PlainEnglishforLawyersChapter12.docx

PlainEnglishforLawyersChapter12.docx

《PlainEnglishforLawyersChapter12.docx》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《PlainEnglishforLawyersChapter12.docx（16页珍藏版）》请在冰豆网上搜索。

PlainEnglishforLawyersChapter12

PlainEnglishforLawyers

（FifthEdition）RichardC.Wydick

PrefaceandAcknowledgments

Chapter1WhyPlainEnglish?

Chapter2OmitSurplusWords

HowtoSpotBadConstruction

AvoidCompoundConstructions

AvoidWord-WastingIdioms

FocusontheActor,theAction,andtheObject

Chapter3UseBaseVerbs,NotNominalizations

Chapter4PrefertheActiveVoice

TheDifferenceBetweenActiveandPassiveVoice

ThePassiveCanCreateAmbiguity

Chapter5UseShortSentences

Chapter6ArrangeYourWordswithCare

AvoidWideGapsBetweentheSubject,theVerb,andtheObject

PutConditionsandExceptionsWhereTheyAreClearandEasytoRead

Whennecessary,MakeaList

PutModifyingWordsClosetoWhatTheyModify

AvoidNestedModifiers

ClarifytheReachofModifiers

Chapter7ChooseYourWordswithCare

UseConcreteWords

UseFamiliarWords

DonotUseLawyerisms

AvoidShotgunning

InRuleDrafting,PrefertheSingularNumberandthePresentTense

UseWordsofAuthoritywithCare

Chapter8AvoidLanguageQuirks

AvoidElegantVariation

AvoidNounChains

AvoidMultipleNegatives

UseStrongNounsandVerbs

AvoidSexistLanguage

Chapter9PunctuateCarefully

HowPunctuationDeveloped

Lawyers’DistrustofPunctuation

PunctuateCarefully

DefinitionofTerms

Commas

Semicolons

Colons

Dashes

Parentheses

Apostrophes

Hyphens

Periods,QuestionMarks,andExclamationPoints

Quotations

Chapter1WhyPlainEnglish

WelawyersdonotwriteplainEnglish.Weuseeightwordstosaywhatcouldbesaidintwo.Weusearcanephrasestoexpresscommonplaceideas.Seekingtobeprecise,webecomeredundant.Seekingtobecautious,webecomeverbose.Oursentencestwiston,phrasewithinclausewithinclause,glazingtheeyesandnumbingthemindsofourreaders.Theresultisawritingstylethathas,accordingtoonecritic,fouroutstandingcharacteristics.Itis“

（1）wordy,

（2）unclear,（3）pompous,and（4）dull”

Criticismoflegalwritingisnothingnew.In1596,anEnglishchancellordecidedtomakeanexampleofaparticularlyprolixdocumentfiledinhiscourt.Thechancellorfirstorderedaholecutthroughthecenterofthedocument,all120pagesofit.Thenheorderedthatthepersonwhowroteitshouldhavehisheadstuffedthroughthehole,andtheunfortunatefellowwasledaroundtobeexhibitedtoallthoseattendingcourtatWestminsterHall.

WhenthecommonlawwastransplantedtoAmerica,thewritingstyleoftheoldEnglishlawyerscamewithit.In1817ThomasJeffersonlamentedthatindraftingstatuteshisfellowlawyerswereaccustomedtomakingeveryotherworda“said”or“aforesaid”andsayingeverythingovertwoorthreetimes,sothatnobodybutweofthecraftcanuntwistthedictionandfindoutwhatitmeans…”

Legalwritingstylelongremainedasubjectofjokesandridicule,butareformmovementstartedinthe1970s.Afewlegislaturespassedlawsthatrequiredocumentssuchasinsurancepoliciesandconsumercontractstobewritteninplainlanguage.Banks,manufacturers,andotherbusinessesdiscoveredthatdocumentswritteninplainlanguagecanreducecostsandincreaseprofits.Forexample,amautomaker’sclearlywrittenwarrantycanhelpsellcars,andalender’sclearlywrittenloanagreementcanreducecostlydefaultsandforeclosures.Understandablegovernmentformscanreducetheamountofstafftimespentansweringquestionsfrompuzzledcitizens.

Themovementtowardplainlegallanguageischangingthelegalprofessionitself.Mostlawschoolsnowteachtheplainlanguagestyleintheirlegalwritingcourses.Courtrules,suchastheFederalRulesofAppellateProcedure,havebeenrewrittentomakethemeasierforlawyersandjudgestouse.Diligentcommitteesofexpertsarerewritingpackagedjuryinstructionstohelpmakelegaldoctrinesunderstandabletothejurorswhomustapplythem.Practicinglawyersbecomeeagerstudentsincontinuinglegaleducationcoursesthatteachclearwriting.

Ourprofessionhasmadeprogress,yes,butthevictoryisnotyetwon,Toomanylawstudentsreportbackfromtheirfirstjobsthattheplainlanguagestyletheylearnedinlawschoolisnotacceptabletotheolderlawyersforwhomtheywork.Toomanyestateplanningclientsleavetheirlawyer’sofficewithawillandtrustagreementinhand,butwithoutfullyunderstandingwhattheysay.Toomanypeoplemerelyskim,orevenignore,thedenseparagraphsofsecuritiesdisclosures,creditcardagreements,apartmentleases,cell-phonecontracts,andpromissorynotes,preferringtorelyontheintegrityormercyoftheauthorratherthantostrugglewiththeauthor’slegalprose.

Thepremiseofthisbookisthatgoodlegalwritingshouldnotdiffer,withoutgoodreason,fromordinarywell-writtenEnglish.Asawell-knownNewYorklawyertoldtheyoungassociatesinhisfirm,“Goodlegalwritingdoesnotsoundasthoughithadbeenwrittenbyalawyer.”

Inshort,goodlegalwritingisplainEnglish.HereisanexampleofplainEnglish,thestatementoffactsfromthemajorityopinioninPalsgrafv.LingIslandRailroadCo.,writtenbyBenjaminCardozo:

Plaintiffwasstandingonaplatformofdefendant’srailroadafterbuyingatickettogotoRockawayBeach.Atrainstoppedatthestation,boundforanotherplace.Twomenranforwardtocatchit.Oneofthemenreachedtheplatformofthecarwithoutmishap,thoughthetrainwasalreadymoving.Theotherman,carryingapackage,jumpedaboardthecar,butseemedunsteadyasifabouttofall.Aguardonthecar,whohadheldthedooropen,reachedforwardtohelphimin,andanotherguardontheplatformpushedhimfrombehind.Inthisact,thepackagewasdislodgedandfellupontherails.Itwasapackageofsmallsize,aboutfifteenincheslong,andwascoveredbynewspaper.Infactitcontainedfireworks,buttherewasnothinginitsappearancetogivenoticeofitscontents.Thefireworkswhentheyfellexploded.Theshockoftheexplosionthrewdownsomescalesattheotherendoftheplatformmanyfeetaway.Thescalesstrucktheplaintiff,causinginjuriesforwhichshesues.

Whatdistinguishesthewritingstyleinthispassagefromthatfoundinmostlegalwriting?

NoticeJusticeCardozo’seconomyofwords.Hedoesnotsay”despitethefactthatthetrainwasalreadymoving.”Hesays“thoughthetrainwasalreadymoving.”

Noticehischoiceofwords.Heusesnoarchaicphrases,nomistyabstractions,nohereinbefore’s.

Noticehiscareinarrangingwords.Therearenowidegapsbetweenthesubjectsandtheirverbs,norbetweentheverbsandtheirobjects.Therearenoambiguitiestoleaveuswonderingwhodidwhattowhom.

Noticehisuseofverbs.Mostofthemareinthesimpleform,andallbuttwoareintheactivevoice.

Noticethelengthandconstrictionofhissentences.Mostofthemcontainonlyonemainthought,andtheyvaryinlength.Theshortestissixwords,andthelongestistwenty-sevenwords.

TheseandotherelementsofplainEnglishstylearediscussedinthisbook.ButyoucannotlearntowriteplainEnglishbyreadingabook.Youmustputyourownpenciltopaper.Thatiswhypracticesexercisesareincludedattheendofeachsection.Whenyoufinishthesection,worktheexercises.ThencompareyourresultswiththosesuggestedintheAppendixattheendofthebook.

Chapter2OmitSurplusWords

Asabeginninglawyer,Iwasassignedtoassistanolderman,abusinesslitigator.Hehatedverbosity.WhenIwouldbringhimwhatIthoughtwasafinishedpieceofwork,hewouldreaditquietlyandtakeouthispen.AsIwatchedoverhisshoulder,hewouldstrikeoutwholelines,turnclausesintophrases,andturnphrasesintosinglewords.Onedayatlunch,Iaskedhimhowhedidit.Heshruggedandsaid,”It’snothard—justomitthesurpluswords.”

HowtoSpotBadConstruction

IneveryEnglishsentencearetwokindsofwords:

workingwordsandgluewords.Theworkingwordscarrythemeaningofthesentence.Intheprecedingsentencetheworkingwordsarethese:

working,words,carry,meaning,andsentence.Theothersaregluewords:

the,the,of,andthe.Thegluewordsdoperformavitalservice.Theyholdtheworkingwordstogethertoformaproper,grammaticalsentence.Withoutthem,thesentencewouldreadlikeatelegram.Butiftheproportionofgluewordsistoohigh,thatisasymptomofabadlyconstructedsentence.

Awellconstructedsentenceislikefinecabinetwork.Thepiecesarecutandshapedtofittogetherwithscarcelyanyglue.Whenyoufindtoomanygluewordsinasentence,takeitapartandreshapethepiecestofittogethertighter.Considerthisexample:

Atrialbyjurywasrequestedbythedefendant.

Iftheworkingwordsareunderlined,Thesentencelookslikethis:

Atrialbyjurywasrequestedbythedefendant.

Fivewordsinthatnine-wordsentenceareglue:

a,by,was,by,andthe.Thatproportionofgluewordsistoohigh.

Howcanwesaythesamethinginatightersentencewithlessglue?

First,movedefendanttothefrontandmakeitthesubjectofthesentence.Second,usejurytrialinplaceoftrialbyjury.Thesentencewouldthusread:

Thedefendantrequestedajurytrial.

Iftheworkingwordsareunderlined,therewrittensentencelookslikethis:

Thedefendantrequestedajurytrial.

Againtherearefourworkingwords,butthegluewordshavebeencutfromfivetotwo.Thesentencemeansthesameastheoriginal,butitistighterandone-thirdshorter.

Hereisanotherexample:

Therulingbythetrialjudgewasprejudicialerrorforthereasonsthatitcutoffcross-examinationwithrespecttoissuesthatwerevital.

Iftheworkingwordsareunderlined,wehave:

Therulingbythetrialjudgewasprejudicialerrorforthereasonsthatitcutoffcross