Deciphering the Sotomayor Hearings

How can you spot the wise Latina? She'll be speaking Latin, of course. Just two days into the Sotomayor hearings, the nominee has dazzled the crowd with stare decisis, sui generis, and pro bono. In case you're having trouble following all this, a number of papers have published legalese glossaries for non-lawyers, here and here.

Oh Canada

Ever wonder what Law & Order would look like North of the border? In my Legal Lad podcast, I take a look at what makes Canadian law different from US law. Check it out on iTunes -- if you like it, consider writing a review...or even subscribing to the podcast (it's free!). Or listen at the Legal Lad site, right here.

My piece in the New York Times

Last week, the New York Times ran my Op-ed piece about the Declaration of Independence. The Founders borrowed liberally (to put it mildly) from the language of British law when drafting the Declaration. What makes the Declaration great is that the Founders turned what might have been a provincial legal document into a universal declaration of rights. And that's something to celebrate!

Poetic Justice

My fellow Brooklynite, Russell Bittner, tells me that he is working "on a series of poems for snarky children that I intend to market to the children of lawyers -- and, by extension, to those children's parents, many of whom I assume to be equally as snarky."

"Snarky," according to the OED, means "irritable, short tempered," from "snark," meaning either to snort or to nag.

And so here, for all you kids out there, is one of Russell's creations -- Nolens Volens (willing or not).

Nolens Volens

My friend Nolens – just like me –
goes to bed unwillingly.
Nolens thinks that sleep is rot;
Mom, however, thinks it’s not.

“What the heck,” – I hear Nol say –
“sleeping leads to tooth decay!”
Nolens has a point, I think;
Mom, however, doesn’t blink.

“Sleep’s not right for guys like us –
guys who spit and curse and cuss!”
Nol – it’s clear – loves sacred texts;
Mom politely genuflects.

Then, as I’m about to swear,
I see Nolens grab his bear,
hibernate, and take a chair
high up where there’s no there there.

Nolens’s fingers, once asleep,
leave off fleecing Bo Peep’s sheep –
wherein I discern the rub:
Nol has fallen for the cub.

I next grumble fitfully
as the clock strikes half past three,
sinking me with each dull clink –
Mom, however, doesn’t shrink.

She, instead, has darker plans:
“Afternoons,” she countermands,
“aren’t – like mornings – made for naps;
pillows take the place of laps.”

Volens now unmasks my frown
as Mom gently swings me down,
sending me between the sheets
into rapture that entreats

me to ask for one more thing
to divest of sleep its sting:
that while sucking on my thumb,
I can call old Nol my ‘chum.’

Word of the Week

Replevin

An action to recover possession of tangible personal property wrongfully taken or withheld by another. In ancient usage, it could also refer to an action to recover a person; that is, by bailing him out of jail. It comes from the Old French replevir. The verb form is replevy, which is often used in its polite form, "replevy, s'il vous plaît."

Plain Language Around the World

There's been a recent outbreak of common sense throughout the English-speaking world. Herewith (!), a recap of some current plain language initiatives.

• In Newfoundland, the Public Legal Information Association is publishing booklets to provide "legal information without the legalese." (Thanks to Voice of the Common Man, Newfoundland).


• Canadians are also leading the charge against impenetrable credit card applications. The Toronto Star reports that the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada and MasterCard Canada have unveiled a model plain language application form.


• In Australia, an entrepeneur has launched a website with plain language advice and forms for separated parents to create custody plans without having to wade through the swamps of legalese. (Thanks to the Daily Liberal).


• Meanwhile, here in the US of A, Tech Journal South has published a terrific article on how to "remove legalese from your writing." The author, a small business consultant, has lots of sensible advice, including such fundamental (and often overlooked) points as keeping your audience in mind.

H2 -- oh?

We don't usually think of "water" as a legal term, but the definition of water is now a controversial item among environmentalists. According to a report in the Toledo Blade, a recently-enacted interstate compact regarding use of the Great Lakes defines water as a "product," which has some people concerned that this will allow multinationals to demand access to the Lakes under international trade laws.