John M. Butler, the partner of Senator McDonald, and one of the best
lawyers the Central Western states ever produced, was so careful of
pleadings and briefs that he would not endure a blurred or broken
letter, and bad punctuation was a source of real irritation to him.
Many times have I, as his clerk, required his printer to take out an
indistinct letter. It was Mr. Butler's ideal to achieve perfection as
nearly as possible.
The most perfect legal argument I ever heard occupied less than an
hour. Not a word was wasted. Not a single digression weakened the
force of the reasoning. Not a decision was read from. It was assumed
that the learned judges before whom the cause was being heard knew
something of the law and the decisions themselves.
You see the same thing in its highest form in Marshall's decisions. I
once advised a class of law students to commit to memory half a dozen
of Marshall's greatest opinions. After years of reflection I think I
shall stand by that advice.
In making an argument before a court or jury, remember that the most
important thing is the statement of your case. A case properly stated
is a case nearly won. Beware of digression.
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