In a March 29, 2016 post, Debra Cassens Weiss, writing for the ABA Journal, quotes the esteemed appellate judge Richard Posner: “The first thing to do is burn all copies of the Bluebook, in its latest edition 560 pages of rubbish, a terrible time waster for law clerks employed by judges who insist, as many do, that the citations in their opinions conform to the Bluebook.” We assume that Judge Posner does not generally favor book bonfires, which have a bad name, but this pinpoint attack is likely to resonate with many of us who labor at brief writing, and not-so-brief writing.
Ms. Cassens also notes that Judge Posner “has his own instructions on citation format, consisting of two pages in an office manual he gives to his law clerks.” Can I get a copy?
Among other legal reforms proposed by Judge Posner are creating a uniform system of lawyer pay (a “single payer” system) to even up disparities in the quality of representation, appointing neutral experts in cases involving difficult technical issues, providing jurors with transcripts that can be read along with testimony, and allowing judges to do Internet research (provided lawyers can contest the results).
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