In 1980, a young John Roberts began a clerkship with Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Former colleagues recalled him as “meticulous” and “brilliantly efficient,” and The New York Times later observed that Roberts “stood out for conservative rigor,” his memoranda concise, procedural, and laced with the dry wit that has since defined his judicial writing. That apprenticeship was more…
Tag: writing
Mirroring the Justices’ Styles
Writing Style is clearly important to the Supreme Court Justices. Not only are the justices cognizant of the writing styles in briefs, but they are also attuned to the writing styles of other judges and justices. Justices past and present discussed this and other matters in interviews with legal writing specialist Bryan Garner for the…
Empirical SCOTUS 