Feb. 2, 2026
February, the shortest month--in praise of the short judicial opinion
In an age of constant change and technological excess, judicial opinions--and our thinking more broadly--benefit from clarity, restraint and the enduring virtue of brevity.
Arthur Gilbert
Justice (ret.)
UC Berkeley School of Law, 1963
Arthur's previous columns are available on gilbertsubmits.blogspot.com.
We must accept that change is in the nature of things. That is why I often refer to my friend Heraclitus in my columns. He is the Greek philosopher who, centuries before Socrates, came on the scene and said, "All that endures is change." Even the dull-witted must acknowledge that change is pervasive. Not so long ago we had a democracy. And what about celebrities? They were once idolized through a fict...
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