A recent article in the Wall Street Journal, “Court Jesting: These Sentences Don’t Get Judged Too Harshly,” discussed a trend in judicial opinions – dare I say it, FUN!  Nathan Koppel reports that some judges attempt to use humor or references to pop-culture to lighten the tone.  Koppel provides examples from all levels of the judiciary, even Chief Justice Roberts of the United States Supreme Court.  In a 2008 opinion involving a drug case, Chief Justice Roberts wrote: “Office Sean Devlin, Narcotics Strike Force, was working the morning shift. Undercover surveillance. The neighborhood? Tough as a three-dollar steak.” 

Some, including Judge Alex Kozinski of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, find the sprinkling of levity in otherwise dry, dull writing to be perfectly acceptable.  Kozinski is known for not only writing well-reasoned and well-written opinions, but also for including references to pop-culture in his own writing.  However, some take a dim view of such bursts of wimsy, including Bryan Garner, author of The Elements of Legal Style.  Garner finds the use of “pop-judging” to be akin to “people in their 50s [who] talk like teenagers. It’s embarrasing.”

Whatever your opinion of the use of humor in judicial opinions, what about humor and levity in your own writing to the court? Either know your audience well (very, very well) or save it for your stand-up act or your next cocktail party.