Miscellany
Fix the unclear pronoun: Jane told Ruth that her roommate is a nightmare.
Jane told Ruth, " Your roommate is a nightmare."
Synonym of "binding" authority.
Mandatory.
A secondary source, as opposed to a primary source (the law itself).
Correct the sentence: "The prosecutor produced a lot of evidences to the jury".
A delicious dinner is going to be made by Sally tonight.
Sally is going to make a delicious dinner tonight.
Does this sentence need a hyphen? If so, where?
Jared is a self motivated man.
Yes—Jared is a self-motivated man.
Persuasive.
A book written by a legal expert on a specific topic
A treatise
Uncredited use of someone else's words or ideas.
Plagiarism
True or False: "Timothy has kissed Jane." This is written in active voice.
True
Name and fix the error:
I was bored, I had to go to class.
Common splice:
The non-binding part of a legal opinion
Dicta (as opposed the "holding", which is the binding part).
The significance or importance of a piece of evidence or information in relation to a particular legal matter.
Materality
When is passive voice proper?
When you don't know who preformed the action.
Coordinating conjunctions
FANBOYS: For, and, nor, but, or, yet, and so (however is not a coordinating conjunction)
The meaning of a "red flag" next to a case in Westlaw or Lexis
Overruled. (non longer "good law")
Where does the best possible precedent for a claim come from?
Supreme Court of the relevant state or SCOTUS
The KISS principle
Keep it simple! (The best way to write in a foreign language is to keep your sentences short and simple, using plain English).
Passive or Active: We were invited by our neighbors to attend their party.
Passive
Commonly used in everyday writing, but unacceptable in formal writing
Does a 9th Circuit case bind a district court in New York?
No, because New York is outside the 9th Circuit (9th circuit is the appellate court for the West Coast of the US).
The abstract/summary at the beginning of a case of the US Supreme Court
The syllabus
The opposite of "plain English"
"Legalese".
Correct or Incorrect: "The old man was murdered." Can be put into active voice form.
Incorrect. Unless we know who murdered the man.