Cardozo Theory
Benjamin Cardozo was a famous judge in the early part of last century, first in the highest court in New York and then in the Supreme Court. He wrote several landmark decisions, including Palsgraf v. Long Island Rail Road Co. and Jacob & Youngs v. Kent.
He is also infamous for writing obtuse, wordy opinions that are living hell to make sense of.
My Cardozo theory is that he was an above average judge with a strong sense of justice and fairness. However is was not the genius that many claim he was. Legal scholars (and law students) have hyper-analyzed Cardozo opinions, looking for meaning. Since these opinions are virtually indecipherable, meaning can easily be found…maybe not Cardozo’s meaning but the reader’s meaning that they project on Cardozo.
Not unlike some poetry, the further the writing is from plain language, the more likely that some will attribute more meaning to it than is really there. Analyses find way too much in Cardozo and give him credit for ideas beyond his text.
We’re taught in legal writing classes to NOT write in this style. The next day we spend two hours picking apart a Cardozo opinion.