Poetry of the Bench and Bar: Wills in Verse

Where there's a will, there's a way...with words. Today's featured poetry is a small collection of testamentary documents, carefully crafted expressions of the authors’ last wishes and bequests. Much like the lyrical legal opinions currently on exhibit in the Library lobby, these wills are some of the more eloquent and engaging legal statements on record.

Published in the 19th century as part of the Legal Recreations series, the wills featured in J. Greenbag Croke's 1884 Lyrics of the Law were authored by men for whom poetry was, at most, an avocation, yet the thoughtful and creative declarations expressed in this collection of wills are truly inspired.

For at least one author, that inspiration appears to have been less poetic than polemic. With a sharp tongue (at least partly in cheek), Lord William Ruffell, Esq. of Suffolk, England begins his last will and testament by disparaging those with whom he shared a profession.

The Will of William Ruffell, Esq. (1803)

I make this my last will, as I think ‘tis quite time,
It conveys all I wish, though ‘tis written in rhyme,
To employ an attorney I ne’er was inclin’d
They are pests to society, sharks of mankind.
To avoid that base tribe my own will I now draw,
May I ever escape coming under their paw.

This poem is just one of several wills set to rhyme, which are, in turn, only a sample of the various poetic forms that exist in legal verse. As the Library continues to celebrate National Poetry Month, we will share a new example of legal verse each Friday in April. 

 

Legal Writing Resources Month

April is Legal Writing Resource Month at the Harris County Law Library. Whether you are an attorney drafting a motion or a self-represented litigant navigating the court system, writing is a necessary component of your legal work. Visit the Law Library all month long to find resources on display that you can use to improve and enhance your legal writing skills. Resources include:

 

Latest and Greatest - – Legal Research in a Nutshell

By Morris L. Cohen & Kent C. Olson

Published by LEG d/b/a West Academic Publishing (12th Edition 2016)

KF 240 .C54 2016

Intimidated by the thought of having to research a legal issue? Not sure how or even where to begin?

Well, you’re not alone. Legal research is a lot more than simply entering some keywords into the search box of a Web browser. It requires an understanding of the research process itself as well as the types of resources commonly used to locate legal information. Legal Research in a Nutshell explains the legal research process and the forms and sources of legal information. You will become familiar with and learn how to locate case law, statutes and constitutions, legislative information, administrative law, and court rules and practice. There is also discussion of specialized and nonlegal resources, such as looseleaf services, legal newspapers, blogs, statistics, and legal directories. If your research is taking you global, don’t fret because the authors also address international law and the laws of other countries.

You can access some of the great features offered by this book on its companion Website through the library’s catalog. Simply click on the “earth” icon at the end of the catalog record under the Media heading and enjoy entering the world of legal research.

Register by April 8 for the HBA Will-A-Thon

Do you need assistance in preparing a will? If you live in Harris County and you are a low-income senior (60+ years of age), a veteran of any age, or a person with a disability, consider attending the Houston Bar Association Will-A-Thon. Sponsored by the HBA Elder Law Committee, this event is an excellent opportunity for you to meet with an attorney who can answer your legal questions regarding the preparation of your will. 

To ensure eligibility and to register for the event, call 713-228-0735 by this Friday, April 8. This is the last day to schedule an appointment. Those who qualify will attend the initial attorney consultation on April 13; documents will be executed on May 11. On both dates, the event will be held at the Tidwell Park and Community Center at 9720 Spaulding. Any questions can be answered by calling the Houston Volunteer Lawyers at 713-228-0735. 

Poetry of the Bench and Bar: The Calf-Path or Precedents

National Poetry Month begins today, and the Harris County Law Library is celebrating! Each Friday throughout the month of April, the Library will feature a poem or other legal verse here on Ex Libris Juris. With only five Fridays in the month, we can’t possibly represent the full range of creativity and expression of those lawyers, judges, and other “bards of the bar” who have bravely taken up the pen. Hopefully, the small sample of odes, elegies, ballads, haikus, limericks, and puns featured here will whet your appetite for more of this clever writing, examples of which are currently on display in the Library lobby.

Today’s poem, excerpted below, is “The Calf-Path.” This selection was written by Sam Walter Foss, a 19th century librarian and “newspaper poet” whose writing was a mixture of homespun wisdom and gentle moralizing. Written as a cautionary tale, “The Calf-Path” warns against the folly of blindly following an established rule or pattern. When applied to the law, this message takes on a new meaning, almost chiding those who follow legal precedent. Instead of treading the same worn calf-path, Foss, it seems, prefers “The Road Not Taken,” but without authority, custom, and precedent, the institution of law as we know it would collapse.

Within a system built on such strong tradition, the common law model seemingly leaves little room for creativity or innovation, but the armchair poets of the bench and bar would undoubtedly disagree. Examples of judicial humor, imagination, and eloquence are plentiful, and much has been written on the subject. Volume 1 (1926) of the Notre Dame Law Review featured an article called “Law and Poetry,” as did the Roger Williams University Law Review in 2006. Also in 2006, the Legal Studies Forum dedicated an entire issue to the subject, anthologizing the poetry of amateur writers trained in the discipline of law.

Judicial opinions written as poems have a rich tradition as well, along with the accompanying commentary on the appropriateness of using humor and creativity in this way. Widener University Commonwealth Law School published an article on “The Propriety of Poetry in Judicial Opinions” and, the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law addressed the debate in “Poetic Justice: An Interpretation of Lawyers’ Reactions to Verse Judgments.”  The jury may be out on whether or not poetic judicial opinions befit the court’s dignified and serious reputation, but the Law Library staff hopes you will agree that, during National Poetry Month, legal poetry in all forms is worth celebrating!

Precedents or The Calf-Path (excerpt)

S.W. Foss

One day through the primeval wood
A calf walked home as good calves should;
 
But made a trail all bent askew,
A crooked trail as all calves do.

Since then three hundred years have fled,
And I infer the calf is dead.

But still he left behind his trail,
And thereby hangs my moral tale.

Published as “Precedents” in Justice and the Law: An Anthology of Legal Poetry and Verse (on exhibit)