ce their size, this Despite is no small matter— misplaced commas can result in litigation. 9D Fall 1995 Comma ABUSE: A Comma CAN CAUsE TROUBLE BY ITs ABSENCE, ITS PRESENCE, ITs INCORRECT PLACEMENT BY JACQUELYN H. SLOTKIN Profiser Jacquelyn H. Sockin is Codirstor ofthe Legal Skil program at Califrmia Weern School of Law in Sen Diego, California. She recived « PhD. in Educational Adnisration fom the University of Arizona and aD. fom the University of San Diego ‘School of Law. She has taught high school and college English compotion: has erainedsnadent teachers of English: and bas taught legal research, legal writing. and appellate advacacy at CWSL for hepa even year Introduction “Those of us who have been legal writing professors for many years have our special grammar peeves, My codirector ofthe Legal Skills program becomes annoyed with the overuse of rominalizations.' Another legal writing inetuctor becomes agitated when she sees che itn contracron/postessve pronoun spelling ertos* And yet another instructor becomes irritated with the lveruse ofthe adverb cleat. when, infact, nothing inthe law isso clear. This arc is aboue my ttigger—eomma’ abuse commas strewn about the text of student memos and brief. My purpose is ‘swofol: ist, co explain andro illustrate the rules commonly “abused” by student writers: and second, te describe materials that can be effectively used to help students avoid chese problems. ‘Comma Abuse and the Law Punctuation affects the meaning of sentences® and clarity is an especially important concep for Tawyers-in-training and lawyers in practice. Despite their sie, this is no small mateer—misplaced ‘commas oe result in litigation! Comma-induced ambiguities have been serious enough to require the use of courts co interpret statutes, pleadings, contracs? waiver forms read to an accuse rade agreements? and wills” Most punctuation marks have highly specialized functions, which, once learned and understood, make those marks easy to use. The comma, however, has the most complex uses and is che most common (and the most abused) punccuation mack! Correct Comma Usage “The comma i used to make the internal seneture of the sentence lea. It does this in thece ways: () by separating elements that might otherwise be ambiguous, confusing, and/or awkward: (2) by setsing off interrupting constructions; and (3) by sein off an introductory phrase or adverbial clause preceding the main cause!" Each of these uses cof the comma is illustrated inthe following ‘examples [To avoid confusion, throughout this article “correct” examples ae bolded and “incorrect” examples are italicized] " Anominaiaion the proces of wing ads, tcc wt ata saad Linger Lie oleate ‘Though gma comet, wing onlin an rout in sory and config comsraction, Force nlnatons snd (Sampler Mary 8 Ray 8 J]. Ramil Loa Wei (Ging Rg and Geng Wren 111 (0987) and Rad Wyk, Mate Engh fr Leip 23.25 Sed, 193), 2 Se Ray & Rane met 192 Berets reread eee i See! The Disney of Car ry 193 (988. ‘Ror daonson ofthe ection of punches Weick, pre not 207780 6 Se Helene S Shao cal, Wri and nab oe Lae 153 2d, 1990), Daring a WESTLAW serch, ered 180. ‘Elral cnesand 326 se cain which commas needed Ij the sure Commas affected de neperion of neehing om uc towne of cree of ep 7 Se eg Fel United tz, 16CL Ce 700,722 (1989, hich concerned a aon y profil hokey player focta refunds The core mold nor permite puncnion oe een! eer 8 Sg, Eman». Dachuorth #43 F24 1554, 1965 (i (Ce 1960), wtih diced te rong eed oman plrcnent is ae a reece ae 9 Sieg Ef Parmele Co. United Ste 676813 (Cate Ce. 1952) seme in which ea ‘econ othe Taff Ac 193, which comes were Site. ele om he ade prement only venees led by meas kot neo fckel nal Fie 10 ogy Stu Pawel, 192 2475, 80 (D.C. Cie 1950) in which consi wll id nox appea to hve Been iether By an atboriaive person in he ao pnerton 1 James M: McCrinenon, Whig wi «Papa 429-498 (dod. 1967), Bd a9,+ The most important use ofthe comma isto prevent ambiguity.” EXAMPLE .. Is the following statement ta oF shout Ms. Jones? ‘Ms Jone ou client as been injured in a sccident. Ie should be punctuated ciher: ‘MGs. Jones, our cient has been injured in an accident [ifthe starement is directed to Ms Jones) oR ‘Ms, Jones, our client, has been injured in an accident [ifthe stacement is about Ms, Jones] ExaMris ... Here's another problem child When the attorney had finished arguing the case suas set for ei, “To indicate “the case" was nor the objec of “arguing,” the sentence should be punctuated as follows: ‘When the attorneys had finished arguing, the case was set for tial To avoid confusion, commas ae also needed before the shorter coordinating conjunction (and, but, of for, nor, ye, s0) in a compound sentence (to independent clauses); Brween elements ina series; berween elements in dates eg, July 28, 1995), addresses, and geographical place names; and for other miscellaneous uss, eg, after closings and after informal salutations in lewers, within large numerals (¢,, 1,000,000), to separate direct ‘quotations, and after the name and before the title (4, Sara Jones, M-D,). Using commas correctly in these situations will promote carry and prevent ambiguity ‘+ Use a comma to set off incerrupting words, phrases, and clauses, Intersupters are any constructions that ‘come besween a subject and verb, verb and object, ‘or any two elements not normally separated in a xan ‘The defendant stated, in spite of evidence t9 ‘the contrary that the light atthe intersection ‘was green, BxaMru nonrestrictive clause—a clause cha gives information that is not esential ro the sentence {iF the clause or phrase were eliminated, the _meaning of the sentence would not change). ‘The plaintif’s brother, who used to bea ‘crossing guard in high school, was an ‘eyewitness to the accident atthe intersection. Use commas around a EXAMPLE... However, ifthe cause is restrictive —necesay to the meaning ofthe sentence—do not use commas. ‘The defendant's belief that the light a che intersection was red was contrary to ‘eyewitness evidence, That’ always introduces restictive modifiers ‘which’ and ‘who’ can be restrictive or nnonrestritive; which’ cannot eer co persons."* ‘Also use s comma to separate an appositve (a word or phrase that is grammatically equivalent to the ‘noun or pronoun it identifies, eg, George Davis, the plaintiff and appellanc in this mater.) £9 sex off nouns of address (With all due respect, your hhonor,..); and to ser off conjunctive adverbs (eg. therefore, however) + Commas are necessary after an introductory phrase ‘or dependent clause and before the main clause Beane ‘Dissatisfied with the court's ung the defendants attorney fed an appea A comma aftr “ruling” follows the conventional rule and makes the sentence clearer. Dissatisfied with the cour’s ruling, the defendant's attorney filed an appeal. Exaa ris... The comma may be omitted ifthe {introductory phrase is short, and eliminating the comma causes no confusion, In 1994 the judge ruled in his favor ‘Too many commas can be more annoying than too few. Do not use a comma: (1) ro set off a restrictive clause (se the example above); (2) before the coordinating conjunction (usualy “and”) forming a ‘compound subject, compound verb, or compound object (3) oF to excess. Do not bea slave to these rules—sometimes correct usage results in a choppy sentence; however, you should punctuate with eare and follow the general rules of English usage. T3430, Sain, Mary Ray 8 Batbra Cox, ion the Bei 3940 (1991), Corand Ray sre cert puscution or ‘Gy and eal. Abiguospuncanon inst can teak is meaning under Corand Rays ample the Hobbs ‘elms bow the miu of pucttion can once he mening of sate See MeCtinmon, prs note Ly at 432 15 Shap ea, ap note 6, 285; Sr a Ad une of arin S833. Sapp 8163, 1908.18 (Disc 1999, (Gaon arene create Vi PERSPECTIVES cc commas can Too many be more annoying than too few. ID Fall 1995Fall 1995 The Best Teaching Sources “There are excellent sources for review of punctuation and grammar rules. The bible, and required reading for my first-year legal research and vwricing student, is Richard Wydick's Plain Englis ‘for Lauyers” Its newly published third edition includes a chapter on grammar with an excellent review ofthe comma rules." My favorite reference handbook for lw students, ated highly recommended” on my syllabus, is Legel Writing Gearing It Right and Gerting Ir Wrizen, by Ray 8 Ramafield.” This text, to, hasan excellent, suecinet section on the use of commas." Another required ‘ext for out legal esearch and writing students is Shapo, Walter, and Fajans, Writing and Anabssin the Law! Appendix A reviews grammar and punctuation rules ‘As legal writing profesor, although I do not believe ic is my job ro teach basic grammar and punctuation Ido review, in class, the most abused punctuation and grammar rules, with examples, after reading students’ frse memos. I focus on the specific problems I see every semester: using 4 comma before ‘shorter coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence, not before the “and” separating compound verbs: using commas to set off noncestrictive and parenthetical elements, not restrictive phrases and clauses; using a comma fier an intcoductory dependent clause; using commas to separate geographical place names and dates; and using commas to separate items ina series. Many law students do know basic grammar and punctuation rules, and some students have challenged my placement of commas in thee papers before the serial comma, the comma before the conjunction ina series. Though this s one comma ‘that as seen rule revisions through the decades (and TTve been ar this for decades), various sources give varying rules. The general consensus this year isto separate the cements ofa series with commas, but the comma before che conjunction joining the lst clement is optional. Wyeick suggests omitting the ‘comma before the conjunction in series when the series is simple and commonly used (eg, The American flag is red, white and blue.) However fa ‘sentence contains a series of three or more items joined by a conjunction, pur commas afer each it including before the “and in th serie." Most grammar and usage texts encourage the comma’s use because a comma before the conjunction connecting the last clement clarifies the numberof elements you Ihave ina series and theie precise division William Safie in his New York Times columo, *On Language,” asked when the Clinton administration is going to adope a comma policy. He suggests that by simply doing away with the serial comma, “the government could save space, time, and 12 billion commas. ...°? He believes the time is tipe fora comma cap. Pedagogicaly, I believe i is our role as legal teseatch and writing profesors ro teach foundational skills ehat include panceuation and grammar review as necessary. Writing can and does improve with review ofthe basics. Punctuation is a useful ad ro interpreting the meaning of written language. ‘Correct use of commas makes the reader's job easier, makes sentences clearer, and may affect meaning— and writers could avoid the placement ofthat nillion-dollar comma T Whee ape 18 1dr 82-87, Chops 9 conc wih conecehe pancuton exces "9 ay & Rami, pre not 1 you haven rvewed this exclen text and sone of my frei for gadaning law dee) ies dew eeene rll neers rma iswerfendy—an alpen of gam and pancsion rene echnical qos (eg, wheter to ke fro mp). Inprovesen for age-ae marr sch ogaiaion nd tone—pbemsal wre fice. Force fy ning Fur out ow to puncte ia you can lac under LISTS, STRUCTURE OF, SEMICOLONS, or COMMAS. id O45, 2 Spo eta, ape noe 6 2 ida 283294. Appendix Ano only stats the es or comma, semicolon enon bd apostrophe sec, BUTE ‘sample foreach ule and exes free 2 Wd, mpnenoe 1,385. 2 fa 04, Thispoberon, Papin ins ath SS ee ee eee SommaWhen a conjncian ne he ro came See 2 Se Shap cea, pra ste 6,2 285. 26 liam Sat, On Langan, NY. Tne. Set 26 1998, $6216 Tid 28 Thre rly ea ae hat dcuer “mihon delle oouma’! Se United Staten Mol, 08 Sapp. 898,908 (D. NI 1985) Thecour apple the CERCLA (Carpehenie a a eee ary sarc, rien. the anus dat Congrenunerced ee pe a peepee ee eels Sry pease chon solo Rees asa Se ee eee eee eel eee USCS 96121) dh de respec fr ls of gamma and ee (© 1995 Jacque H, Sexi