Miscellaneous

The Supreme Court, Delivered 17 Syllables at a Time

By Robert Ambrogi

Minimalism may be the latest fad in Supreme Court reporting. Last year, Connecticut blogger Dan Schwartz issued a challenge to tweet a notable Supreme Court case in 140 characters or less. Now comes Supreme Court Haiku, delivering “the law of the land in seventeen syllables.”

At this site, you can find haiku about recent and historical cases and current and former justices, as well as about the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Here, for example, is how the site sums up Justice William Brennan in 17 syllables:

New Jersey native
Vocal death penalty foe
Liberal stalwart

And here is the 17-syllable take on Justice Antonin Scalia:

Professor, then judge
Shuns legislative intent
Originalist

Why use haiku to write about the Supreme Court? Well, the blog’s author, Keith Jaasma, answers that question, of course, with a haiku:

Some ask: Why haiku?
Why seventeen syllables?
No time for real blog

We can all relate to that.

David Giacalone, are you listening?

Full post as published by Lawsites on March 17, 2011 (boomark / email).