By Chinua Asuzu
Let’s assign substantive descriptions to exhibits, grounds, issues, and witnesses.
Add substantive descriptions to procedural labels. Don’t merely refer to Exhibit XYZ, Ground 4, Issue 1, or PW5– name the exhibit, ground, issue, or witness. When you say Exhibit ABC or Issue 3, nobody knows immediately what you’re talking about. When you say PW2, no one can instantly tell whom you are referring to. Your reader must cross-reference to know what or whom you mean.
So say “the doctor’s report” for the exhibit, “the statute-bar question” for the issue, and “Dr Helen Kaine” for the witness. A ground (of appeal, for example) can be identified as “the statutory-interpretation ground” or “the misdirection ground.”
To stay in sync with others who don’t agree with this style (and for whom we have the utmost respect), or just to further communication, enclose the procedural label in parentheses: “the doctor’s report (Exhibit XYZ)”, “Dr Helen Kaine (PW2),” “the statute-bar question (Issue 1),” or “the misdirection ground (Ground 2).”
Never merely say Ground 1 or Issue 2—specify the kernel of the ground or issue. Assign to it a substantive description, not a code. We’re neither in the mafia nor in the secret service.
