The current Supreme Court has upended historic precedent on abortion protections and drawn scrutiny for ethics conflicts, while its docket remains packed with high-profile cases set to dominate headlines in the months ahead. Yet one of its lesser-known departures from the past lies in its approach to punctuation.

Jill Barton spent the first decade of her career working as a journalist, with the Associated Press Stylebook always at hand to determine word usage and punctuation choices. But when she became an attorney, she says, she realized that there was no single equivalent style guide when it came to legal writing

You think you read a lot? Try keeping up with Jill Barton, who spent five years analyzing 10,000-plus pages from Supreme Court opinions! Throughout her research, she discovered that Chief Justice John Roberts uses commas based on cadence, not on strict grammar guidance. And all the justices prefer shorter, simpler phrases.

Jill Barton's unbridled enthusiasm for writing and the law is evident . . . . And, there’s a clue to how a law professor and author has analyzed 10,000 pages of Supreme Court opinions, which ostensibly should be staid and academic, and revealed the astonishing news that the justices have a sense of humor. Jill Barton cuts through competing advice . . . .

University of Miami School of Law Professor and Award-Winning Journalist Jill Barton joins Rich and Tina to discuss her latest legal writing book, “The Supreme Guide to Writing.” Joining Barton: Former U.S. Pardon Attorney Margaret Love joins discusses Hunter Biden’s pardon. And Georgetown Law Professor David D. Cole discusses the SCOTUS transgender healthcare case.

Miami Law Professor Creates the Definitive Legal Writing Resource: Jill Barton explains how the justices use pop culture references and approachable language. They use the personal pronoun 'you' to speak directly to readers, making their writing more accessible and conversational. In many ways, they are effective storytellers, spinning tales to reach non-legal readers too.

Supreme Court Justices Disagree—on These Three Writing Tools: A legal writing professor's examination of U.S. Supreme Court decisions shows the justices usually achieve unanimity on most matters of style. But on three points—conjunctions, possessives and fragments—the justices divide. Many of the justices—especially Roberts and Kagan—take great care in turning a phrase.

The U.S. Supreme Court's writing style. has become more conversational recently, but does it matter? Jill Barton, professor and director of legal writing at the University of Miami School of Law, explores the changes. Jill Barton is the author of three books on legal writing. Her latest cuts through competing writing advice to detail rules for the modern writer.

Several Supreme Court and Court of Appeals cases have hinged over the use of words and punctuation, including one about the meaning of the word “and.” Jill Barton writes about how these cases impact how we write and legislate.

Supreme Grammar Splits: Prof. Barton looked at how the Justices use fragments, possessives, and conjunctions. . . . While the Justices didn't use fragments frequently, they often used them memorably (think "Pure applesauce.").

Jill Barton and Rachel H. Smith discuss adding mindfulness lessons to their teaches. They also talk about what differences they have noticed in student behavior post-pandemic as well as how they see ChatGPT fitting into their legal writing classes.

Taking a unique approach as a DIY instructional guide on the art and craft of writing, the book is essentially a complete, comprehensive, and thoroughly reader friendly in terms of content, organization and presentation.