My mother was a French teacher, and after I made a “C” in my French class in the seventh grade, thus thoroughly embarrassing the family (well, only Momma was embarrassed, but she was embarrassed enough for the whole family),...more
At an evidence CLE at the South Carolina Bar Convention in Greenville this year, a judges’ panel discussed a hearsay issue, raising the issue of whether a witness’s out-ofcourt utterance—which was in the form of a...more
1. What is the correct spelling of the coronavirus that has shut down courts, schools, and businesses around the world for the past two years.
(A) Covid-19
(B) COVID-19
(C) Covid 19.
ANSWER (A) Covid-19 or (B) COVID-19....more
At one level, today’s dispute may seem semantic, focused on a single word, a small word at that. But words are how the law constrains power. – United States Supreme Court Justice Neil M. Gorsuch -
An article caused a...more
Three years have passed since the last “Dear Scrivener,” my personal legal writing and grammar advice column, and the Scrivener mail bag and inbox are over capacity. Actually, these days most questions come in by telephone or...more
Poor Juliet. If Romeo had only been named Romeo Brown or Romeo McGillicudy or anything but Romeo Montague, he could have married Juliet and lived happily ever after. Instead, well, you know what happened: poison and a dagger,...more
My history with shotguns is not good. I was a pre-teen the first time I ever picked up a shotgun. Daddy thought I should have a target practice lesson in our back yard, but the recoil from my first shot almost took off my...more
Professor Scrivener noticed that our South Carolina lawyers have not had a test for two years. That will never do. To make sure that your skills are still sharp, we will have a Fall Semester COVID-19 re-mote edition of the...more
The last Scrivener column covered some significant opinions that have made a lasting difference in South Carolina’s history. This column covers more decisions, all suggested by readers who have seen the effect of these...more
Legal writing takes many forms, including pleadings, motions, briefs, letters, and e-mails. At the top of the legal writing chain are the written opinions from our judges. Trying to winnow down the multitude of significant...more