Contents

Using the Examples in This Book Acknowledgments to the First Edition Acknowledgments to the Second Edition Acknowledgments to the Third Edition Acknowledgments to the Fourth Edition Acknowledgments to the Fifth Edition

CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION

1.1 Before We Begin 1.2 Know Your Audience 1.3 Follow an Effective Writing Process 1.4 How to Use This Book 1.5 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER TWO APPELLATEJURISDICTION ANDSTANDARDS OFREVIEW

2.1 Jurisdiction in Courts of Last Resort 2.2 Jurisdiction in Intermediate Courts of Appeals 2.3 Appellate Standards of Review 2.3.1 Purpose and Meaning of Appellate Standards of Review a.

CHAPTER THREE BEFOREYOUWRITE

3.1 Creating an Abstract of the Record 3.2 Planning Your Research 3.2.1 Begin at the Beginning: Decide What Questions You Need to Answer 3.2.2 Broadening Your Horizons (You Can Compare Apples and Oranges) 3.2.3 The Abstraction Ladder 3.2.4 Using the Abstraction Ladder in Legal Research 3.2.5 Identifying a Theme for Your Argument 3.2.6 Identifying Relevant and Valid Authorities a. Relevant Facts b. Relevant Legal Issues c. Relevant and Valid Sources i. Legal Sources ii. “Extra-Legal” Sources iii. Internet Sources 3.3 Executing Your Research Plan 3.3.1 Researching Statutory Issues 3.3.2 Writing to Courts of Last Resort 3.3.3 Harvesting Arguments from Nonmandatory Authorities 3.4 The Legal Writer as Digital Reader 3.5 Knowing When to Stop 3.6 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER FOUR FACING THEBLANKPAGE

4.1 Finding Structure 4.1.1 Using Existing Rules and the “Phrase-That-Pays” to Structure Your Argument 4.1.2 Using Your Research to Help You Structure Your Argument 4.1.3 Using Policy-Based Rules in Your Argument 4.1.4 Using a Reverse Roadmap to Structure Your Argument 4.1.5 The Working Outline

4.2 Using “Private Memos” to Quiet Your Inner Demons and Prevent Writer’s Block 4.3 Facing Procrastination 4.3.1 Fear of Commitment 4.3.2 Fixed Mindset and the Fear of Failure 4.3.3 Fear of Pain 4.4 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER FIVE

ONEPIECE AT ATIME: DRAFTING THEARGUMENT

5.1 Using an Analytical Formula 5.1.1 State Your Issue as a Conclusion 5.1.2 Provide the Rule

a.

c. Using Inductive Reasoning to Find and Articulate Legal Rules 5.1.3 Explain the Rule a. Deciding How Much Rule Explanation Is Needed b. Writing the “Rule Summary” 5.1.4 Apply the Rule to the Facts a. Apply Rules, Not Cases b. Explicitly Connect the Rule Application to the Rule Summary c. Facts Are Relevant to Questions of Law d. Sometimes Statutory Language Is a Fact 5.1.5 Make the Connection 5.2 When Not to Provide a CREAC Analysis 5.2.1 Ignore Issues 5.2.2 Tell Issues 5.2.3 Clarify or CRAC Issues 5.2.4 Prove or CREAC Issues 5.3 Dealing with Your Opponent’s Arguments 5.4 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER SIX

PRACTICEPOINTERS: USINGCASEAUTHORITYEFFECTIVELY

6.1 Providing Appropriate Detail in Case Descriptions

6.1.1 Making Case Descriptions as Succinct as Possible a. Focus b. Using Language Effectively c. Verb Tense in Case Descriptions

6.1.2 Writing and Using Effective Parenthetical Descriptions 6.1.3 Accuracy in Case Descriptions

6.2 Using Quotations Effectively in Case Descriptions 6.2.1 Not Enough Context 6.2.2 Too Much Quoted Language

6.3 Using Language Precisely When Analogizing and Distinguishing Cases 6.4 Dealing with Nonprecedential, or “Unpublished,” Decisions 6.5 Using Citations Effectively 6.5.1 When to Cite 6.5.2 Distinguishing Between Authorities and Sources 6.5.3 Where to Cite 6.5.4 Using Effective Sentence Structures to Accommodate Citation Form 6.5.5 Avoiding String Citations 6.5.6 Cases That Cite Other Cases 6.5.7 Importance of Pinpoint Citations 6.6 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER SEVEN MAKINGSTATUTORYARGUMENTS

7.1 Introduction 7.2 Researching Statutory Issues: What Statutes Govern This Situation? 7.3 Reading and Understanding the Statute 7.4 “Intrinsic” Arguments: Arguments Related to the Language of the Statute 7.4.1 Common Methods of Making Plain Language Arguments 7.4.2 Arguments Related to Sentence Structure and Word Choice a.

CHAPTER EIGHT

PROFESSIONALISM: FOLLOWINGFORMATRULES

8.1 Length Requirements 8.2 Typefaces and Margins 8.3 Filing Requirements and Number of Copies 8.4 Document Format Requirements and Service Requirements for Appellate Briefs 8.4.1 Cover Page 8.4.2 Issue 8.4.3 Parties to the Proceeding 8.4.4 Table of Contents 8.4.5 Table of Authorities 8.4.6 Opinions Below 8.4.7 Jurisdiction 8.4.8 Relevant Enacted Law 8.4.9 Standard of Review 8.4.10 Statement of the Case 8.4.11 Summary of the Argument 8.4.12 The Argument 8.4.13 The Conclusion 8.4.14 Signature 8.4.15 Certificate of Service 8.4.16 Certificate of Compliance 8.4.17 Appendix 8.5 Document Format Requirements and Service Requirements for Motion Briefs 8.5.1 Caption 8.5.2 Issue 8.5.3 Parties to the Proceeding 8.5.4 Table of Contents 8.5.5 Table of Authorities 8.5.6 Opinions Below 8.5.7 Jurisdiction 8.5.8 Relevant Enacted Law 8.5.9 Standard of Review or Pleading Standard 8.5.10 Statement of the Case 8.5.11 Summary of the Argument 8.5.12 The Argument 8.5.13 The Conclusion 8.5.14 Signature 8.5.15 Certificate of Service 8.5.16 Certificate of Compliance 8.5.17 Appendix 8.6 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER NINE

SPECIALTEAMS: ISSUESTATEMENTS, STATEMENT OF THE CASE, SUMMARY OF THEARGUMENT, POINTHEADINGS

9.1 Writing the Issue Statement 9.1.1 Motion Brief Introductions 9.1.2 Questions Presented

a. Elements to Include b. Persuasive Questions Presented c. Problems to Avoid

i. Assuming Elements at Issue ii. Overlong Questions d. Summing Up

9.2 Statements of the Case 9.2.1 Formal Requirements 9.2.2 Organizing the Fact Statement 9.2.3 Making the Fact Statement Persuasive

a.

9.2.4 Special Considerations for Motion Brief Fact Statements 9.2.5 Summing Up 9.3 Summary of the Argument

9.4 Point Headings 9.4.1 Format and Function 9.4.2 Drafting the Point Headings 9.4.3 The Relationships Between and Among Point Headings 9.4.4 The Relationship Between the Point Heading and the Paragraph Immediately

Following 9.4.5 Formatting Reminders for Headings 9.4.6 Summing Up 9.5 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER TEN

SIXDEGREES OFLEGALWRITING: MAKINGYOUR DOCUMENTREADER-FRIENDLY ANDUSER-FRIENDLY

10.1 Find Your “Kevin Bacon” 10.2 Install a Symbolic Template to Help Your Reader and Your User

10.2.1 Topic Sentences a. Include the Phrase-That-Pays in Each Topic Sentence b. Use Legally Significant Categories in Topic Sentences

10.2.2 Headings 10.2.3 Providing Context with Legal Backstory and a Roadmap a. What’s Already Happened: The Legal Backstory b. What’s Coming Next: The Roadmap 10.2.4 Explicit Connection-Conclusions 10.3 Writing for the Digital Reader 10.4 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER ELEVEN EXPLOITINGOPPORTUNITIES FORPERSUASION

11.1 Opportunities for Persuasion 11.2 How Not to Persuade 11.3 Choosing Issues Responsibly 11.4 Exploiting Positions of Emphasis 11.4.1 Persuading with Large-Scale Organization 11.4.2 Persuading Within Each Issue 11.4.3 Persuasive Paragraph Structure 11.4.4 Persuading with Sentence Structure a. Subject-Verb Combinations i. Nominalizations ii. Active and Passive Voice b. Independent and Dependent Clauses c. Using Short Sentences for Emphasis 11.4.5 Effective Word Choice 11.4.6 Persuasive Punctuation a. The Semicolon b. The Dash c. The Colon 11.5 Avoiding Spelling, Grammatical, and Typographical Errors 11.6 Credibility Through Document Design 11.6.1 Typeface 11.6.2 Citations and Emphatic Text: Underlining, Italics, Boldfaced Type, and CAPITALIZATION 11.6.3 Justification 11.6.4 Effective Tables 11.7 Summary Chapter Review CHAPTER TWELVE POLISHING

12.1 Methods to Use on the Computer 12.2 Methods to Use on the Hard Copy 12.3 Proofreading Your Revisions 12.4 The Last Thing to Do with the Document 12.5 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER THIRTEEN ORALARGUMENT

13.1 Purpose of Oral Argument 13.2 Format 13.3 Intellectual Preparation: What Do You Need to Know? 13.3.1 Deciding What Points to Argue 13.3.2 Gathering Information 13.4 Preparation of Written Materials: What Should You Bring to the Courtroom? 13.5 Presenting the Argument 13.5.1 Introduction 13.5.2 The Argument Itself 13.5.3 The Conclusion 13.6 Handling Questions from the Bench 13.7 Rebuttal 13.8 Word Use 13.9 Public Speaking Tips 13.10 Summary Chapter Review

CHAPTER FOURTEEN MOOTCOURTCOMPETITIONS

14.1 Typical Competition Requirements 14.2 Differences Between Moot Court Competitions and “Real Life” 14.3 Choosing Which Side to Brief 14.4 Writing the Brief 14.4.1 Dividing Up the Work 14.4.2 Critiquing Your Teammates’ Work 14.4.3 Polishing the Brief 14.5 Practice Arguments 14.5.1 The Introduction 14.5.2 Planning for Awkward Moments a.

APPENDIX A

FORREFERENCE: CITATIONFORM ANDPUNCTUATION

INFORMATION

A.1 Putting Citations in Their Place A.1.1 When to Cite A.1.2 When Not to Cite

A.2 Common Case Citation Formats A.2.1 Long Form A.2.2 Short Form A.2.3 Citing to Language from Concurring, Dissenting, or Plurality Opinions

A.3 Changing Sentence Structure to Accommodate Citation Form A.4 Statutory Citations A.5 Common Punctuation Problems

A.5.1 Apostrophe Problems a. Common Homonym Problems b. Rules of Possessives

A.5.2 Semicolon Use A.5.3 Common Comma Problems APPENDIX B

FORREFERENCE: COURTWEBSITEINFORMATION

APPENDIX C SAMPLEBRIEFS

Petitioner: Minnesota v. Carter Respondent: Minnesota v. Carter Petitioner: Miller v. Albright Defendant: Herman v. Sports-R-Us Publications, Inc.

Index