Cher is known for heavy emoji Tweets. And emojis often find their way into court cases. Ever wonder what a series of emojis may mean? Perhaps someone texted you: 🐰🥚🐣💐🌷🌹🌸🌼🌺🌻🌷💐🌹🌸🌼🌺🌻 Or perhaps you are reviewing law-enforcement produced or civil discovery (or a record on appeal) and come across a message string like this: 🔫🔪🩸😈🤵💵⛓️💀 What…
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Comparing and seeing ChatGPT as a valuable plain-language editor for legal writing
Imagine a one-page “notice to leave” taped to a house. Within the notice, the tenant is told: Your compliance with this NOTICE within _ days after its service will prevent any further eviction action against you. YOU ARE BEING ASKED TO LEAVE THE PREMISES. IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE, AN EVICTION ACTION MAY BE INITIATED…
Print disabilities: visual examples
Millions in the United States have impaired vision because of uncorrected refractive error, and many suffer vision impairment even after correction. A great many people cannot read small font or “the fine print.” Fantastic (but worrisome) examples of how those with different visual-related print disabilities struggle with print text are included in this informative, one-hour…
A strong model for “translating” image Tweets and emojis into text-based legal writing
Federal District Court Judge William L. Campbell, Jr. (Middle District, Tennessee) just issued a written opinion that effectively models how to translate Tweet and emoji images into understandable text-based legal writing. The Complaint’s Exhibit B image was the original product the judge had to work with. The imaged Tweet and its content were important for…
Process design and implementation that works can take a lot of testing. And that’s okay. Ask Chick-fil-A.
The Washington Post’s recent Chick-fil-A put actual cauliflower on a sandwich—and it’s good caught my curiosity and I’m glad I stuck with it for the full read. One doesn’t have to be a fan of Chick-fil-A to appreciate the article. (Full disclosure: I’ve never tried one because the lines near mine are always crazy long…
Want emailed case-specific notifications about future orders/opinions entered in a pending Michigan Court of Appeals or Michigan Supreme Court case? Create a Google Scholar alert.
The “create alert” feature within Google Scholar’s Case law search tool is an easy way for the public to receive emailed notifications for when the Michigan Court of Appeals or Michigan Supreme Court issues new orders or opinions on specific cases. To use it, you need to have a free Google account (a gmail address)…
Three reasons why a proposed Michigan court rule that would invite and recognize self-identified pronouns does not offend the Constitution.
“If the judge wants everyone to respect and adhere to their pronoun of ‘Your Honor’ they must give the same respect they are receiving.” — Johanna C. Szalankiewicz’s written comment to the Michigan Supreme Court supporting ADM 2022-03 “When you meet a dog on the street, the owner might correct you and tell you the…
What’s next in Michigan’s criminal court costs journey when the Michigan Supreme Court asks that a specific question be briefed and practically no one does? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Immediate background The controversial MCL 769.1k that permits a sentencing judge to assess “court costs” has been one of the sticky wickets in Michigan’s ongoing conversation about how Michigan trial courts should be funded. (See for example People v Cunningham, 496 Mich 145 (2014) and the 2019 Trial Court Funding Commission Final Report.) 🚨Whether MCL…
A recommended read: Ann Handley’s newsletter #129
Count me in as one of Ann Handley’s newsletter subscribers. This week’s Total Annarchy newsletter (#129) includes an observation that, in a different way, reminds me of why I am going to miss reading (now-retired) Justice Bridget McCormack’s writings from the Michigan Supreme Court: Instead, this story is about the staying power of something more…
2022: Another year of fewer Michigan Supreme Court filings
Looking back 11 years, 2022 saw the fewest number of new filings at the Michigan Supreme Court. An extraordinary trend of lower filings has been on pace since 2014. The data is below.