Law & Humanities Blog |
| Posted: 08 Jan 2014 11:47 AM PST News about the Supreme Court bobblehead premiums one might score for subscribing to The Green Bag (nice marketing touch, that) seems to be going viral. Alison Vingiano posted this piece to Buzzfeed on December 30, 2013, and CBS ran this story on January 6, 2014. More about the bobbleheads here at the Green Bag website.  So, what's the law on bobbleheads (watch the spelling)? Bobbleheads have actually figured in several cases, including copyright and insurance (Ohio Disc. Merch. Inc. v Westfield Ins., 2006-Ohio-4999, decided Sept. 26, 2006), in which an insurer refused to pay under a policy, alleging that the insured had used infringing (copyrighted) images of bobbleheads in its advertisements, and the action arose out of a breach of contract that was not covered under the policy. The same company, Ohio Discount Merchandise, settled a dispute in with former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2004 over production of a Schwarzenegger bobblehead doll that pictured him with a gun. |
The deal agreed upon allowed the company to produce a Schwarzenegger doll without the gun; the company agreed to donate a percentage of its sales from the dolls to one of the Governor's preferred charities. 
Posted: 08 Jan 2014 11:35 AM PST
Charles E. MacLean, Indiana Tech Law School, has published Helping Legal Writers Embrace Their Inner Salieri: Re-Vision is Just 'Seeing Again' in volume 70 of Clarity (November 2013). Here is the abstract.
The sublime perfection of Mozart's compositions arose from his ability to present complex material clearly, cleanly, and without pretense or excess. Mozart's compositions are accessible to all listeners. They do not require the listener to have had special training or experience. They do not presuppose that the listener has been exposed to some musical jargon or genre. The music "speaks" to everyone. And that is the goal for all legal writers – to speak to all legal readers. The writing must be accessible and clear regardless of each reader's background or expertise. The writing must be pure essence without pretense. It must not force the reader to struggle to comprehend. It must not furrow the reader's brow. That can all be condensed into one concept: Great legal writers make economic use of plain language. Now, reflect on that concept, and the legal writer will find that the concept applies to every type of legal writer. Although each sub-group of legal writers has its own needs and wants and its own level of expertise or experience, legal writing that is presented economically in plain language will ensure that clients are served and informed; judges are more likely to be persuaded; and partners and supervising attorneys are educated and advised.Download the article from SSRN at the link.
All of this only requires that the legal writer re-vision, to see again with each reader's eyes. But no matter the type of reader, plain language will better achieve the goal that the writer seeks. Plain legal language informs and advises without risk of inadvertent confusion. It persuades without furrowing the reader's brow. Remember, we are Salieris, not Mozarts who can "simply [write] down music already finished in his head!" We must spend the time to re-vision and rewrite in plain legal language.
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