Judge posner, the blue book, and arkansas citation. In this erudite and highly readable book, a distinguished judge and scholar provides the reader with remarkable insights into how judges think, or ought to think, when interpreting and creating the law. Thus, all of us can find the citation and read the material cited. I am pleased to to follow in the footsteps of the worlds most distinguished legal scholar on this issue. Posner, a judge of the seventh circuit court of appeals and longtime member of the law school faculty, has built a reputation as one of the nations foremost polymaths. You dont have to imagine his reaction to the nineteenth edition, issued last year with a whopping 511 pages, because judge posner has published that. Judge richard posner explains why we should burn all copies of the bluebook. Seventh circuit judge richard posner sees absolutely no value in studying the u.
Posner says bluebook is 560 pages of rubbish, suggests changes. Jul 09, 2008 but the book i would start with the one, it seems to me, that offers the best introduction to posners current thinking and is mercifully free of algebraic equations is law, pragmatism, and democracy 2003. In one of his final opinions, judge posner, writing for a threejudge panel, reinstated a lawsuit from a prisoner, michael davis, that had been dismissed on technical grounds. Judge richard posner hasnt mastered the 511 pages that make up the latest edition of the bluebook. Judge posners former court issued a per curiam opinion ordering a new trial for a man who defended himself at a 2015 trial against charges of mail fraud and making false claims to. Posners recent critique the bluebook blues1 of the maddening hypertrophy of the bluebook is surely a refreshing voice of san ity for the multitudes of law students and legal professionals. Posner, a federal judge, wrote this book outlining how he thinks judges make decisions a process he dubs pragmatism. On the phone, judge posner said that opinion was a rare victory. Davis needs help needs it bad needs a lawyer desperately, he wrote.
Jun 08, 2011 judge posner recently and famously, as his article went viral as much as one can among the online legal community criticized the bluebook as a monstrous growth, remote from the functional need for legal citation forms, that serves obscure needs of the legal culture and its student subculture. Also part memoir, amanda frost praises the book as giving readers a glimpse into the mind of a brilliant, yet quirky, federal judge. Posner says bluebook is 560 pages of rubbish, suggests. Michael posner has 28 books on goodreads with 743 ratings. In a december 2016 article for green bag, judge posner stated that among the reforms he would implement at federal. Circuit court of appeals judge richard posner writes in his office at the dirksen federal building in chicago. Though his article criticizes many aspects of the blue book its size, for example, he is particularly critical of its system of abbreviation. All copies of the bluebook should be burned, seventh circuit judge richard a. Judge richard posner acknowledges his reputation as a naysayer and faultfinder yet proceeds to find fault with the bluebook it is 560. Posner lamented the inevitable demise of the bluebook uniform system of citation when the sixteenth edition came out at a grotesque 255 pages long. Judge richard posner acknowledges his reputation as a naysayer and faultfinder yet proceeds to find fault with the bluebook it is 560 pages of rubbish and the uneven quality of. The backstory behind judge richard posners retirement. Sep 11, 2017 an exit interview with richard posner, judicial provocateur judge richard a.
Mar 29, 2016 in a march 29, 2016 post, debra cassens weiss, writing for the aba journal, quotes the esteemed appellate judge richard posner. Judge richard posner explains why we should burn all copies. The first thing to do is burn all copies of the bluebook, in its latest edition 560 pages of rubbish, a terrible time waster for law clerks employed by. Mar 29, 2016 judge richard posner acknowledges his reputation as a naysayer and faultfinder yet proceeds to find fault with the bluebook it is 560 pages of rubbish and the uneven quality of. Well, one persons rubbish is another persons treasure.
To judge richard posner, gun control is a joke the atlantic. In defense of the bluebook justia law blog june 8, 2011. Townsend, judge posners opinion in kikalos, 108 tax notes 593 aug. Response to richard posners new book, by a former 7th. He has authored influential and provocative works that span a vast swath of law and life, ranging from antitrust regulation to human sexuality, to. I plead guilty to having written the majority opinion affirmed by.
Judge posner is one of the founding fathers of bluebook abolitionism, having advocated it for almost twentyfive years, ever since his 1986. Constitution because eighteenthcentury guys couldnt have possibly foreseen the culture and technology of today. Judge richard posner explains why we should burn all copies of. Worse than that, the legal system generates its own complexity precisely to. Eight provocative passages from judge richard posners new book. But the book i would start with the one, it seems to me, that offers the best introduction to posners current thinking and is mercifully free of algebraic equations is law, pragmatism, and democracy 2003. I wrote an article on one of judge posners opinions.
Sep 06, 2019 judge posner s description of bad legal writing may not be original, but for the most part it is depressingly accurate. Aug 20, 2009 in his latest book, how judges think, judge posner turns his formidable analytical lens on an especially wellsuited target. Posner recommended in a recent article critiquing the legal system, calling it 560 pages of rubbish and a. It follows that, to resolve realworld disputes sensibly, judges must be astute students of the worlds complexity. In his new book, reflections on judging, judge posner includes a single sentence admitting he made a mistake. Judge posners description of bad legal writing may not be original, but for the most part it is depressingly accurate. Posner has recently made a specialty of needling scalia, but the truth is the two judges are more alike than either would like to admit. Goodbye to the bluebook only, which is the general bluebook form for citing articles. Judge posner confesses he was unable to master the hated. They dont actually base decisions on precedent or even on the constitution or the statute much of the time, he claims, they make political judgments instead and then look for evidence to justify their decisions. Unfortunately, the book tells the reader almost nothing about pro. Jan 27, 2011 judge richard posner hasnt mastered the 511 pages that make up the latest edition of the bluebook. Jan 25, 2011 judge posner criticizes the bluebook the most popular legal citation format manual by eugene volokh on january 25, 2011 5. Judge richard posner explains why we should burn all.
Judge posner deftly explains, as if lecturing the plaintiffs counsel, what trade secrets are and how they fit into a broad continuum of other intellectual property and informational rights. In a march 29, 2016 post, debra cassens weiss, writing for the aba journal, quotes the esteemed appellate judge richard posner. He held traditionally leftliberal views into adulthood, including the time of his clerkship. Judge posner laid out his critique of the bluebook in greater detail in this yale law journal article. Jun 27, 2016 seventh circuit judge richard posner sees absolutely no value in studying the u. How judges think pims polity immigration and society. Posner calls bluebook rubbish in legal profession critique. Books by michael posner author of the last honest man. The problem, he says, is that, thanks to disposition, training, and professional incentives, they arent. Drawing upon law and economics the field he helped to found, behavioral psychology, and political theory, posner presents a more comprehensive portrait of the judicial mind than has ever before been. Judge posner and the bluebook blues a library with a. The bluebook is one of those fixturesdare i say institutionsthat professors, judges, and practitioners love to hate.
Nov 10, 2017 in a december 2016 article for green bag, judge posner stated that among the reforms he would implement at federal appellate courts, the first thing to do is burn all copies of the bluebook, in its latest edition 560 pages of rubbish. Judge posner criticizes the bluebook the most popular legal citation format manual by eugene volokh on january 25, 2011 5. Posner is himself a court of appeals judge and hence also writes from personal experience though he emphasises that. Feb 02, 2011 judge posner and the bluebook blues posted on february 2, 2011 by anne burnett back in 1986, esteemed court of appeals judge richard a. Judge posner to fund and run pro bono law firm law360. Judge posner is famously candid, so dont expect him to go easy on excolleagues he disagrees with. Citation formats dick doesnt follow the, the bluebookmaroon book, the chicago maual of stylen, or any other style book, and doesnt want you to get hung up worrying about citation form. Judge posner rejects sterile legalist theories in favor of a pragmatic approach to judicial decisionmaking, heavily influenced by economic theory. The blue books citation system is still generally followed by practitioners and courts for cases, statutes, codes, and ordinances. Worse than that, the legal system generates its own complexity. The first thing to do is burn all copies of the bluebook, in its latest edition 560 pages of rubbish, a terrible time waster for law clerks employed by judges who insist, as many do, that the citations in their opinions conform to the. If you are working on a brief for a case in the 7th circuit and you cant find your copy of the bluebook, consider yourself in luck.
Apr 03, 2016 judge posner laid out his critique of the bluebook in greater detail in this yale law journal article. Sep 09, 2015 eight provocative passages from judge richard posners new book. December 15, 2017 im not a typical federal judge, richard posner says in his new book the federal judiciary, which seems designed to affirm that claim released in august, this tome shouldnt be confused with his selfpublished reforming the federal judiciary, released in september. Richard posner is my new hero the baseline scenario. The creativity in citation form encouraged by the maroon book is much like creativity in spelling or grammar. Posner said he realized that people without lawyers are mistreated by the legal system, and he wanted to do something. Eight provocative passages from judge richard posners new. The provocative life of judge richard posner the new york times. Judge posner criticizes the bluebook the most popular. Richard posner on the bluebook the volokh conspiracy.
In my view, however, he was a little too generous to the bluebook when he compared it to the. In promoting his remedy of choice, however, judge posner is selling the bathwater with the baby. Judge posner is one of the founding fathers of bluebook abolitionism, having advocated it for almost twentyfive years, ever since his 1986 university of chicago legal forum correction. For additional discussion and funny excerpts, see paul horwitz, ilya. Love him or hate him, there is no disputing that judge richard a.
An exit interview with richard posner, judicial provocateur. Mar 29, 2016 all copies of the bluebook should be burned, seventh circuit judge richard a. Goodbye to the bluebook chicago unbound university of chicago. In this article i did have a version of a footnote on footnotes see footnote 3 of the article which i subsequently expanded and revised and included in earlier versions of my federal tax procedure book, but when the. Sep 06, 2017 the 9 lives of richard posner the following blog post was coauthored by r street senior fellow ian adams. Announcing the fourth yale law journal forum student essay competition. Back in 1986, esteemed court of appeals judge richard a. Judge posner and the bluebook blues a library with a view. The latter has generated controversy because it includes documents internal to the. The 9 lives of richard posner the following blog post was coauthored by r street senior fellow ian adams. Judge richard posners latest book, reflections on judging, is a wideranging critique of the united states. Judge posner recently and famously, as his article went viral as much as one can among the online legal community criticized the bluebook as a monstrous growth, remote from the functional need for legal citation forms, that serves. Judge posner, the blue book, and arkansas citation resources. Though his article criticizes many aspects of the blue book its size, for example, he is particularly critical of its system of.
The chicagobased federal appeals judge hasnt even read it in. Oct 09, 2016 posner was born in new york city in 1939 to parents who were communists, or at least fellow travelers. I followed up with judge posner and asked how his stepping down would advance the cause of pro. Posner has just published another bookor, perhaps more accurately, another pretense of a book, with a grand. And both of them might consider whether its a good time to.
A brief readers guide to richard posner the new york times. Posner is right that the bluebook has become a monstrous growth and that bluebooking involves an expenditure of time that would be. A uniform system of citation exemplifies hypertrophy in the anthropological. The world is complex, richard posner observes in his most recent book, reflections on judging. Posners recent critique the bluebook blues1 of the maddening hypertrophy of the bluebook is surely a refreshing voice of sanity for the multitudes of law students and legal professionals who have had. The provocative life of judge richard posner the new. Posner on free speech, on national security, on roe v. Sep 07, 2017 judge posner is famously candid, so dont expect him to go easy on excolleagues he disagrees with. Posner was born in new york city in 1939 to parents who were communists, or at least fellow travelers. Posners recent critique the bluebook blues of the maddening hypertrophy of the bluebook is surely a refreshing voice of sanity for the.
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