Sept 20 (Reuters) - Ever wondered how Bryan Garner, the
editor-in-chief of "Black's Law Dictionary," decides to give a
thumbs-up or -down to particular words and phrases in successive
editions of the definitive guide? Garner, who also happens to be
Justice Antonin Scalia's co-author, sat down with me on Monday
for a videotaped discussion of these and other burning issues of
legal lexicography. In this clip at ReutersTV, the Southern
Methodist University law professor gamely agreed to play Stump
the Editor as I quizzed him on the meaning of legal terms he
added to the most recent edition of Black's, published in 2009.
Garner had no trouble defining the "sit and squirm" doctrine or
"Schumer's box," but he had to go back to the source on "happy
slapping." He also disclosed his favorite new phrase.
In a second clip, Garner talked about why lawyers are so
inclined to bloviate, a problem he called "endemic to our
profession." Those who "magnify the ratio of words to ideas," in
Garner's nifty turn of phrase, should beware: According to him,
they could be creating problems for their clients.
(Reporting By Alison Frankel)
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