11.4.6 PERSUASIVE PUNCTUATION
Writers use punctuation marks to organize sentences and the words within sentences. They also use punctuation to show relationships between and among phrases and clauses within sentences.
Legal writers can use punctuation marks to emphasize information and to imply relationships when argument is inappropriate. Three types of punctuation marks are particularly helpful: the semicolon, the dash, and the colon.a. The Semicolon
Semicolons are used in two circumstances. First, semicolons punctuate a list when items in the list contain internal commas. In legal writing, this situation occurs most frequently when writers cite multiple cases in support of a proposition. Second, semicolons separate two independent clauses. This technique is frequently used to highlight some sort of relationship between the two clauses, as in the following examples:
GOOD EXAMPLE Section 1409(a) does more than legislate on the basis of this stereotype beyond infancy; it applies this stereotype forever.
GOOD EXAMPLE
The Supreme Court has allowed a warrantless search when a custodial arrest is performed largely because the suspect already will be subject to substantial interference with individual liberties; similar intrusions exist when a citation is issued in lieu of an arrest.
Semicolons can also be used to juxtapose information in a way that leads the reader to draw a conclusion. In Minnesota v. Carter, for example, the petitioner might want the reader to draw the conclusion that the respondents did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the apartment in which they were bagging cocaine. This conclusion could be supported by the lack of a connection between the respondents and Thompson, who lived in the apartment.
In the statement of facts, it is inappropriate to argue, but the writer could use a semicolon to juxtapose two facts that might lead the reader to the desired conclusion:
GOOD EXAMPLE
Nothing in the record indicates any personal or social relationship between Thompson and the Respondents; none of Respondents’ personal effects were found in the apartment, and they did not present any evidence that they were overnight guests. See Record E-4, E-7, and G-2.
Because you can state conclusions rather than imply them within the argument, this method is used to greatest effect in the statement of the case. But you can always use semicolons to make clear a close relationship between two ideas. In any case, good writers are able to present information in a variety of ways. Proper use of semicolons separates sophisticated writers from unsophisticated ones; it’s a good idea to learn to use them properly.
b. The Dash
Mary Barnard Ray and Jill Ramsfield refer to the dash as “the gigolo of the punctuation world,”20and too many dashes may give your writing an inappropriately casual tone. The dash is used effectively, however, to highlight information in the middle of a sentence. Proper use of the dash consists of a space, two hyphens, and another space (at which point many word processing systems properly convert the two hyphens to a connected line called an em dash). When you use a dash on either side of an interrupting phrase, it creates white space on either side of the phrase and thus creates a position of emphasis within the sentence. Notice how the writer of a Miller v. Albright brief uses the dash to highlight a comparison between how the law treats the foreign-born children of United States citizens in different relationships:
GOOD EXAMPLE
Children in the first two groups — those who are “legitimate” and those who have a United States citizen mother — are United States citizens by birthright. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1401(g) (1994). Children in the last group, however — those “illegitimate” children with United States citizen fathers — may receive their fathers’ citizenship only after clearing several hurdles.To avoid making your writing sound too casual, don’t overuse the dash, and use it only to set off an interrupting phrase in the middle of a sentence rather than as a means to add an afterthought at the end of a sentence.
c. The Colon
The colon is my favorite way to use punctuation for emphasis. Most writers use it only to introduce a long quotation or list, and it is properly used for that purpose. But it is very effectively used within sentences both to highlight information and to explain or elaborate on the information that came before the colon, as in these examples:
GOOD EXAMPLES
Through gaps in the drawn horizontal mini-blinds on the window, Officer Thielen observed the same scene the informant had described to him: two males and one female sitting at a kitchen table handling a white powdery substance. Record E-2.
In Chimel, this Court examined the search-incident-to-an-arrest exception to the warrant requirement and made note of the two major policy justifications for the search: preserving officer safety and preventing the destruction of evidence by the suspect. 395 U.S. at 763. The cases in which no substantial relation was found have one common element: They reject gender stereotypes that are little more than vestiges of past discrimination.
The information that comes after the colon elaborates on or explains the information that comes before the colon. In a sense, the colon prompts the reader to ask a “who, what, when, where, why, or how” question that the information after the colon answers. In the last example above, for example, the colon prompts the reader to ask “what is the common element?” The information after the colon answers this question.
The shorter the phrase or sentence after the colon, the more emphatic the use of the colon is. Note the differences among these examples: As the phrases get shorter, the sentences get more emphatic. 
GOOD EXAMPLES
As illustrated by the plight of Lorelyn and Charlie Miller, these burdens can become insurmountable: Section 1409(a) will prevent Mr. Miller and Ms. Miller from ever legally proving that they have a close family relationship unless this court refuses to accept the irrebuttable gender stereotype in Section 1409(a).
The government argued that the observation was analogous to looking through a knothole or an opening in a fence: “If there is an opening, the police may look.” The record indicates that Respondents engaged in only one activity while inside Thompson’s apartment: bagging cocaine.
Grammatically, the information that precedes the colon should be a complete sentence. The information that comes after need not be. Do not capitalize the first word after a colon unless the information after the colon could be a separate sentence; even then, you may choose to leave it uncapitalized. If, like me, you fall in love with the colon, you should still avoid overusing it.