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#lang pollen
◊ ( define - meta title "court opinions" )
◊ hanging - topic [ ( topic - from - metas metas ) ] { More diverse than you might think }
◊ ( define ( madlib word )
` ( span ( ( class "madlib" ) ) , word ) )
A common counterargument I hear from attorneys resistant to better typography is called What Judges Want . In Mad Libs format , it goes like this: “ Sure Matthew , that ’ s a fine idea , but __ ◊ madlib { noun } __ is what judges want , because all judges are __ ◊ madlib { adjective phrase } __ . ”
What goes in the blanks ?
“ 14 - point type ” ... “ old and wear glasses . ”
“ Times New Roman ” ... “ reading on paper . ”
“ Boring typography ” ... “ only interested in substance . ”
Or anything , really . Because What Judges Want is based on the same faulty reasoning as all broad - brushstroke arguments . Whether you ’ ve met ten judges or a thousand , it ’ s apparent that they ’ re as different from each other as attorneys are . Why try to generalize ?
I don ’ t . Rather than debate What Judges Want , I encourage these attorneys to rely on evidence . Court rules are one example .
Court opinions are another . If it were true that judges are “ only interested in substance ” — a favored contention — then we ’ d expect judges to put zero effort into the presentation of their own work . But that ’ s not the case . Sure , plenty of judges issue documents that look awful . Just as plenty of attorneys do . But many others appreciate that typography makes a difference .
This next example is not fictional . It shows recent improvements made by the Utah Supreme Court to the typography of its opinions .
◊ before - and - after - pdfs [ "court-opinion" ]