Contraction reaction
14 April 2008
Over at California Blog of Appeal, Greg May asked readers for their views on using contractions in legal writing, and received a variety of responses. I have my own opinion on that topic, which I left in a comment on Greg’s blog. Here, I want to relate not an opinion, but a fact: Seventh Circuit Judge Richard Posner—regarded by many as one of today’s finest judicial writers—frequently uses contractions in his legal opinions. Here are just two examples which I happened to come across today:
- In re James Wilson Assocs., 965 F.2d 160 (7th Cir. 1992): six contractions.
- Dura Automotive Sys. of Ind., Inc. v. CTS Corp., 285 F.3d 609 (7th Cir. 2002): four contractions.
To those who think contractions have no place in legal briefs, I put this question: If contractions are good enough for Judge Posner’s published opinions, why are they not good enough for a brief to be submitted to, say, Judge Posner?
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p.s. One more Posner decision, which I happened to read today: Allan Block Corp. v. County Materials Corp., 512 F.3d 912 (7th Cir. 2008)— four contractions.