Reckless-Driving Acquittal Again Shows Proofreading Is Not Just for Dorks
It is for dorks, but it’s not *just* for dorks.
Legal Writing
NYT: Supreme Court Using More Words, and Making Less Sense, Than Ever
Last week, the New York Times reported that the median length of U.S. Supreme Court majority opinions has more than doubled since 1953, and during the 2009 term that number reached an all-time high of 4,751 words. Adam Liptak wrote that…
PRACTICE TIP: Referring to Judges on Your Panel as “Ass Clowns” Does Not Maximize Chance of Success
I believe I've pointed out before that insulting a judge hearing your case is usually not good strategy, but maybe it is time for a refresher. This case has a long and tortured history, but it looks like it began…
“Plaintiff Has No Recollection of What Transpired in the Private Room”
In January, Gerard Wall sued a business in New York for allegedly overcharging his credit card. The complaint is roughly 15 pages long, but I think I've successfully condensed it by selecting just the following eight sentences from various parts…
An Even Longer Sentence Has Been Found
I hope that since April 26 you have been able to spend some time contemplating the stupendous ginormitude of the one sentence that comprises the Mittal Steel Point order, each of its 538 words so carefully chosen and placed with…
Longest Known Sentence in a Legal Document?
Your assignment for this week is to diagram the following sentence, which appeared in a recent order issued by the U.S. Court of International Trade: The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“CAFC”) having misread this court’s opinion…
Strip Searches Lead to Discovery of Comical String Cite, Among Other Things
In February, the Ninth Circuit ruled that police have qualified immunity from civil-rights claims based on a department policy of strip-searching all arrestees (not convicts, just arrestees) who will be put into "general population." Bull v. City and County of…
Two Sentences, 646 Words, One Lame Opinion
On Monday, blogger Eric Turkewitz was rightfully horrified by two sentences in a decision by a New York appellate court. Here's the first sentence from Dockery v. Sprecher: In an action, inter alia, to recover damages for medical malpractice, etc.,…
First “Brüno” Lawsuit Filed
Sacha Baron Cohen, who was repeatedly sued by people who were unhappy with the way he depicted them in "Borat" (a group that includes most people who were depicted in "Borat"), has now been sued by someone unhappy with his…
ANOTHER REASON NOT TO USE ALL CAPS, NOT THAT YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE REASON
One of the bad habits that lawyers have trouble breaking is using all capital letters, especially in the headings of legal documents. (Okay, not nearly as interesting as the bad habits Tiger Woods has trouble breaking, but I think enough…