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…
Tag: Lori Shemka
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…
Large font is better (really!), including for footnotes and endnotes
There is no opinion shortage about the U.S. State Department’s announced shift from the Times New Roman font to Calibri (A font feud brews after State Dept. picks Calibri over Times New Roman) This post, however, is about font size and not type. The “controversial” State Department cable also directs future written communications to use…
Why images in your writing should include numbered labels, descriptive captions, and content warnings
There are two valuable lessons from the shortcomings in how the scores of photos were included in the 845-page January 6th Report: the need for numbered image labels and descriptive captions Consider these two report pictures from the Four Seasons Total Landscaping press conference: Shortfall: Missing numbered labels. Notice how these photos do not include…
Storytelling through headings and images: the January 6 Final Report’s effective examples
845 pages can seem like a lot to tackle for those interested in the Final Report issued by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. Fortunately for the casual reader, the Select Committee incorporated two effective storytelling tools to inform: report headings and images. Storytelling through headings A…
Six user-friendly things about the Michigan Governor’s e-filed brief
Michigan’s Governor filed a supplemental brief to the Michigan Supreme Court while the Court considers her April 7, 2022 Executive Message. The nicely formatted brief makes for an easier read. Six things stand out. [1] Spacing. Nice spacing is used in the arguments section of the table of contents page, the authorities index, and between…
Legal writing with emojis
The Court of Appeals in Washington state recently reversed a conviction because the state prosecutor invoked racist rhetoric at trial. State v. McKenzie, No. 38555-8-III (Wash. Ct. App. Apr. 21, 2022). The opinion’s misconduct analysis is powerful and worth the read. It’s also nice to see the state judiciary’s ongoing commitment in this area. If…
Abeyance orders, Google due diligence, and the next 69302309 cases
It’s not a throwaway oral argument question when a Michigan justice asks or reminds counsel that the Court also must consider the next 100, 200, or 500 cases when deciding what the rule of law is and how it should be applied. Sometimes it’s mentioned in written statements or opinions: “As members of this Court…
Curly and straight quotes happen but they don’t mix. The Ctrl+F fix.
Many writers’ Word settings are already configured to use Smart (curly) Quotes as they type. But straight quotes can slip in when others add content (because their Word is set to use Straight Quotation Marks when they type). Straight quotes can also slip in when a writer copies online content and pastes it into their…