Just as your courses are not solely about rules, neither are the individual cases solely about rules, principles, or even policies. They are most importantly about people and values. For every case we read, there are people who had serious problems and suffered. Think about what the situation must have been like before anyone went to lawyers. Every decision that a court makes is infused with value choices.
Every judge uses silent or unspoken assumptions when writing opinions.
See if you can figure out what those are in each case and how the cases would be different if there had been different assumptions. Analyze the values that are brought into question and see if the result comports with your values. If not, figure out how you could argue to change it, because someday that may be your job. Study groups are indispensable for every class every year of law school. They tend to fall by the wayside and that is a big mistake.