It took me a day to react to this @barryfriedman1(because I had to go frantically read all of my opinions). Thank you for speaking up. Your Robert Cover reference -- that legal interpretation happens on a field of pain and death -- is the whole ballgame. A thread to a thread. 1/
People rarely come to court for happy occasions. (Few exceptions: weddings, adoptions.) In fact they are regularly at their most vulnerable, most broken moment when they come to hoping to get justice. Or mercy. And courts can be more like police stations or emergency rooms. 2/
We also know that people wants judges to be accountable and to make transparent decisions. (See @StateCourts multi-year survey data.) And that #proceduraljustice is critical to building public trust and and confidence in the court's decisions. (Hey @Judge_Leben and @JudgeKSB) 3/
So it makes sense to me that respect and humility are critical in our opinions. Which isn't to say they must be dull, or pedantic, or legalese-y. I don't see tension; write clearly, in plain English, so you don't have to go to law school to understand. (Hey @legalwritingpro) 4/
Personality is just fine. But always with respect, and humility. Because of the pain and the death.
Thanks for the feedback @barryfriedman1. I won't forget it. My first academic job was at @YaleLawSch. I was a Robert Cover fellow. Fin/
Thanks for the feedback @barryfriedman1. I won't forget it. My first academic job was at @YaleLawSch. I was a Robert Cover fellow. Fin/
