight the core reasoning section of a judicial opinion**: On CourtListener, Google Scholar Case Law, Justia, or Cornell LII, highlight the court's discussion of the issue you are briefing.
3. **Review the Procedural Posture and Holding vs Dicta**: Use the structured brief to prepare for Socratic cold calls or add the black-letter Rule to your course outline.

## Built for law school cold calls and appellate research

Generic summarizers say 'The plaintiff won.' Law professors ask 'What was the procedural posture below, and why was summary judgment improper?'

- Always captures **Procedural Posture** (motion to dismiss, summary judgment, JNOV, preliminary injunction) and standard of review
- Distinguishes binding **Holding** (necessary to the outcome) from **Dicta** (hypothetical commentary)
- Highlights where concurrences and dissents split from the majority's doctrinal test

## Frequently asked questions

### Does this preset work on concurring and dissenting opinions?

Yes! Highlight a concurrence or dissent and run the preset to see exactly where the justice disagrees with the majority's rule or application.

### Which free legal case databases work best with Vezz me?

Google Scholar (Case Law tab), CourtListener / RECAP, Cornell Legal Information Institute (LII), and Justia all render clean HTML text that works seamlessly with Ctrl+Shift+X.

### Can I use this alongside the Plain-English Legal Translator preset?

Yes—use IRAC Case Brief Extractor for court opinions and Plain-English Legal Translator for contracts and statutes.

## Related guides

- [Vezz me for Law Students & Paralegals](https://vezz.me/for/law-students-and-paralegals/): Complete browser workflow for case law, statutes, and contracts.
- [Plain-English Legal Translator Preset](https://vezz.me/prompts/plain-english-legal-translator/): 1-click preset for commercial contracts and statutory clauses.
- [Explain Government Regulations & Compliance](https://vezz.me/use-cases/explain-government-regulations-and-compliance/): How to parse eCFR rules, GDPR articles, and statutory cross-references.
- [Vezz me on Google Scholar](https://vezz.me/for/google-scholar/): Using Vezz me on Google Scholar's academic and case-law search.