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Learned Hand’S District Court Opinions, 1916-1917: A Macrostructural Analysis Employing Cognitive Psychology Principles, Jeffrey A. Van Detta
Learned Hand’S District Court Opinions, 1916-1917: A Macrostructural Analysis Employing Cognitive Psychology Principles, Jeffrey A. Van Detta
Jeffrey A. Van Detta
What makes a judge a good trial court writer? Should this be measured by the writing of the appeals court judges who review them? Does it even matter if trial court judges write well? These are important questions, especially with the growth of our state and federal trial court systems in the United States and Canada. Yet, they’ve not been directly posed, nor adequately answered, even by law professors who use judicial opinions daily as the grist for milling the laity into lawyers. The typical emphasis on appellate opinions as the exemplars of "good judicial writing” is misplaced. Appellate opinions …
Learned Hand’S District Court Opinions, 1916-1917: A Macrostructural Analysis Employing Cognitive Psychology Principles, Jeffrey A. Van Detta
Learned Hand’S District Court Opinions, 1916-1917: A Macrostructural Analysis Employing Cognitive Psychology Principles, Jeffrey A. Van Detta
Jeffrey A. Van Detta
What makes a judge a good trial court writer? Should this be measured by the writing of the appeals court judges who review them? Does it even matter if trial court judges write well? Examining trial court opinions that Judge Learned Hand wrote 1916-1917 on the U.S. District Court, this article answers those questions by applying principles of cognitive psychology in a detailed critical evaluation of each opinion and its legal and society context. This article makes a very substantial contribution to the study of legal linguistics, cognitive psychology as applied in critical reading of judicial opinions, and of Learned …