Here are two blogs that I recently discovered via DRI’s Appellate Advocacy webpage: Grammar Girl and The Grammarphobia blog. Check ‘em out.

Absolutely not.

I am trying to read a page or two of Bryan A. Garner’s “The Redbook: A Manual on Legal Style” every day, and I’ve decided to post interesting writing-style tips that I come across here at SA. So, with that said, here is the first tidbit I found useful:

The em dash may suggest drama; the colon may suggest a cause-effect relationship; the semi-colon may suggest that the clauses are of equal importance; parentheses may suggest that what they contain is of lesser importance.

I think this is a fairly accurate description of how many readers interpret these four punctuation marks, and is something we lawyers should keep in mind while crafting our motions/briefs.

Courtesy of Grammar Girl.

I respectfully dissent on number seven though (along with Justice Souter).

(LvJoe)

But you’re still wrong. 

Because this will undoubtedly be the only time you will ever see me pen these words again: Souter is right. Scalia and Thomas are wrong.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to take a long, hot shower. I feel so dirty.