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| Foreword | |
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| Preface | |
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| Poor Legal, Legislative, and Rule Drafting: The Problem and the Cure | |
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| The Causes of Poor Legal Drafting | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| How to Improve the Quality of Legal Drafting: The Relationship Between Style and Substance | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Setting the Stage | |
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| Finding Out What the Client Wants and Translating Those Desires Into a Legal Document | |
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| Collaborative Process | |
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| Drafter as Architect, Builder, and Journalist | |
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| Know the Law | |
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| Know the Audience | |
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| Determine the Goals of the Client | |
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| Prepare a Plan | |
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| First Draft and its Revisions | |
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| Show the Draft to Colleagues | |
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| The Final Draft | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Use of Forms | |
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| Forms in General | |
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| A Warning | |
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| What is Wrong With Forms | |
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| How to Use Forms | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Drafting Principles | |
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| Concentrate on the Who and the What | |
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| The Who-The Actor | |
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| Use the Singular | |
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| Identify the Actor | |
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| Use Articles as Modifiers | |
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| Use "A" or "An" Rather than "Any," "Each," "Every," or "No" | |
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| Use "The" Rather than "Such" or "Said" | |
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| Limit the Use of Pronouns | |
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| List or Characterize Multiple Actors | |
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| Save the Negative for the Action | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| The What-The Action and Object or Complement | |
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| The Action | |
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| Use Active Voice | |
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| Use Base Verbs | |
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| Use the Present Tense and the Indicative Mood | |
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| Use "Shall" Only to Impose a Duty to Act | |
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| Use "May" to Grant Discretion or Authority to Act | |
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| Use "May Not" to Prohibit an Action | |
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| Use the Positive Rather than the Negative | |
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| Use Tabulation for Multiple Actions | |
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| The Object of the Verb or the Complement of the Actor | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| General Rules | |
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| Use Only Necessary Words | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Identify Working Words and Glue Words | |
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| Avoid Compound Constructions or Expressions | |
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| Avoid Redundant Legal Phrases | |
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| Use Common Words | |
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| Avoid Lawyerisms (Legalese) | |
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| Be Consistent | |
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| Use Short Sentences | |
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| Arrange Words Carefully | |
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| Tabulate to Simplify | |
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| Punctuate Properly | |
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| Definitions | |
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| Conditions, Exceptions, and Provisos | |
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| Conditions | |
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| Exceptions | |
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| Provisos | |
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| Penalty | |
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| Creation of an Agency, Entity, or Office | |
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| Cross References | |
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| Numbers, Dates, Time, and Age | |
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| Numbers | |
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| Dates | |
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| Time | |
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| Age | |
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| Capital Letters | |
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| Hyphens | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Ambiguity, Vagueness, and Generality | |
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| Importance of Understanding What They are and the Differences Between Them | |
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| Ambiguity | |
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| Confusing Ambiguity With Other Drafting Problems | |
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| Vagueness | |
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| Generality | |
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| Distinguishing Between Vagueness and Generality | |
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| Eliminating Ambiguity, Unintended Vagueness, and Over and Under Generality | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Distinctive Aspects of Drafting Legislation | |
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| The Legislative Process | |
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| Importance to Drafter | |
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| Sources of Proposed Legislation | |
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| The Legislative Process | |
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| A Diagram of the Formal Legislative Process | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Legislative Drafting Process | |
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| Most Difficult Form of Drafting | |
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| Know the Policy Objective of the Client | |
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| Understand the Political Nature of the Task | |
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| More Than a Scribe | |
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| Deliberate Vagueness and Generality | |
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| Time Pressure | |
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| Placement of the Legislation | |
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| Use of Model Legislation, Previously Introduced Bills, and Other Enactments as Drafting "Forms" | |
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| Prepare a Plan, First Draft, and Revisions | |
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| Use a Checklist, and Write and Annotate a Digest of the Proposal | |
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| Show the Draft to Colleagues, Revise Draft, Prepare Final Draft | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Statutory Construction | |
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| The Definition of Statutory Construction | |
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| Relationship Between Statutory Construction and Legislative Drafting | |
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| The Purpose of Statutory Construction | |
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| Approaches to Statutory Construction | |
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| Internal Aids to Construction | |
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| When the Courts Use External Sources | |
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| External Sources | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Organization and Subdivision of a Bill | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Arrangement | |
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| Identifying Prefix and Number | |
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| Federal | |
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| State | |
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| Designation | |
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| Title | |
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| Enacting Clause | |
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| Short Title | |
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| Statement of Purpose, Policy, or Findings | |
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| Section that Adds, Amends, Repeals, Reenacts | |
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| Repeal Section | |
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| Substantive Provision | |
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| Emergency or Urgency Clause | |
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| Severability Section | |
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| Saving Section | |
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| Temporary or Implementing Provisions | |
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| Effective Date | |
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| Organization of Substantive Provisions | |
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| Definitions | |
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| Public | |
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| Administration | |
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| Sanction or Remedy | |
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| System of Subdivision | |
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| Formal Requirements and Limitations | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Federal | |
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| State | |
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| Designation | |
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| Title | |
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| Enacting Clause | |
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| Single Subject | |
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| Text of Amended Statute | |
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| Other Restrictions on Content | |
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| Local Legislation | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Distinctive Aspects of Drafting Administrative and Court Rules | |
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| Administrative Rules | |
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| Introduction | |
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| Types of Rules and Rulemaking | |
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| Initiating the Rulemaking Process | |
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| Procedural Requirements for Informal Rulemaking | |
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| Federal APA Requirements | |
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| Exceptions From APA Procedural Requirements | |
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| Delegation and Discretion | |
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| Rulemaking by Guidance and Policy | |
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| Executive and Legislative Checks on Rulemaking | |
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| Executive | |
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| Federal | |
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| State | |
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| Legislative | |
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| Federal | |
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| State | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Court Rules | |
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| Subject Areas | |
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| Authority | |
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| Process | |
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| Endnotes | |
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| Drafting Examples | |
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| Index | |