In this case I think the attorney lost, but he had contacted me on the basis
of reading
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/BottomLine.htm (I think that's
the one), in which I say that IMO "double" spacing is too spacey for point
sizes above 10 pts, and that Exactly 24 points is the equivalent of double
spacing on a typewriter. If the rules for briefs had been created during the
typewriter era and not updated for the computer age, he might have gotten
away with maintaining that 24 points was effectively "double" spacing, but
in fact the regulations were quite new and specified the font size (no
smaller than 12 points IIRC) and spacing, though they did NOT specify the
font, and I did point out that using a different font could drastically
affect the amount of text in the number of pages specified as the maximum.
I also stated my (totally uncalled-for and unwelcome) opinion that it would
make a lot more sense for the court to specify a word or character limit
rather than a page limit (since both statistics are easily obtained in
today's word processing software). None of this cut any ice with the court,
alas.
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
"Joe McGuire" wrote in message
...
Wow. Talk about hyper-technical! I'm not totally sure I could make such
an argument with a straight face. In my experience the best briefs I have
seen have been, well, surprisingly brief. In my first real law job--as a
deputy attorney general, I proudly submitted a laboriously crafted draft
of a brief to oneof my mentors, himself the author of many successful
Supreme Court briefs. Thought I'd learn from a master. The result:
Fully a third of the brief disappeared! O the pain!.
"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
The courts can indeed be very sticky. I consulted on a case where a
plaintiff was suing on the basis that the defendant's brief was not as
brief as it should have been because the lawyers had used Exactly 24
points line spacing instead of Double.
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
"Joe McGuire" wrote in message
...
There are a number of ways. Editing, a/k/a pruning is the time-honored
way. As Shakespeare had Polonius remind us, "Brevity is the soul of
wit." Could that be the basis for the page limit? Presumably your prof
did not set that limit for purely selfish, if understandable, reasons,
like "they don't pay me enough to read more than 2 pages of student
prose."
You could also take the legalistic approach, toss away the spirit of the
requirement in favor of the letter. It's the Gotcha approach to higher
education. You might shrink the spacing between lines or even the
spacing between characters to create at least the appearance of brevity,
presuming his or her prescriptions were vague enough to allow wiggle
room. And maybe there is a way to argue that the 2 page requirement did
not so clearly specify that only one side of the page was to be used.
Narrower margins on all four sides of the paper could be the basis for a
free speech argument. After all, you worked very hard on all those
words, even the excess ones.
(Warning: Trying this on a hapless proff might be somewhat amusing.
Should your clever arguments get you through law school, trying to
sidestep a page limit with such shenanigans in a court of law could land
you in some serious trouble.)
"cdedrick" wrote in message
...
How do you shrink a document to make it fit? I have a 2 page paper due
and
it comes out to be 2.25 pages. Without reducing the font size is there
a
simple way to reduce the document to 2 pages?
Thanks