Unlocking the Door
To unlock a door, there’s a single key––specifically cut, shaped, and contoured to fit an exact specification. All other conjectures and approximations, even if razor-thin close, will simply not work. Exerting additional force, pressing strongly back and forth, forcefully twisting and turning––a complete waste of time. Winning arguments, tailor made to fit the specific case, […]
Incremental Harm as a Basis of Product Liability
Product liability law imposes liability against manufacturers of “unreasonably” dangerous products. The danger inherent within a product can range from the manifest to the latent, from the direct to the indirect. Primary Risks. These are the obvious risks a product poses to a user. You can fall off a motorcycle, you can sustain a cut […]
Snap Judgments
We meet someone for the first time. We instinctively “assess” that person, a process that can take place in a second or two. General appearance, speech patterns, verbal fluency, presence of an accent, ethnicity, age, gender, body habitus, configuration of the hands, eyes, and face––that’s it, we’ve made our split-second assessment. We have a distinct […]
In Defense of Slow Reading
Reading, we are told, must be performed quickly and accurately. Our eyes must be trained to read fast. Our reading mind must not for a moment pause or linger. We are expected to be brisk and efficient, to work our way through as many pages in as little time as possible. While reading quickly surely […]
Empowering Rules
Institutions, such as hospitals or large corporations, publish rules to be followed by their staff. One reason such standards exist is to promote some degree of certainty and uniformity. Also, these rules are meant to conform behavior to a more optimal level which, were it not for the rule, might not be routinely practiced. All […]
Phrasing of the Common Phrase
Because they’re apt and come readily to mind, common phrases tend to be overused. We speak them naturally, instinctively, without first thinking. Consider two sets of phrases: “Don’t you dare” in relation to “Don’t you carry out that forbidden act.” And “Don’t you care” in relation to “Don’t you have an interest in my safety […]
Arguing Rules
Legal rules set forth certain requirements, but every rule is subject to interpretation and application to the specific facts of the case. Say you are seeking a ruling from a Court to depart slightly from the literal requirements of a rule. The rule says one thing, but you are urging some flexibility in the way […]
Always Advocating
I was in court recently and saw a lawyer and his client standing before a Judge. The Judge asked the lawyer’s client a question and the client gave an answer that was not to the lawyer’s liking. The lawyer, surprised at his client’s answer, appeared visibly upset and angry. The lawyer turned around and ostentatiously […]
Signet and Watermark
A signet is a formal seal, impress, or mark on an official document. It’s clearly visible. It can indicate the document to be original, authentic. A watermark is a pattern, figure, or design impressed on paper which can be seen only when held up to the light. It’s not clearly visible. But it too can […]
Emerson on Webster
“In a million you would single him out”—so wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson of Daniel Webster. Emerson admired Webster and wrote about him at length in his Journals. Emerson wrote that Webster was “[a] person of very commanding understanding with every talent for its adequate expression.” Emerson took note of Webster’s appearance, writing: “His external advantages […]
