Real-Life Communication
Judges do a lot of writing. One study says preparing decisions takes
up more of a judge's time than hearing cases or any other aspect of their
job.
Written rulings are important not only because they decide the
outcome of a case, but also because they will be used for future legal proceedings.
Appeals may be based on the ruling. Lawyers arguing other cases may cite the
decision in the future.
Judges say the best decisions are clear and
to the point, containing all the necessary information without being wordy
or too long.
You're the judge hearing a case involving a student's
right to have access to the Internet at school. The case is called Thomas
vs. the Public Schools.
You've heard the oral arguments from both sides.
The school says it must limit Internet access to protect students from finding
inappropriate material. The student says she must have open access to the
Internet in order to conduct her schoolwork.
Since this is a new field
of law, there aren't many cases on which you can base your ruling. You find
two, however, that offer some guidance: Smith vs. New Orleans Schools and
Gray vs. New York City Schools. In the Smith case, a court said students could
be prohibited from smoking on school grounds. In Gray, the rights of schools
to set certain dress code limits were affirmed.
You think it over and
side with the school. You feel the limited access provides enough freedom
for the student to find her information -- it's necessary to prevent the tool
from being abused by other students.
Remember that most decisions begin
with some kind of general statement about general subject matter, delve briefly
into the earlier case studies and then end with a clearly stated ruling. Try
to make your ruling about 300 words.