Judges and Judiciary,
Guide to Legal Writing
Apr. 7, 2025
April, not the 'cruellest' month
A reflection on the impact of change, forgotten contributions of influential jurists, and the importance of clarity in legal opinions, framed by a nostalgic look at California's legal history and personal anecdotes.
2nd Appellate District, Division 6
Arthur Gilbert
Presiding Justice
2nd District Court of Appeal, Division 6
UC Berkeley School of Law, 1963
Arthur's previous columns are available on gilbertsubmits.blogspot.com.
If T.S. Eliot lived in Altadena or Pacific Palisades on the Seventh of January, 2025, he would not have picked April to misspell "cruelest." Though the landscape in parts of these areas resembles the devastation occasioned by the First and Second World Wars, the comparison is inapt and unfair. Millions of people did not choke to death on mustard gas, nor were they incinerated by an atomic bomb.
Innumerable times in this column...
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