Final Case Brief Framework/Outline

Title & Source

How will you identify this case? What key nouns and actions words will grab attention?

What is the source of information about this case? Publication title, author, and date; personal observation or communication.

Case Overview“Big picture” interpretation of the case in one or two sentences.  How would you characterize the moral challenge of this case? Why is this case morally important? Key FactsYour factual discovery of key events, actors, and evidence:  What relevant events, people, and evidence are key to understanding the situation or problem? What contextual/ technical knowledge needs to be considered?  What are your sources for the facts of the case and how reliable are they?Ethical Analysis

Your interpretation of the values conflict or moral challenge.

•    What is the main moral issue in this case?  What is at stake? What is the moral urgency? (Uncertainty, risk, danger)

•    Who is the key moral actor in this case? Whose actions and decisions determine the moral resolution of this case? 

•    What is your intuitive moral judgment of the issue? What foundational moral values are involved? (CARE, LIBERTY, FAIRNESS, LOYALTY, AUTHORITY, SANCTITY)

•    How do values and moral judgments conflict? Is it a right/right or right/wrong conflict? What type of right/right?

•    Is the moral issue with an action, the means of action, or the intent of an action?

•    What normative moral claims and standpoints of VIRTUE (character, common good), DUTY (principle, moral claims), and CONSEQUENCES (outcomes, harm, cost, benefit) should you consider in evaluating the moral challenge?

•    How would you apply the values and code of your wisdom tradition to understand and explain the moral issue?

•    How does the moral challenge align/conflict with the core values of your Wisdom Tradition and that of stakeholders?

Stakeholder Analysis

Your interpretation of stakeholder interests in light of precedents, context, and evidence: 

• Who are the stakeholders (individuals, groups, or entities) whose values, moral claims, and duties constitute the moral challenge of the case?  What values, Wisdom Traditions, and moral arguments support their claims?  How valid and sound are those claims?
• What competing or contested values, claims, or duties complicate this case? Which stakeholders have more urgent and compelling claims?  Why?
• What similar cases or situations are useful as analogues for evaluating this case?

Option AnalysisYour discernment and interpretation of options (at least 2-3).  What are the feasible options for the key moral actor to consider in resolving the moral problem?  On what grounds are they morally justified?Decision AnalysisYour action recommendation.  Which option is the most ethical, and on what grounds? How does the action express/reflect your core values? Summary ArgumentYour argument in brief:  Explain the best decision option or action plan persuasively in fewer than 25 words.ReferencesAPA format: Be sure to include every idea, concept, and point of information that is not solely your original creation or observation.

2500 words