Abrams on Writing It Right: References to Beatles Songs in Advocacy and Judicial Opinions

Douglas E. Abrams, University of Missouri School of Law, has published Writing It Right: References to Beatles Songs in Advocacy and Judicial Opinions at 79 Journal of the Missouri Bar 172 (July-August 2023). Here is the abstract.

This article surveys the indelible mark that the Beatles (Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr) continue to leave on courts in the United States more than half a century after the quartet burst onto the American scene. By highlighting references to Beatles songs in state and federal judicial opinions, this article continues a theme that I have presented in several prior “Writing It Right” articles. The theme begins in some courts, which in recent years often accent their written opinions’ substantive or procedural rulings with references citing or quoting well-known cultural markers from sports, popular entertainment, or literature.

Download the article from SSRN at the link.