Supreme Court Justices frequently divide their opinions into parts, stncturing their decisions with Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals, and so on. This typographical convention, called here “outline-style formatting,” began to appear in the U.S. Reports in 1927 and has changed how the Justices create law. In this Note, Rudolph Delson presents a study of outline-style formatting in Supreme Court opinions. Delson suggests that stylistic concerns, such as the desire to make long opinions more approachable, drove the Court to adopt outline-style formatting. However, over time the Justices came to rely on outline-style formatting when they voted, joining in and dissenting from opinions on a part-by-part basis. Delson concludes that outline-style formatting is therefore no longer merely stylistic but now facilitates strategic behavior by the Justices.
LawReview
