When consumers come across vast swathes of legal text presented in ALL CAPS (example) , do they pay more attention to it? An old anecdote tells of Niels Bohr, the Nobel-winning physicist, whose door was adorned by a horseshoe. When asked by an incredulous guest whether he believed in such superstition, Bohr replied that “I’ve […]
Tag: legal
Recalling the US Fifth Circuit’s first ‘Haircut’ case
If you have been wondering along the lines of – ‘When was the first haircut case heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ?’ The answer could well be : Ferrell v. Dallas Independent School District, 261 F. Supp. 545 (N.D. Tex. 1966) The Ferrell plaintiffs were members of a […]
The Ethical Knob: ethically-customisable automated vehicles and the law (new study)
Vehicles could be fitted with what they call an ‘Ethical Knob’, under a proposal by Giuseppe Contissa, Francesca Lagioia, and Giovanni Sartor of CIRSFID, at the University of Bologna, Italy. The device might help clarify ethical/legal issues with Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). What for example, should a self-driving car do when it ‘realizes’ (in an impending […]
Foster’s six defenses for legal obscurity
“There are many bad reasons for legal writing that is impenetrable to the layman (e.g., where writing is made impenetrable in order to necessitate recourse to lawyers which would otherwise be unnecessary, or where impenetrability is a consequence of antiquated language perpetuated purely out of sentimental conservatism).” – writes Charles Foster (co-recipient of the 2016 […]
“Commenting by Emoji: A Tentative Glossary for Legal Writing Professors”
Are you a legal-writing professor? Unsure about the use of Emoji(s) for comments on academic work? Jennifer Murphy Romig who is an Instructor in Legal Writing, of the Research and Advocacy Program at Emory University School of Law, Atlanta, US, has produced a guide to ‘Commenting by Emoji: A Tentative Glossary for Legal Writing Professors’. […]
Mischief and its legal logic (back when)
Mischief, despite the modern aura of fun that the word has acquired, can be a serious matter. A book called A penal code prepared by the Indian law commissioners, and published by command of the governor general of India in council (Bengal Military Orphan Press, 1837), explores some of the legal logical that applied then […]
Legal scholarship: a stuffed bear, Satan, an ass, and an ax
Some further items from the Lowering the Bar blog’s collection of legal cases worth pondering, if not studying [that’s our description, not necessarily Lowering the Bar‘s, though not necessarily not, either]: Pardue v. Turnage (La. App. 1980) (“An exhaustive reading of the entire record convinces this court that Kenneth Turnage did give his stuffed bear to the Lessards. For the trial […]
To Simply Examine the Complexity of the Law
Can you, in some simple way, measure how complex a country’s legal system has gotten? This 41-page study perhaps does exactly that, more or less: “Measuring the Complexity of the Law: The United States Code,” Daniel Martin Katz [pictured here] and Michael James Bommarito II, SSRN report #2307352, August 1, 2013. The study comes equipped with […]
Laughs at the Supreme Court
The groundwork for research into the occurrence of laughter at the US Supreme Court was initially provided by Professor Jay D. Wexler (of Boston University School of Law) in his 2005 article for Green Bag (second series, Volume 9, number 1) entitled : “Laugh Track”. The professor had made the decision to quantify the laughter […]
Legal scholarship: crayons, a tree, and the self
From the Lowering the Bar blog’s collection of legal cases worth pondering, if not studying [that’s our description, not necessarily Lowering the Bar‘s, though not necessarily not, either]: Bradshaw v. Unity Marine Corp. (S.D. Tex. 2001) (“Both attorneys have obviously entered into a secret pact . . . to draft their pleadings entirely in crayon on […]