Comments on: Judge: lawyers’ acts of misbehavior “make me feel like a school marm scolding little boys”

By: Bronwyn

Bronwyn — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 15:43:56 +0000

@ Le Mur
A Magistrate Judge’s ability to understand, apply and communicate the law is not adequately measured by her grasp of the finer points of grammar. The excerpt above indicates that Judge Leen is well versed in the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and is capable of expressing her dissatisfaction with the manner in which those rules are applied by counsel in her courtroom.

Your assumption that perfect grammar, while a laudable goal, is also an essential qualification for an arbiter of justice indicates that you are not qualified to pass judgment on the legal system.

By: doug

doug — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 01:28:22 +0000

I think I see your point.

By: Samson Isberg

Samson Isberg — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:44:48 +0000

The way she has written it – “If I was an elementary school teacher” – the meaning is that she actually could be one, but that she isn’t quite sure. (Like in “If I was rude to you yesterday” (which I don’t think I was, but you never know))

Clearly, she ought to know that she isn’t, never has been, and that she is a judge. So the sentence should be “If I were an elementary school teacher” – that’s the subjunctive.

By: Doug

Doug — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 15:03:09 +0000

No, I think the subject/verb agreement is correct.

By: Le Mur

Le Mur — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 14:35:00 +0000

If I was an elementary school teacher…

Her poor grammar indicates that she’s not qualified.