Although we’ve had this same issue TWICE with a television station before, I’m sharing a new Grammar Giggle. This one came from my son, who made me so proud that he knew the difference between “peak” and “peek.” One more time, peak is the top (as in a mountain), peek is to glance quickly or furtively, and pique is resentment or to offend. I’m not aware of any sneak top or sneak resentment, but they are talking about getting a sneaky quick glance at an upcoming show–like a sneak peek!
This one showed up on a Facebook post from George Takei and I couldn’t resist. #proofthatblog #grammargiggles
It’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use the Ask PTB tab on the website or send an email to [email protected] and they may appear here soon!
This week’s words are:
rain – falling water.
The rain was pouring down.
rein – (n.) part of a bridle; (v.) to check; to stop.
It was time to rein in the committee members who had launched off onto a different topic.
reign – (n.) the term of a ruler’s power; a period during which power is exercised; (v.) to rule.
The reign of the chapter president is over.
Some hints to help remember are that to stop something–like a horse–is to rein them in (like the horse’s rein) while reign looks pretty royal to me with the silent “g.”
I saw this pop up on the register as I was checking out of the grocery store recently. We’re in Arizona where jalapenos are practically in every meal (at least at my house). It would be nice to spell it correctly. #proofthatblog #grammargiggles #frysmarketplace
I received an mail about a product I purchased from Amazon. The email was not from Amazon but from the person selling through Amazon.
My local news station is keeping me in more material. If Jamie Lee Curtis was some kind of bit actress or had a really difficult name, it just might be understandable that they misspelled her name–but she’s not and it’s not. There is just no excuse.
It’s time for “Confusing Words of the Week” where I take a set of two or three words that get confused and give you definitions and try to give you a memory trick to help you remember when to use which word. If you have words that confuse you, use the Ask PTB tab on the website or send an email to [email protected] and they may appear here soon!
This week’s words are:
Interstate – Between states
Intrastate – Within one state
Intestate – Dying without a will
TIPS:
Interstate is between states, so you are entering (inter) different states as you travel through, while intrAstate is in the same state so you’re not entering other states, you are staying “In” the sAme state. Intestate means that it is going INto probate because there is no will.
This was in my spam. None of it makes any sense to me, but the heading made me laugh. I know there are others in the body of the email, but I don’t have enough time or patience to try to figure it out, so we’ll go with the heading.
A friend sent this to me and I mean no disrespect to Chester Bennington, but this is a pretty glaring error. He was born in 1976. This is an instance where transposition is inexcusable. Didn’t someone actually look at it before it was sent out?
A reader used the Ask PTB page and asked “I’ve heard that the proper title for an amicus curiae brief is: ‘Brief Amicus Curiae for the Better Business Bureau’ (rather than ‘Amicus Curiae Brief for the Better Business Bureau’). Is that correct?”
In researching the issue, I assumed the question was about filing an amicus curiae brief in the United States Supreme Court. The short answer is that there is no standard.
Rule 37 of the Rules of Supreme Court of United States (“Supreme Court Rules”) sets forth the requirements for an amicus curiae brief to the U.S Supreme Court but doesn’t mention special requirements for naming the brief.
Here are examples of some of the titles of amicus curiae briefs I found:
There was mention that the requirements for the cover page of a Supreme Court brief are covered in Rule 34.1 of the Supreme Court Rules and it does apply to amicus curiae briefs. Those rules set forth that the cover page must specify whom the brief supports (e.g., the Brief of the Better Business Bureau as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioner).
The American Bar Association has a Template for USSC Amicus Brief – No Motion on its website at https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publishing/preview/publiced_preview_briefs_pdfs_07_08_07_588_PetitionerAmCupacificlegal.authcheckdam.pdf. That template lists the title of the brief as “Brief Amicus Curiae of Pacific Legal Foundation in Support of Petitioners.”
On the National Association of Attorneys General website in an article entitled “U.S. Supreme Court Brief Writing Style Guide” (http://www.naag.org/publications/nagtri-journal/volume-1-number-2/u.s.-supreme-court-brief-writing-style-guide.php), the author indicates:
Multi-state amicus briefs are a bit trickier to name. Some begin, “Brief of [or for] the States of _____ as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioner [Respondent].” Others begin, “Brief of Amici Curiae States of _____ in Support of Petitioner [Respondent].” (The difference, for those of you who haven’t had your coffee yet, is the placement of the words “Amici Curiae.”) Either way is fine. Also, some multi-state amicus briefs list on the cover page the names of all the states that join the brief; others list only the name of the lead state, followed by the number of additional states that join (e.g., “Brief of Amici Curiae State of Michigan and 19 Other States in Support of Respondents”). Again, either way is fine, though I’m partial to the former approach.
So it appears to me that there is no specific requirement for how an amicus curiae brief is titled EXCEPT that it must specify the name of the amicus curiae parties and whom the brief supports.
I also contacted Cockle Legal Briefs (cocklelegalbriefs.com) which helps firms with U.S. Supreme Court and federal circuit court briefs to inquire as to their requirements for naming an amicus brief. They responded quickly and said that they didn’t believe that there is a required way to title the cover of an amicus brief. They attached samples for me that listed the amicus parties as:
They said that basically, the amicus party for whom you are writing the brief needs to be mentioned and whether that party supports the petitioner or respondent.
The long answer to the question is that either of the examples the reader gave in their question is correct. Each state’s appellate rules should set out any specific requirements for amicus curiae briefs, so if you are looking for information on filing such a brief in a specific state or federal court, check those specific court rules for their requirements.
If you have a question for Proof That Blog, click the Ask PTB tab on proofthatblog.com and we’ll find an answer for you.
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