Orwellian Language

Judith Fischer, University of Louisiville School of Law, has published "Why George Orwell's Ideas About Language Still Matter For Lawyers," at 68 Montana Law Review 129 (2007). Here is the abstract.

This article examines George Orwell's theories about language and applies them to contemporary legal discourse in the United States. It concludes that Orwell's advice about the importance of clear, plain English comports with today's accepted legal writing style. However, his warnings about deceptive language in legal and political discourse have not been well heeded. The article suggests that lawyers can assume a role in changing that.

Download the entire Article from SSRN here.

Bob Mondello's Piece on Guess Who's Coming to Dinner and the Supreme Court Case: Loving v. Virginia

National Public Radio's Bob Mondello did a feature piece June 12th devoted to the film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as well as several other movies that explore the theme of race relations, on the anniversary of the Supreme Court case that struck down Virginia's statute against interracial marriage. The case was Loving v. Virginia (388 U.S. 1; 87 S. Ct. 1817; 18 L. Ed. 2d 1010; 1967 U.S. LEXIS 1082 (1967)). Remember that Star Trek: The Original Series broke ground in the episode "Plato's Stepchildren" with television's first interracial kiss (aired November 22, 1968).