Lawtalk : the unknown stories behind familiar legal expressions / James E. Clapp [and others].
2011
KF156 .L39 2011 (Map It)
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Details
Title
Lawtalk : the unknown stories behind familiar legal expressions / James E. Clapp [and others].
Published
New Haven : Yale University Press, [2011]
Copyright
©2011
Call Number
KF156 .L39 2011
ISBN
9780300172461 (hbk. : alk. paper)
030017246X (hbk. : alk. paper)
030017246X (hbk. : alk. paper)
Description
xvii, 348 pages : illustrations, map ; 25 cm.
System Control No.
(OCoLC)711045617
Summary
"Law-related words and phrases abound in our everyday language, often without our being aware of their origins or their particular legal significance: boilerplate, jailbait, pound of flesh, rainmaker, the third degree. This insightful and entertaining book reveals the unknown stories behind familiar legal expressions that come from sources as diverse as Shakespeare, vaudeville, and Dr. Seuss. Separate entries for each expression follow no prescribed formula but instead focus on the most interesting, enlightening, and surprising aspects of the words and their evolution. Popular myths and misunderstandings are explored and exploded, and the entries are augmented with historical images and humorous sidebars. Lively and unexpected, Lawtalk will draw a diverse array of readers with its abundance of linguistic, legal, historical, and cultural information. Those readers should be forewarned: upon finishing one entry, there is an irresistible temptation to turn to another, and yet another ."-- Provided by publisher.
"A lively look at the history and meanings of today's legal expressions" -- Provided by publisher.
"A lively look at the history and meanings of today's legal expressions" -- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography, etc. Note
Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-338) and index.
Record Appears in
Gift
Purchased from the income of the Edith L. Fisch Fund
Added Author
Gift

The Arthur W. Diamond Law Library
Purchased from the income of the Edith L. Fisch Fund
Table of Contents
Preface
ix
Note on Quotations and Sources
xiii
Acknowledgments
xv
Lawtalk
Abuse Excuse
1
Affirmative Action
5
Age Of Consent
8
Sidebar: Just Knitting
9
Aid And Abet (And The Like)
12
Sidebar: I Give You That Orange
14
Attorney General
18
Attorney Vs. Lawyer
21
Badge Of Slavery
23
Billable Hour
27
Sidebar: No Rest for the Weary
30
Black Letter Law
31
Sidebar: Blowing the Dust off the Black Letter Books
35
Blackmail
36
Blood Money
39
Blue Laws
43
Blue Wall Of Silence
48
Boilerplate
52
Chancellor's foot
54
Charter Party
58
Chinese Wall
59
Color-Blind
62
Comstockery
64
Sidebar: Shaw and Comstock
66
Corpus Delicti
71
Sidebar: Expecting the Unexpected
73
CSI effect
74
Cut The Baby In Half
76
Day In Court
80
Death And Taxes
83
Death Tax
85
Deep Pocket
89
Deliberate Speed
93
Electoral College
98
Eye For An Eye
103
Fishing Expedition
106
Grand Jury
109
Green Card
112
Hanged For A Sheep
117
Sidebar: Baron Alderson's Remark
120
Hearsay
121
Hornbook Law
125
Hue And Cry
129
Indenture
132
Indict A Ham Sandwich
136
Jailbait
140
Jim Crow
141
Kangaroo Court
143
Kill All The Lawyers
148
Sidebar: Dying Wish
149
The Law Is A Ass
153
Lawyers, Guns, And Money
157
Make A Federal Case Out Of It
160
Sidebar: Salt Seller
163
One-Bite Rule
165
One Person, One Vote
168
Oyez
175
Paper Chase
178
Penumbra
180
Philadelphia lawyer
182
Sidebar: When You Really Need a Good Lawyer ...
183
Pierce The Corporate Veil
185
Sidebar: Corporate Entity
188
Play The Race Card
190
Politically Correct
193
Posse
197
Pound Of Flesh
202
Rainmaker
205
Rap
208
Rap Sheet
211
Read The Riot Act
214
Sidebar: Reading the Riot Act to a Rainmaker
216
Rico
216
Rule Of Thumb
219
Sidebar: Too Serious for God
223
Scofflaw
225
Separate But Equal
230
Shadow Of The Law
234
Shyster
236
Sidebar: Standard Operating Procedure
241
Star Chamber
242
Testify
250
Thin Blue Line
253
Thinking Like A Lawyer
258
Sidebar: The Legal Mind
261
Third Degree
262
Three-Fifths Rule
268
Versus
272
Wall Of Separation
276
Wet Foot, Dry Foot
281
White Shoe
285
The Whole Truth
288
Sidebar: Not a Scholar
292
Notes
295
Index
339