(Semi)colons, Commas, and Capitalization oh my!
Name three ways to fix the single error (60 seconds):
Unlike the alleged defamer in Hullick, who made statements to a non-employee board of directors, Ms. Nash made statements not only to board directors but also to a salesperson and a customer, the publication element is therefore met.
1. Add a coordinating conjunction such as "so" after the comma.
2. Replace the comma with a period.
3. Replace the comma with a semicolon.
What are the components of a case illustration in order? (30 seconds)
1. Hook
2. Holding combined with key facts
3. Any leftover facts
4. Reasoning
Identify the error in this citation (30 seconds):
Id at 507.
There should be an italicized period after Id.
Properly make the words below possessive and, when directed, plural (45 seconds):
It (singular, possessive)
Crow (plural, possessive)
Cactus (plural, possessive)
Walters (singular, possessive)
Its
Crows’
Cacti’s or Cactuses’
Walters’s
What is the name of Professor Simon's French boyfriend?
Claude
Identify all grammatical errors (90 seconds):
On a warm Monday, much like this one, Ms. Nash read a letter she wrote about Ms. Jackson—a woman who is certainly bad at picking both friends and business partners.
No grammatical errors.
What are the three components of an application section? (30 seconds)
1. Thesis of application
2. Rule-based/fact-based reasoning
3. Fact-to-fact/analogical reasoning
Identify the two errors in this case name (30 seconds):
Turner v. Wells, 879 F.3d 1254 (11th Cir. 2018).
Identify the two separate errors in the following passage (30 seconds):
"Defamation is defined as "the unprivileged publication of false statements which naturally and proximately result in injury to another."" Hoch v. Loren, 273 So. 3d 56, 57 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019).
(1) The inside quotation marks should be single, not double quotation marks, and (2) there should be a quoting parenthetical.
"Defamation is defined as 'the unprivileged publication of false statements which naturally and proximately result in injury to another.'" Hoch v. Loren, 273 So. 3d 56, 57 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2019) (quoting Wolfson v. Kirk, 273 So. 2d 774, 776 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1973)).
How long had Ms. Jackson and Ms. Nash been friends?
Since college.
Identify the single grammatical error (45 seconds):
In Zambrano v. Devanesan, the Court found that the defamer’s statements were actionable mixed opinion when, at a staff meeting, the defamers said that the defamed person neglected his medical practice, deserted his responsibilities, and acted unprofessionally and unethically. 484 So. 2d 603, 605, 607 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1986).
"Court" should not be capitalized because the Florida District Court of Appeals is not (1) the U.S. Supreme Court, (2) the highest tribunal whose laws govern the outcome (the Florida Supreme Court), or (3) the court the document is addressing.
Identify the three errors in the following sentences of an application section (60 seconds):
Unlike the attorneys and client Hoch that were so closely connected that they were viewed as a single entity, there is no indication that Ms. Jackson and the salesperson or customer are so closely connected to warrant such treatment. Like the statements in Fiore, which were made to newspaper reporters, here Ms. Nash made these statements in front of a salesperson and a customer. Fiore v. Rogero, 144 So. 2d 99, 101 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1962).
1. The “unlike” comparison comes before the “like” comparison.
2. The second sentence is not apples-to-apples.
3. There is a citation in the application section.
Identify the four errors in this full citation (90 seconds):
LRX, Inc. v. Horizon Assocsiates Joint Venture through its joint venturers Horizon-ANF, Inc., 842 So. 2d 881, 885 (Fla. Dist. 4th. Ct. App. 2003)
Identify the two errors in this sentence (60 seconds):
The court noted that, "with respect to corporations, 'statements made to corporate executive or managerial employees of that entity are, in effect, being made to the corporation itself, and thus lack the essential element of publication". Id. at 812 (quoting Am. Airlines, Inc. v. Geddes, 960 So. 2d 830, 833 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2007)).
1. Missing the closing single quotation mark
2. The period must be inside both quotation marks
What is the name of Prof. Simon's dog?
Duke
Identify the error in this sentence (45 seconds):
Ms. Nash, an aggressive impulsive business partner, wrote a letter about Ms. Jackson, read the letter at a board meeting, and then stormed out of the meeting room.
There should be a comma between “aggressive” and “impulsive."
Identify the two CREAC-related errors (bonus for finding citation error) in the following sentences that start a case illustration for Turner (60 seconds):
A statement is pure opinion if it is based on facts outlined in the publication. Turner v. Wells, 879 F.3d 1254, 1262 (11th Cir. 2018) (applying Florida law); see also Ozyesilpinar v. Reach PLC, 365 So. 3d 453, 459–60 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2023) (explaining that the purported defamer’s statements regarding the purported defamed person being racist were pure opinion because the statement contained the purported defamed person’s admission that she made multiple racist comments). In Turner, the alleged defamer’s statements summarized a workplace misconduct investigation including specific examples supporting each statement leading the court to affirm dismissal of the complaint, finding that the statements were pure opinion. Id. at 1263–67.
1. The parenthetical is inappropriately placed. It should be at the end.
2. The holding should come before the facts
BONUS
3. Incorrect use of Id.!
Identify the three errors in this citation (2 minutes):
Id. at 1265–66, See also Ozyesilpinar v. Reach PLC, 365 So. 3d 453, 459–60 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2023)
Identify both errors (60 seconds):
Ms. Nash claimed that Ms. Jackson was “unprofessional … in making financial decisions” and says there were “countless examples” of this type of behavior, but she provided none.
1. The ellipses are improperly spaced and should have a space between each period . . . like this
2. Change "says" to "said" to match the past-tense verbs (parallelism)
What is wrong with these sentences? (2 errors)
A statement was read at the board meeting. She made the decision because she hated Ms. Jackson.
1. Passive voice
2. Nominalization
Example correction: Ms. Nash read a statement bird the board meeting. She decided to read it because she hated Ms. Jackson.
Identify all six grammatical errors (60 seconds):
Unsurprisingly a Court is probably going to make the wrong decision here and find that the Defamatory Statements element is met: everyone knows they go easy on CEO's.
1. Add a comma after “Unsurprisingly."
2. Do not capitalize "Court" because this sentence is not directed at a known court handling this matter.
3. Do not capitalize "Defamatory Statements."
4. The colon should be a semicolon.
5. Court is an “it” not a "they." (and then "go" becomes "goes")
6. There should be no apostrophe before the "s" in "CEO's" because this is a plural, not a possessive.
Identify the two errors in the following point heading for the CREAC (60 seconds):
A. The element is met because Ms. Nash made the statements to a third party.
1. The point heading does not specify which element is at issue in the following CREAC.
2. The point heading includes a conclusion rather than the operative facts.
Identify and correct the four errors in this citation (2 minutes):
Hay v. Independent Newspapers, Inc., 450 So.2d 293, 295 (when the court considers the totality of the circumstances)(Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1984).
Identify the four errors in the following sentence (60 seconds):
‘A negligent infliction of emotional distress cause of action requires the plaintiff to: (1) witness an injury to a closely related person, (2) suffer mental anguish manifested as physical injury, and (3) be within the zone of danger so as to be subject to an unreasonable risk of bodily harm’. Pierce v. Casas Adobes Baptist Church, 782 P.2d 1162, 1165 (1989)
1. Single quotations should be double: ‘ → “
2. NO PERIOD AFTER THE QUOTATION MARK!!!
3. Missing “Ariz.” in the parenthetical
4. Missing period at the end of the citation
What is Professor Simon's NFL team?
KC Chiefs