MOTIONS, AND OTHER LEGAL DOCUMENTS GILBERT R. HUFANA Professor Legal Writing II TYPOGRAPHY
• Good typography is part of good lawyering.
• Good typography reinforces the goals of the text. • Any lawyer can master the essentials of good typography. • Typography in legal documents should be held to the same standards as any professionally published material. • “It won’t make your arguments better, but it will ensure that judges grasp and retain your points with less struggle. That’s a valuable advantage, which you should seize.” TYPOGRAPHY
• The most important thing you need to understand
about typography is that it’s based on science, not on opinion, fashion, or taste. • For over a century, researchers have studied adult reading, learning what helps and what hinders word recognition and perception. • They’ve measured legibility by the time it takes people to read and understand words. • These studies show that good typography increases legibility and reading comprehension. WHITE SPACE
• White space is any area on the page where no words
appear. • It includes all four margins and the spaces around headings, block quotations, and similar material. • It also includes (if you put it there) the vertical space between paragraphs. • Experts agree that 50% is about right. • A letter-sized page with one-inch margins surrounding a solid block of text has 37% white space. Increase the side margins to 1.25 inches, and you’re up to 43% white space. FONTS
• Probably the most commonly used font or typeface in
legal writing is Times New Roman, usually the default font in MS Word. • While Times New Roman is acceptable for most legal writing, it’s not the best font you can use for briefs. • It was designed for newspapers, not for books. • Because briefs are more like books than like newspapers, it is advised to use fonts designed for books. • Fonts in this class include Century, Century Schoolbook, and probably any font with the word “book” in its name. JUSTIFICATION
• The choice here is between left justification and full
justification. • Though there’s some debate on the question, most experts prefer left justification. • Full justification often results in noticeable, distracting differences in spacing from one line to the next, as the computer tries to stretch each line to make it reach the right margin. • Left justification results in more natural spacing on each line, and “[t]he resulting ‘ragged right’ margin adds variety and interest to the page without interfering with legibility.” HEADINGS
• You want your headings to contrast with your text.
• To achieve that contrast, use a different-looking font. Use a serif font for text and a sans serif font for headings. • Arial (in bold) contrasts nicely with serif fonts like Times New Roman. For different levels of subheadings, alternate bold and italic lettering (e.g. bold, bold-italic, plain, italic). • If your text is left justified, then your headings should also be left justified, not centered. EMPHASIS
• Emulate the good writers. Never, never put anything
in all capital letters. • All capital text is difficult to read. • It repels readers who resent the extra effort it imposes and who don’t like being shouted at. • If you must make one word or phrase stand out, use italics or bold print. Don’t underline. Underlining decreases legibility by obscuring parts of letters that drop below the line (q, y, p, g, and j). EFFICIENT USE OF PAPER RULE A.M. NO. 11-9-4-SC
• The Supreme Court has issued the Efficient Use of Paper
Rule primarily to protect the environment. • The rule will maximize the use of every sheet of paper in rulings to be issued by the court and in the pleadings to be filed by parties. • The Court noted a need to cut the judicial system’s use of excessive quantities of costly paper, save our forests, avoid landslides, and mitigate the worsening effects of climate change that the world is experiencing. • The rule provided a standard style and format for pleading to be filed with the SC and the lower courts. FORMAT & STYLE SEC. 3, A.M. NO. 11-9-4-SC
All pleadings, motions, and similar papers intended
for the court and quasi-judicial body's consideration and action (court-bound papers) shall be written in: • single space; • one and-a-half space between paragraphs; • using 14-font size of any easily readable font style of the party's choice, and • on a13-inch by 8.5-inch white bond paper; MARGINS & PRINTS SEC. 4, A.M. NO. 11-9-4-SC
• The parties shall maintain the following margins on all
court-bound papers: • a left hand margin of 1.5 inches from the edge; • an upper margin of 1.2 inches from the edge; • a right hand margin of 1.0 inch from the edge; and • a lower margin of 1.0 inch from the edge. • Every page must be consecutively numbered.