"Top Ten Things Not to Include in Your Bar Exam Essay,"
from The Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party. My favorites:
1. God's law (hereinafter "GL") is clear on the following point...
2. 3 generations of imbeciles is enough ...
9. While the defendant may have escaped punishment on Earth, he will get his just deserts in the afterlife....
Thanks to Jesse Walker for the pointer.
UPDATE: My favorite proposal for #11, from TaxLawyer:
One struggles in vain for any verbal formula that will supply a ready touchstone. The standard set up by the statute is not a rule of law; it is rather a way of life. Life in all its fullness must supply the answer to the riddle.Cardozo could get away with it. The rest of us, not so much.