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  • Length of lawsuits and decisions

    From Bernie Cosell@21:1/5 to All on Sat Dec 10 13:08:15 2022
    I'm constantly impressed, and in awe, at the length of lawsuits and
    judicial decisions. Is this something you're taught in law school? How
    to write an 80-page lawsuit for something that looked like it could get by
    with maybe five. and when I read the synopsis of a SCOTUS decision and realize that while I find the synopsis perfectly adequate I later learn the actual decision was 140 pages. And how can they write that much stuff so *quickly*.

    /Bernie\
    --
    Bernie Cosell Fantasy Farm Fibers
    [email protected] Pearisburg, VA
    --> Too many people, too few sheep <--

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  • From Roy@21:1/5 to Bernie Cosell on Sat Dec 10 17:10:36 2022
    On 12/10/2022 1:08 PM, Bernie Cosell wrote:
    I'm constantly impressed, and in awe, at the length of lawsuits and
    judicial decisions. Is this something you're taught in law school? How
    to write an 80-page lawsuit for something that looked like it could get by with maybe five. and when I read the synopsis of a SCOTUS decision and realize that while I find the synopsis perfectly adequate I later learn the actual decision was 140 pages. And how can they write that much stuff so *quickly*.

    /Bernie\

    "Quickly"?? They started in October and haven't issued an opinion yet.

    Some numbers:

    There are 300+ employees of the Court

    5000-7000 cases per year are filed.

    The order list for 12/5/22 rejected over 250 cases. Order lists come
    out every week or two

    The Court has 42 cases scheduled this session (Less than 1%)

    There are nine justices and each has four clerks

    So 36 clerks to write opinions and dissents for 42 cases.

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  • From Elle N@21:1/5 to Bernie Cosell on Sat Dec 10 21:35:49 2022
    On Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 3:08:19 PM UTC-6, Bernie Cosell wrote:
    when I read the synopsis of a SCOTUS decision and
    realize that while I find the synopsis perfectly adequate I later learn the actual decision was 140 pages. And how can they write that much stuff so *quickly*.


    Supreme Court Opinions are published yearly in United States Reports,
    averaging I figure about 4000 pages per year. See citation below.
    The margins on each page are large, so figure the clerks and
    Justices are drafting, editing and publishing writing about 3/4 *
    4000 or about 3000 pages per year.

    3000 page / 36 clerks = 83 massively reviewed, researched and
    edited pages per year per clerk.

    The court is in session about 9 months = 36 weeks = about 180 business
    days.

    I estimate each clerk cranks out around 83 pages / 180 days or
    about a half page each day, reflecting much research, even if only
    to support a Justice's pre-determined opinion (as Justice Powell's
    Clerk Robert Comfort explained so eloquently and perhaps
    confoundingly in a 2021 New Yorker article, describing what
    happened in the 1978 Bakke case), strategizing and some
    politicking.


    Reference:
    https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/info_opinions.aspx https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/02/can-affirmative-action-survive

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  • From Barry Gold@21:1/5 to Elle N on Sat Dec 10 22:18:54 2022
    On 12/10/2022 9:35 PM, Elle N wrote:
    On Saturday, December 10, 2022 at 3:08:19 PM UTC-6, Bernie Cosell wrote:
    when I read the synopsis of a SCOTUS decision and
    realize that while I find the synopsis perfectly adequate I later learn the >> actual decision was 140 pages. And how can they write that much stuff so
    *quickly*.


    Supreme Court Opinions are published yearly in United States Reports, averaging I figure about 4000 pages per year. See citation below.
    The margins on each page are large, so figure the clerks and
    Justices are drafting, editing and publishing writing about 3/4 *
    4000 or about 3000 pages per year.

    3000 page / 36 clerks = 83 massively reviewed, researched and
    edited pages per year per clerk.

    The court is in session about 9 months = 36 weeks = about 180 business
    days.

    I estimate each clerk cranks out around 83 pages / 180 days or
    about a half page each day, reflecting much research, even if only
    to support a Justice's pre-determined opinion (as Justice Powell's
    Clerk Robert Comfort explained so eloquently and perhaps
    confoundingly in a 2021 New Yorker article, describing what
    happened in the 1978 Bakke case), strategizing and some
    politicking.

    In addition to Elle N's well-calculated answer, I'll note that that
    before you become a Supreme Court clerk, you first have to graduate from
    law school -- usually a prestigious law school, e.g., Yale, Harvard,
    Stanford, Columbia, UPenn, ...

    To do this, you need to be very good at researching the law and writing analyses. The workload is heavy, and if you can't do that fast you
    either won't graduate or you won't get the kind of grades that lead to a clerkship.

    So it isn't as difficult as it might sound.

    --
    I do so have a memory. It's backed up on DVD... somewhere...

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  • From Stuart O. Bronstein@21:1/5 to Bernie Cosell on Mon Dec 12 07:59:42 2022
    Bernie Cosell <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

    I'm constantly impressed, and in awe, at the length of lawsuits
    and judicial decisions. Is this something you're taught in law
    school? How to write an 80-page lawsuit for something that looked
    like it could get by with maybe five. and when I read the
    synopsis of a SCOTUS decision and realize that while I find the
    synopsis perfectly adequate I later learn the actual decision was
    140 pages. And how can they write that much stuff so *quickly*.

    The reason many briefs (ha ha!) and opinions are so long is because the
    law is complicated, and the writers want to be complete. I went into
    law school thinking writing 20 pages was long, but came out thinking 20
    pages was short. It's all about leaving no stone unturned.


    --
    Stu
    http://DownToEarthLawyer.com

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