writing up a case report

How to Write a Case Report

• First Online: 01 January 2020

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• Richard Balon 2 &
• Eugene V. Beresin 3 , 4 , 5  

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Case reports are an important starting point for academic writing and for producing new, interesting, and educational information for the field. They usually describe a unique syndrome or disease, an unexpected relationship between relatively uncommon diseases or symptoms, unique or rare events or outcomes in describing a disease, or a unique therapeutic approach to an illness. Authors should not write a case report simply for the sake of writing. Rather, the case report must help improve understanding of a disease or improve therapy. Thus, detailed preparation is crucial, including a thorough literature search about the disease, treatment, and outcomes. A single outlying case or freak episode may unintentionally negatively influence some clinical practice. Hence, authors must remember that there is a great professional responsibility in providing a case report. Patient privacy must be preserved. All identifying information should be omitted unless essential for scientific purposes, and informed consent is often required. The structure of the case report should include the Title/Title page; Abstract (summary of the case) (only if required by the journal); Introduction (purpose, worthiness of the case, based on references); Case Description (most salient parts of the case and its outcome); Discussion/Conclusion (presents the broad view of the case, its uniqueness, and contribution to the literature); at times Patient’s Perspective; Acknowledgments; and References.

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Balon, R., Beresin, E.V. (2020). How to Write a Case Report. In: Roberts, L. (eds) Roberts Academic Medicine Handbook. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-31957-1_30

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• Published: 30 January 2023

A student guide to writing a case report

• Maeve McAllister 1  

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As a student, it can be hard to know where to start when reading or writing a clinical case report either for university or out of special interest in a Journal. I have collated five top tips for writing an insightful and relevant case report.

A case report is a structured report of the clinical process of a patient's diagnostic pathway, including symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment planning (short and long term), clinical outcomes and follow-up. 1 Some of these case reports can sometimes have simple titles, to the more unusual, for example, 'Oral Tuberculosis', 'The escapee wisdom tooth', 'A difficult diagnosis'. They normally begin with the word 'Sir' and follow an introduction from this.

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Guidelines To Writing a Clinical Case Report. Heart Views 2017; 18 , 104-105.

British Dental Journal. Case reports. Available online at: www.nature.com/bdj/articles?searchType=journalSearch&sort=PubDate&type=case-report&page=2 (accessed August 17, 2022).

Chate R, Chate C. Achenbach's syndrome. Br Dent J 2021; 231: 147.

Abdulgani A, Muhamad, A-H and Watted N. Dental case report for publication; step by step. J Dent Med Sci 2014; 3 : 94-100.

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Ten Steps to Writing an Effective Case Report (Part 1)

A Case Report is a detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of a patient. Case Reports may contain a demographic profile of the patient but usually describes an unusual or novel occurrence.

Step 1: Identify the Category of Your Case Report

• An unexpected association between diseases or symptoms
• An unexpected event in the course of observing or treating a patient
• Findings that shed new light on the possible pathogenesis of a disease or an adverse effect
• Unique or rare features of a disease
• Unique therapeutic approaches
• A positional or quantitative variation of the anatomical structures

Step 2: Select an Appropriate Journal

Journal selection should be based on the type of your Case Report.

Example, unusual injury presentations are more likely to be accepted in journals such as Trauma, rather than more mainstream, general-interest journals such as British Medical Journal ; this does not publish Case Reports but only Lesson of the Week.

Another important point with respect to journal selection is that it is extremely important to follow the basic format required by the journal. Your Case Report may be rejected because it does not conform to the standard format , no matter how good the content is. Therefore, formatting such as margins, spacing, figure numbering, and style of references (Vancouver, Harvard, etc.), all are important aspects.

Step 3: Structure Your Case Report According to the Journal Format

A suggested outline of sections for a Case Report is listed below.

• Abstract/Summary – The abstract (also know as summary) is concise and directly addresses your research topic.
• Introduction – The introduction is a more detailed explanation stating the purpose of the study, uniqueness of the case, and how it contributes to the existing literature.
• Patient’s Examination/Identification
• Medical History
• Analysis of test results
• Appropriate plan and analysis
• Support for conditions considered
• Support for additional investigations
• Pathophysiology – State the physiological processes associated with the  diagnosed disease or injury.
• Treatment/Patient Management – Describe the treatment plan, follow-up, and final diagnosis.
• Epidemiology
• Complications
• Ethical Dilemmas (if any)
• Conclusion – Conclude the case report with summary points, depending on the journal’s specified format. You could give suggestions and recommendations to practitioners, researchers, etc. in this section. 
• References – Relevant to your case report and must be cited appropriately throughout the paper following citation guidelines of the journal.

Step 4: Start Writing

So, how do you begin?

A Case Report is a way of communicating information to the medical world about a rare or unreported feature, condition, complication, or intervention by publishing it in a medical journal. Decide whether your Case Report is publishable. This can be decided based on the following criteria:

Does your Case Report,

• Describe rare, perplexing, or novel diagnostic features of a diseased state?
• Report therapeutic challenges, controversies, or dilemmas?
• Describe a new surgical procedure?
• Report how a drug can enhance a surgical procedure?
• Report new medical errors or medication errors?
• Describe rare or novel adverse drug reactions?
• Describe a therapeutic failure or a lack of therapeutic efficacy?

You should also ensure that you adhere to the following points:

• Do an extensive literature search—PubMed, Medline, Ovid, Embase, and even search engines like Google will give you a vast amount of information related to your topic.
• Narrow down the search to your actual topic
• If this comes up with very few search results, it means (assuming your search method is correct) that the case is rare, and the report is therefore more likely to be published.

Step 5: Collect Information Related to the Case

• Use the patient’s notes to record the details of all the events in the patient’s care—that is, history, examination findings, results of investigations with dates, and operative findings, if any, together with the details of the actual interventions and follow-ups.
• Use copies—do not take the originals of radiographs, photographs, etc (they are the patient’s only records for future reference).
• Verify all patient data such as history and dates of examination with the patient again and make sure you have got the facts right.

In our next article , we will discuss the remaining five points.

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Writing a Case Report

This page is intended for medical students, residents or others who do not have much experience with case reports, but are planning on writing one.  

What is a case report?  A medical case report, also known as a case study, is a detailed description of a clinical encounter with a patient.  The most important aspect of a case report, i.e. the reason you would go to the trouble of writing one, is that the case is sufficiently unique, rare or interesting such that other medical professionals will learn something from it.   

Case reports are commonly of the following categories :

- Rare diseases

- Unusual presentation of disease

- Unexpected events

- Unusual combination of diseases or conditions

- Difficult or inconclusive diagnosis

- Treatment or management challenges

- Personal impact

- Observations that shed new light on a disease or condition

- Anatomical variations

It is important that you recognize what is unique or interesting about your case, and this must be described clearly in the case report.

Case reports generally take the format of :

1. Background

2. Case presentation

3. Observations and investigation

4. Diagnosis

5. Treatment

7. Discussion

Does a case report require IRB approval?

Case reports typically discuss a single patient. If this is true for your case report, then it most likely does not require IRB approval because it not considered research.    If you have more than one patient, your study could qualify as a Case Series, which would require IRB review.  If you have questions, you chould check your local IRB's guidelines on reviewing case reports.

Are there other rules for writing a case report?

First, you will be collecting protected health information, thus HIPAA applies to case reports.   Spectrum Health has created a very helpful guidance document for case reports, which you can see here:   Case Report Guidance - Spectrum Health

While this guidance document was created by Spectrum Health, the rules and regulations outlined could apply to any case report.  This includes answering questions like: Do I need written HIPAA authorization to publish a case report?  When do I need IRB review of a case report?  What qualifies as a patient identifier?

How do I get started?

1. We STRONGLY encourage you to consult the CARE Guidelines, which provide guidance on writing case reports -  https://www.care-statement.org/

Specifically, the checklist -  https://www.care-statement.org/checklist  - which explains exactly the information you should collect and include in your case report.  

2. Identify a case.  If you are a medical student, you may not yet have the clinical expertise to determine if a specific case is worth writing up.  If so, you must seek the help of a clinician.  It is common for students to ask attendings or residents if they have any interesting cases that can be used for a case report. 

3. Select a journal or two to which you think you will submit the case report.   Journals often have specific requirements for publishing case reports, which could include a requirement for informed consent, a letter or statement from the IRB and other things.  Journals may also charge publication fees (see Is it free to publish? below)   

4. Obtain informed consent from the patient (see " Do I have to obtain informed consent from the patient? " below).  Journals may have their own informed consent form that they would like you to use, so please look for this when selecting a journal.

Once you've identified the case, selected an appropriate journal(s), and considered informed consent, you can collect the required information to write the case report.

How do I write a case report?

Once you identify a case and have learned what information to include in the case report, try to find a previously published case report.  Finding published case reports in a similar field will provide examples to guide you through the process of writing a case report.    

One journal you can consult is BMJ Case Reports .  MSU has an institutional fellowship with BMJ Case Reports which allows MSU faculty, staff and students to publish in this journal for free.  See this page for a link to the journal and more information on publishing-    https://lib.msu.edu/medicalwriting_publishing/

There are numerous other journals where you can find published case reports to help guide you in your writing. 

Do I have to obtain informed consent from the patient?

The CARE guidelines recommend obtaining informed consent from patients for all case reports.  Our recommendation is to obtain informed consent from the patient.  Although not technically required, especially if the case report does not include any identifying information, some journals require informed consent for all case reports before publishing.  The CARE guidelines recommend obtaining informed consent AND the patient's perspective on the treatment/outcome (if possible).  Please consider this as well.  

If required, it is recommended you obtain informed consent before the case report is written.

An example of a case report consent form can be found on the BMJ Case Reports website, which you can access via the MSU library page -  https://casereports.bmj.com/ .  Go to "Instructions for Authors" and then "Patient Consent" to find the consent form they use.  You can create a similar form to obtain consent from your patient.  If you have identified a journal already, please consult their requirements and determine if they have a specific consent form they would like you to use.

Seek feedback

Once you have written a draft of the case report, you should seek feedback on your writing, from experts in the field if possible, or from those who have written case reports before.   

Selecting a journal

Aside from BMJ Case Reports mentioned above, there are many, many journals out there who publish medical case reports.   Ask your mentor if they have a journal they would like to use.  If you need to select on your own, here are some strategies:

1. Do a PubMed search.  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

   a. Do a search for a topic, disease or other feature of your case report 

   b. When the results appear, on the left side of the page is a limiter for "article type".  Case reports are an article type to which you can limit your search results.  If you don't see that option on the left, click "additional filters". 

   c. Review the case reports that come up and see what journals they are published in.

2. Use JANE -  https://jane.biosemantics.org/

3. Check with specialty societies.  Many specialty societies are affiliated with one or more journal, which can be reviewed for ones that match your needs

4. Search through individual publisher journal lists.  Elsevier publishes many different medical research journals, and they have a journal finder, much like JANE  ( https://journalfinder.elsevier.com/ ).  This is exclusive to Elsevier journals.  There are many other publishers of medical journals for review, including Springer, Dove Press, BMJ, BMC, Wiley, Sage, Nature and many others.

Is it free to publish ?

Be aware that it may not be free to publish your case report.  Many journals charge publication fees. Of note, many open access journals charge author fees of thousands of dollars.  Other journals have smaller page charges (i.e. $60 per page), and still others will publish for free, with an "open access option".  It is best practice to check the journal's Info for Authors section or Author Center to determine what the cost is to publish.  MSU-CHM does NOT have funds to support publication costs, so this is an important step if you do not want to pay out of pocket for publishing

*A more thorough discussion on finding a journal, publication costs, predatory journals and other publication-related issues can be found here:   https://research.chm.msu.edu/students-residents/finding-a-journal

Gagnier JJ, Kienle G, Altman DG, Moher D, Sox H, Riley D. 2013. The CARE guidelines: Consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development.  Glob Adv Health Med . 2:38-43. doi:  10.7453/gahmj.2013.008

Riley DS, Barber MS, Kienle GS, AronsonJK, von Schoen-Angerer T, Tugwell P, Kiene H, Helfand M, Altman DG, Sox H, Werthmann PG, Moher D, Rison RA, Shamseer L, Koch CA, Sun GH, Hanaway P, Sudak NL, Kaszkin-Bettag M, Carpenter JE, Gagnier JJ. 2017.  CARE guidelines for case reports: explanation and elaboration document . J Clin Epidemiol . 89:218-234. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2017.04.026 

Guidelines to writing a clinical case report. 2017. Heart Views . 18:104-105. doi:  10.4103/1995-705X.217857

Ortega-Loubon C, Culquichicon C, Correa R. The importance of writing and publishing case reports during medical education. 2017. Cureus. 9:e1964. doi:  10.7759/cureus.1964

Writing and publishing a useful and interesting case report. 2019. BMJ Case Reports.  https://casereports.bmj.com/pages/wp-content/uploads/sites/69/2019/04/How-to-write-a-Case-Report-DIGITAL.pdf

Camm CF. Writing an excellent case report: EHJ Case Reports , Case of the Year 2019. 2020. European Heart Jounrnal. 41:1230-1231.  https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa176  

*content developed by Mark Trottier, PhD

Case Reports: How to Write a Case Report

• How to Write a Case Report
• Case Report Resources
• YouTube Resources

Consensus-Based Clinical Case Reporting Guidelines

Gagnier JJ, Riley D, Altman DG, Moher D, Sox H, Kienle GS, for the CARE group: The CARE guidelines: Consensus-based clinical case reporting guideline development. Dtsch Arztebl  Int 2013; 110(37): 603-8.

Select Journals Accepting Case Reports

Case report templates.

The CAse REporting (CARE)  team created templates in nine languages to assist clinicians, researchers, and educators with the ultimate goal of improving the completeness, transparency, and usefulness of case reports.  

English , Spanish , German , Chinese , Dutch , French , Japanese , Korean , Portuguese

• Case Report Journals

A list of case report journals can be found in the pdf below. It provides information on the year launched, open-access status, reported questionable publishing practices, and whether the journal is indexed in Medline. The majority of these journals are open-access and will require a submission fee.

BMJ Case Reports

• BMJ Consent Form

The Library has an institutional fellowship with  BMJ Case Reports  which allows faculty, staff, and students at Weill Cornell Medicine to submit case reports without paying an individual fellowship fee. Use our  fellowship code  when you are ready to publish. 

Please note: BMJ Case Reports, like most journals, requires a signed consent form in order for a case report to be considered for publication. 

• << Previous: Home
• Next: Case Report Resources >>
• Last Updated: Aug 15, 2022 12:15 PM
• URL: https://med.cornell.libguides.com/casereports

Writing a BMJ Case Report

• BMJ Library Resource Centre
• BMJ Case Reports resources

Resource Centre

• BMJ Case Reports
• Print Resources
• Digital resources
• Support and training

Do you want to make sure your BMJ Case Report is accepted, but not sure where to start? Then simply download this guide and follow these easy steps to publishing your first Case Report.

BMJ publishes the world's largest repository of case reports, BMJ Case Reports, now with nearly 19,000 cases and growing.

How to write case reports

Oliver Kurzai

Adilia Warris

About this video

Case reports provide valuable information by throwing light on rare and unusual clinical presentations, symptoms or diseases. They show doctors how fellow practitioners have acted in similar situations and thus aid in the decision-making process by sharing best practices. 

The importance of case reports is resonated in the number of high-quality journals solely devoted to publishing case reports. However, the publication of the case reports is highly dependent on the contribution they make and their quality.

In this webinar, two editors of Medical Mycology Case Reports journal provide a guide to writing case reports and encourage you to summarize your clinical experiences while getting a publication in the process. You will come away with the knowledge of setting up and writing a case report, ethical issues to be considered before the publication and how to select an appropriate journal to publish your case report.

About the presenters

Prof. Oliver Kurzai, M.D, University of Würzburg, Germany, Editor in Chief, Medical Mycology Case Reports

Prof. Oliver Kurzai is Chair for Medical Microbiology and Mycology at the University of Würzburg. He holds an MD with a specialist recognition for microbiology, virology and infection epidemiology. His clinical focus is the diagnosis of fungal infections in the immuno-compromised host. Together with his team of scientists he addresses fundamental principles of invasive fungal infections with a focus on understanding the immunobiology of these infections and identifying new diagnostic targets. He is head of the German National Reference Center for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk) and serves as Editor in Chief of Medical Mycology Case Reports on behalf of the International Society for Human and Animal Mycology (ISHAM).

Professor MRC Centre for Medical Mycology

Prof Warris is a paediatric infectious diseases specialist with a specific interest in medical mycology. She is co-director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Aberdeen. Prof Warris’ research profile has a strong translational focus and specific areas of interest include the host-fungus interaction in specific patient groups, the development of new management strategies for invasive fungal disease, paediatric antifungal stewardship and the epidemiology of fungal infections in children. Prof Warris chairs the European Paediatric Mycology Network (EPMyN).

Starting your case: A seven point checklist for writing your case report

Case reports webinar slides, get noticed - factsheet.

CARE GUIDELINES

The CARE guidelines: consensus-based clinical case report guideline development

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Writing a Clinical Vignette (Case Report) Abstract

Case reports represent the oldest and most familiar form of medical communication. Far from a "second-class" publication, many original observations are first presented as case reports. Like scientific abstracts, the case report abstract is governed by rules that dictate its format and length. This article will outline the features of a well-written case report abstract and provide an example to emphasize the main features.

Scientific forums have specific rules regarding how the abstract should appear. For the ACP, the rules are available on the electronic abstracts portal. Organizers of scientific meetings set explicit limits on the length of abstracts.

The most difficult decision to make is whether your case report is worth submitting as an abstract. Of course, rarity of a condition almost always meets the criterion of worthiness, but few of us have the opportunity to describe something that is completely new. Another reason to report a case is the lesson that it teaches. With this in mind, consider presenting a case if it increases awareness of a condition, suggests the proper diagnostic strategy, or demonstrates a more cost-effective approach to management. Alternatively, a case can be presented because it represents an unusual presentation of a relatively common condition. Other twists include an unusual complication of a disease and its management. Again, it's important to think about the message or lesson that the case can deliver.

Before you begin writing the abstract, present a quick summary of your case to colleagues or mentors to determine if they agree that the case is worthy of presentation. It is important to contribute something unique, but not if it depends on some trivial variation from previously presented cases. For example, if it is known that a certain cancer widely metastasizes, it is not worthwhile to report each new site. Similarly, drug reactions often merit a case report, but not if it is simply a report of a drug in a class whose other members are known to cause the same reaction.

Once you have decided to submit a case report abstract, describe it in such a way as to make it interesting, yet conform to the accepted format. The following paragraphs provide suggestions on both style and format.

Title and Author Information: The title is a summary of the abstract itself and should convince the reader that the topic is important, relevant, and innovative. However, don't tell everything about the case in the title, otherwise the reader's interest might lag. Make the title short, descriptive, and interesting. Some organizations require a special format for the title, such as all uppercase letters. Be sure to check the instructions. Following the title, include the names of authors followed by their institutional affiliations. Deciding upon the authorship of a case report can be tricky. In the past, it was acceptable to include as authors those contributing to the management of the patient, but this is no longer true. Currently, it is expected that the authors contribute significantly to the intellectual content of the case report. It is assumed that the first author will present the work if the abstract is accepted. The first author may need to meet certain eligibility requirements in order to present the abstract, for example, be a member of the professional society sponsoring the research meeting. This information is always included with the abstract instructions.

Introduction: Most case report abstracts begin with a short introduction. This typically describes the context of the case and explains its relevance and importance. However, it is perfectly acceptable to begin directly with the description of the case.

Case Description: When reporting the case, follow the basic rules of medical communication; describe in sequence the history, physical examination, investigative studies, and the patient's progress and outcome. The trick is to be complete without obscuring the essence of the case with irrelevant details.

Discussion: The main purpose of the discussion is to review why decisions were made and extract the lesson from the case. Not uncommonly, reports from the literature, or their absence, are cited that either directly support or contradict the findings of the case. Be wary of boasting that your case is the "first" to describe a particular phenomenon, since even the most thorough searches often fail to reveal all instances of similar cases. Keep in mind that the best case report abstracts are those that make a small number of teaching points (even just one) in clear and succinct language.

When writing the abstract, avoid the use of medical jargon and excessive reliance on abbreviations. Limit abbreviations to no more than three, and favor commonly used abbreviations. Always spell out the abbreviations the first time they are mentioned unless they are commonly recognized (e.g., CBC).

It typically takes several days to write a good abstract, and the process should not be undertaken alone. Get help from a mentor who is not familiar with the case; such mentors can quickly point out areas that are unclear or demand more detail. Make revisions based upon the feedback. Finally, have others read your draft in order to check for technical errors, such as spelling and grammar mistakes. Reading the abstract out loud is another good way to catch awkward phrasing and word omissions. Finally, a Clinical Vignette Abstract Checklist  and an example of a clinical vignette abstract  are available to help you with the process of writing a successful abstract.

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How to write a court report

Advice from a community care inform guide on writing clear and concise court reports, including guidance on completing the social work evidence template.

This article presents a few key pieces of advice from Community Care Inform Children’s guide on writing court reports . The full guide provides prompts and key questions to consider when writing a court statement and gives tips on writing clearly and analytically. It also provides completed examples of each section of the social work evidence template. Community Care Inform Children subscribers can access the full guide here.

The guide was written by David Wilkins, programme director for the MA in social work at Cardiff University.

The aim and purpose of court reports 

The primary aim of a court report should always be to advise the court on how best to help the child.

The first step is to identify the purpose of the report – for example, making recommendations about family contact arrangements, seeking care orders, or putting forward adoption as the best plan for a child.

It is important to apply an analytical approach to the report; making sure the recommendations are comprehensive, clear and concise.

When writing your statement, you need to consider the audience. Formally, you are writing a report for the court, but your statement will also be read by the other parties involved (frequently, parents, and, in some instances, the child).

The statement should:

• identify the issue or issues to be resolved;
• limit the need for cross-examination (because you will have already addressed the most important questions).

Refer to research evidence and academic theory within the statement when this would aid your analysis. You should be able to explain what the research or theory means in your own words and how it applies to the child or family.

Always include references to credible sources if referencing research or an academic theory.

Practice point

Consider all of the possible audiences that could read the report. Use respectful language and highlight the positives as well as the concerns. You should demonstrate that you have sought to help and support the family and outline how you have considered their views before making your recommendations.

Key sections of a court statement

The following is from the social work evidence template (SWET) , developed by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and Cafcass. There is no single ‘way’ to complete a court statement, although many good statements will contain similar features.

The social work evidence template contains eight substantive sections:

• Which orders are being sought and why? Explain why they are necessary to safeguard the child, and ‘why now’. Include a summary of work undertaken with the family so far, and why this is no longer sufficient to keep the child safe.
• Family network. Include details of the child, family members and other people with whom the child has significant relationships (eg close family friends).
• Child impact analysis. Reference the welfare checklist, and describe and analyse the child’s day-to-day experiences, needs, wishes and feelings, and risk and protective factors. Include an analysis of harm and the risk of future harm as well.
• Parenting capability. Demonstrate an analysis of each parent’s capability to meet the child’s needs. This should include the ways that the parent has met the child’s needs in the past, along with evidence that they have not or cannot meet the child’s needs now or in the future, and how these gaps could be addressed (or why they cannot be). Outline what support you think is needed and how this could or should be provided.
• Wider family capability. In this section, you should show that you have made every reasonable effort to identify and explore alternative care options for the child, with reference to all the adults mentioned in section two. Explain how wider family and friends have been identified as potential carers, including a summary of anyone who has been ruled out and why. Include the outcome of any completed viability assessments as well.
• The proposed (interim) care plan and analysis of the realistic option. In this part of the statement, you should explain your proposed care plan for the child. Depending on local policies and procedures, you may need to submit a separate care plan document. To aid the court, you need to identify one preferred option, while also showing you have considered other options. Using this kind of ‘balance sheet’ approach is in accordance with prominent case law ( Re B (A Child) [2013] UKSC 33 and Re B-S (Children) [2013] EWCA Civ 1146).
• Plan for family time (‘contact’). Local authorities have legal duties to allow children to have ‘reasonable’ contact with parents and any other guardians or anyone with parental responsibility, and people that the child may have lived with previously under a residence order or High Court order. This section should also consider contact plans with siblings where appropriate.
• Social work chronology. You will need to produce a chronology that covers the previous two years. The primary requirement is a list of significant events. ‘Significant events’ will vary depending on each family and child. It is helpful to ask yourself, ‘How does this add to the court’s understanding of the child and family?’, before identifying events within the chronology.

The full guide on writing court reports includes more information on what to include and how to write clearly and analytically, and provides completed examples of each section of the social work evidence template. If you have a Community Care Inform Children licence, log on to read the full guide . 

What to read next

• Social work evidence template (SWET): completed example
• Writing up direct work in court reports
• Court skills knowledge and practice hub

care proceedings , child protection , Community Care Inform , court reports , practice guidance , social work evidence template

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Q&A on Trump’s Criminal Conviction

By Robert Farley , D'Angelo Gore , Lori Robertson and Eugene Kiely

Posted on May 31, 2024

Este artículo estará disponible en español en El Tiempo Latino .

Donald Trump became the first U.S. president, current or former, to be convicted of a criminal offense when a 12-person jury in New York on May 30 found him guilty on 34 felony counts of business fraud as part of an illegal scheme to influence the 2016 election by making payments to suppress a sordid tale of sex with a porn star.

The unprecedented conviction raises questions about what’s next for the 77-year-old man who is in line to become the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2024.

In remarks at Trump Tower a day after his conviction, Trump called the United States “ a corrupt country ” and declared that he would be “ appealing this scam .”

(Trump also repeated many of the false, misleading and unsupported claims he has made about the judge, the judge’s rulings, the district attorney and other issues related to the trial. For more about Trump’s talking points, see our May 30 article, “ Trump’s Repeated Claims on His New York Hush Money Trial .” He also repeated false and unsubstantiated claims on other issues, such as taxes and migrants .)

Here, we answer some of the questions raised by the former president’s conviction:

What are the next steps in the case? What punishment could Trump face? Will he go to prison? Can Trump vote in the 2024 election? Can a felon run for president, hold office? Can Trump pardon himself on this conviction, if he wins?

What are the next steps in the case?

Sentencing and an appeal are up next in this case.

Sentencing by Justice Juan Merchan is scheduled for July 11. Before that date, a probation officer or someone in that department will interview Trump, and potentially others involved in the case or connected to Trump, and prepare  a pre-sentence report  for the judge. The report includes the personal history and criminal record of the defendant, and it recommends what sentence the defendant should receive, according to the New York State Unified Court System.

“The pre-sentence interview is a chance for the defendant to try to make a good impression and explain why he or she deserves a lighter punishment,” the state court system explains.

Trump’s lawyers have to wait until after the sentencing to appeal the conviction. First, Trump’s lawyers will file motions before the judge “in a couple weeks” saying why they found the trial to be “unfair,” Trump’s defense attorney Todd Blanche  told CNN  hours after the guilty verdict.

Cheryl Bader , a clinical associate professor of law at Fordham University School of Law, said these motions are typical when a defendant is convicted. The defense attorneys will ask the judge to overturn the jury’s conviction. “It’s rarely, rarely granted, and I don’t think there’s a chance that will happen in this case,” she told us in a phone interview.

Blanche told CNN that if the motions aren’t successful, “then as soon as we can appeal, we will. And the process in New York is there’s a sentencing, and then — and then we appeal from there.”

Bader, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey, walked us through the appeals process. “The case is considered completed at sentencing,” she said. “At that point, his lawyers file a notice of appeal … letting the court know that he intends to appeal.”

At that point, they will also request a “stay” on the sentence, meaning a pause on imposing the sentence while the case is being appealed.

This appeal goes to the  Appellate Division, First Judicial Department  in Manhattan. The appeals court doesn’t retry the case. “They’re not going to substitute their judgment on the facts for the jury’s judgment,” Bader explained. Instead, “they’re looking for where there was error that would have led to an improper prosecution or an unfair trial.”

The appeals process would take several months to a year, she said. After the notice of appeal is given, the record of the case is gathered, including trial transcripts, the indictment, pretrial motions, evidentiary rulings, jury selection and instructions, and more. Trump could also appeal the sentencing. The lawyers need to write their arguments for all of the issues they’re objecting to, and that takes time, Bader said.

And then the appeals court needs to consider the case and write a decision on it.

If Trump ultimately isn’t successful at the appellate level, he can appeal to the highest court in New York state, which is called the  Court of Appeals . But the court decides whether or not it takes the case.

After such an appeal to the highest state court, the case would be over — unless Trump tries to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. But there has to be a U.S. constitutional issue for that. “I don’t see one,” Bader said, but perhaps Trump’s lawyers would try to make an argument.

What punishment could Trump face? Will he go to prison?

Whether Trump is sentenced to any time in prison is up to the judge.

Each of the 34 counts of  falsifying business records in the first degree , a class E felony, carries a maximum sentence of up to  four years in prison . The judge could decide to impose the sentences consecutively or simultaneously. However, under New York law,  20 years  is the maximum prison time that Trump could get — not 187 years, as Trump  falsely claimed  in his May 31 remarks.

Norman Eisen , a CNN legal analyst and a senior fellow in governance studies for the Brookings Institution, said that “in the most serious” cases of business records falsification in New York that he studied, “a sentence of imprisonment was routinely imposed.” Trump’s case “is the most serious one in NY history,”  he wrote  on X, predicting that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin “Bragg will likely ask for incarceration & Merchan will consider it.”

While possible, Bader, with Fordham’s School of Law, told us she doesn’t think incarceration will happen.

For a first-time convicted felon, with a low-level, nonviolent felony and a person of advanced age, “under any circumstance like that, there’d be a relatively low chance of incarceration,” she said.

“On the other hand, I could see the prosecutor arguing that here’s a man who has shown disrespect for the court system and the rule of law and has violated the court’s orders on numerous occasions. He is not remorseful. And that in order to promote general deterrence, he needs to be punished,” she said in describing a possible argument from the prosecutor.

Bader said any incarceration sentence “would be only a token amount of time to make the point that Trump is not above the law.” Other sentencing possibilities include probation or a “conditional discharge” with conditions other than incarceration or probation.

The “simplest” option might be for the judge to fine Trump, she said.

Can Trump vote in the 2024 election?

Yes, Trump can vote as long as he is not in jail on Election Day, which this year is on Nov. 5.

Trump owns homes in New York and Florida, but in 2019 he changed his primary residence to Florida. However, Florida law does not apply in Trump’s case because he was convicted in New York. Instead, New York law applies.

“If you were convicted outside Florida, your voting rights are governed by the state where you were convicted,” as the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida explains on its website.

In 2021, New York state enacted a law that “restores the right to vote for a person convicted of a felony upon release from incarceration, regardless of if they are on parole or have a term of post-release supervision,” the New York State Board of Elections says . “If a convicted felon is not incarcerated, they are eligible to register to vote.”

Can a felon run for president, hold office?

Yes. According to Article II, Section 1, Clause 5 of the U.S. Constitution, there are three qualifications to serve as president: He or she must be at least 35 years old upon taking office, a U.S. resident for at least 14 years and a “natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States.”

“These qualifications are understood to be exclusive,” Josh Chafetz , a Georgetown University law professor, told us last year when we were writing about Trump’s federal indictment related to allegations of mishandling sensitive classified documents after he left office. “Anyone can be president so long as they meet the constitutional qualifications and do not trigger any constitutional disqualifications.”

“Someone can run for president while under indictment or even having been convicted and serving prison time,” said Chafetz, who pointed to the example of Eugene V. Debs, the late labor leader, who, in 1920, ran for president from prison on the Socialist Party ticket and got almost 1 million votes.

There is an exception to that rule. The Constitution says in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment that no U.S. officeholder, including the president, can serve if they are convicted of “engag[ing] in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S. — something Trump has not been charged with either in this case or the three others he faces.

Six Colorado voters successfully sued in state court to prevent Trump from appearing on that state’s ballot, citing the constitutional amendment barring insurrectionists from holding federal office. But the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the state ruling, “[b]ecause the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates.”

Can Trump pardon himself on this conviction, if he wins?

The short answer is no.

Trump was convicted in New York for offenses in violation of state law. Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that a president has the “[p]ower to grant reprieves and pardons for offences against the United States.” According to Constitution Annotated , a government-sanctioned record of the interpretations of the Constitution, that means the power extends to “federal crimes but not state or civil wrongs.”

In a case decided in 1925, Ex parte Grossman , the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed that interpretation, writing that the Constitution’s language specifying presidential pardon power for offenses “against the United States” was “presumably to make clear that the pardon of the President was to operate upon offenses against the United States as distinguished from offenses against the States.”

The New York governor has the power to pardon Trump for his conviction of crimes under state law. That’s currently Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. After the verdict, Republican Rep. Nick LaLota called on Hochul “to immediately announce her intention to pardon President Trump and pre-emptively commute any sentence. To not do so is to allow America to become a banana republic.” Hochul released a statement on May 30 saying, “Today’s verdict reaffirms that no one is above the law.”

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How to Write Your First Clinical Case Report

Do you remember when your first publication of a clinical case was? Most likely when you were a medical student or resident. Although the process for young authors is rewarding once the manuscript gets accepted, the writing and revision process can be exhausting. For some early career authors, it can be difficult to find a starting point. What is the main advice that the JACC: Case Reports editorial board can give you for publishing a clinical case? After having handled more than 9,000 submissions to the journal in the last 3 years, here is what we think.

Select the Journal of Submission and Look at the Literature

Before you submit your manuscript, carefully peruse the potential journals of submission and read the author instructions for those journals. It is important to ensure that the journal of submission is the right one for your work. Carefully considering journal selection will allow you to avoid disappointment if the journal’s audience is not the best fit for your clinical case. Journals will also vary in styles and format offerings, so the first step should always be to visit the instructions for that particular journal to ensure that one of the formats is appropriate for your case.

Furthermore, before you begin to write the case, perform a comprehensive literature search. Just because it is new to you does not mean that the findings or topics are novel in the context of the published literature. A manuscript also reflects your work as a clinician, so make sure that you submit a case that best reflects your clinical achievements.

Structure Your Report

Once you have selected the journal of submission, carefully reread the author instructions to structure your submission. The JACC: Case Reports authors instructions suggest a specific structure for a clinical case: history of presentation, physical examination, past medical history, differential diagnosis, investigations, management (medical/interventions), discussion, follow-up, conclusions, and learning objectives. For a clinical case, it is important to document the patient’s presentation and the physical examination. For example, in a patient with acute pulmonary embolism, it is important to document blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory rate.

Another important component of the clinical case is the differential diagnosis, in which you should explain why you ended up with the final diagnosis. We do not wish to see a bullet point listing of possible diagnoses, but rather a narrative explanation of why you excluded other clinical issues. When you describe management, do not hesitate to describe any procedural complications. We learn from our mistakes, and a complication may be of great educational value for the medical community. When the JACC: Case Reports editorial board makes a call for procedural complications cases, we typically receive a decent number of malpractice cases. Therefore, make sure that you describe appropriate, guideline-directed clinical practice. Proper management can also a product of good mentorship, which I discuss later in this paper.

The Discussion section is crucial because it explains why your case merits publication. Why is it important to the medical community? Is it going to lead to further research that may eventually change clinical practice? Even if you did not follow clinical guidelines, this is important for us, because it is through clinical cases that we identify gaps in evidence that should be addressed.

Remember that there are also other formats for the journal, and you may choose a different format that better suits your case report.

Include High-Quality Imaging

The foundation of a clinical case is imaging, and this should reflect the high quality standards of the JACC family of journals. As an interactive journal with audiovisual multimedia, do not forget to upload complementary videos when relevant to the reader’s understanding of the case. Investigations such as echocardiograms and angiograms are crucial for the management of the patient and should be included. Remember to remove any patient identifying or institutional information from figures and videos, detach background noise from videos, and upload the original mp4 file from your institution’s system. Video recordings of echocardiograms and angiography from your cell phone may detract from the quality of the videos.

Request Senior Supervision as You Write and Revise Your Submission

Many submissions to the journal are rejected without review because of a lack of interest for the journal’s readership or a lack of sufficient novelty. However, rejection may often occur because the clinical case is poorly written if the junior author had not received oversight from the senior colleagues who are acknowledged in the manuscript. This is a learning process for junior authors: send it to your peers/senior coauthors with a deadline for comments, include those who have worked on the patient, and make sure that every author has read the manuscript and consented to the final version of submission. This is teamwork.

For early career authors, we are proud to have started the JACC: Case Reports Reviewer Mentoring Program, which aims to teach colleagues about the art of peer review, the publication process, and writing good cases and original research manuscripts. If you are interested, stay tuned for communications from the American College of Cardiology education team to apply to the next iteration of the program in 2023.

Be Respectful in the Communications Surrounding Your Manuscript

It is respectful (and helpful) to the journal’s editors to provide a cover letter explaining why you feel that your clinical case merits publication. The cover letter can also include information about how the case might be accepted for presentation at an upcoming scientific meeting, requests for expedited review, or details about conflicts of interest.

Be careful to correctly write the name of the Editor-in-Chief. Personally, I often see my name being written Graspa rather than Grapsa. It is the legacy of my father—Greek and the surname means “writer.” Although we never reject a manuscript because an Editor-in-Chief’s surname is wrong or misspelled, this can hold up the processing of your paper and leave an impression on the editors that the authors did not take time and care to prepare all manuscript materials.

Furthermore, even though social media is commonly used in the medical community to discuss publications, this is not the proper channel for authors to submit a presubmission query. Messaging the editors on social media is unfair to the other authors who choose to submit their work for peer review. Addressing queries from authors on social media would also be unfair to the authors, because our decisions are group-led through our weekly editorial board meetings, and those messages are unsecure because they are housed on social media platforms. All presubmission queries should be sent to the Editorial Office ( [email protected] ), and staff members will triage any questions or issues to the editors.

We always ask our editors, reviewers, editorialists, and staff to be respectful in communications surrounding your manuscript. We make every effort to provide constructive feedback, even if the manuscript is rejected. With that in mind, we request that authors are also respectful of our editors, reviewers, editorialists, and all those working in the Editorial Office.

Be Persistent: Do Not Get Disappointed or Discouraged

Even if your clinical case is rejected, it may not necessarily have been because of quality. It is possible there were reasons it did not reach priority for publication in that particular journal. For example, many other cases on that topic may already have been accepted/published. If the case has been accepted with revision after peer review, try to address the editors’ and reviewers’ comments and resubmit as soon as possible. A clinical case can easily get outdated if the authors delay submitting a revised version, particularly because of novelty concerns. If your case is rejected, do not get disappointed or discouraged. You may submit your case to another journal with a better outcome. Remember that we learn from a rejection letter, particularly if there are constructive comments included in the letter, and every positive or negative answer is an opportunity for us to grow.

Submit Your Case: The Sky Is the Limit

As a last message, to all of the young authors who are trying to get their clinical cases published, remember that the “sky is the limit”—be creative, find a good mentor, and write up an interesting case. Once your manuscript is accepted, it is just the beginning of your academic career.

At JACC: Case Reports , we are always willing to help you through the submission process. Please send any presubmission queries to the Editorial Office: [email protected] . Furthermore, you may wish to watch the video featuring JACC: Case Reports Deputy Editor, Dr Mary Walsh, and Associate Editor, Dr David, discussing tips and tricks for how to write a successful clinical case.