Blacks Law Dictionary a hoax?
Robert Miller
out the truth. My guess is, this report is a hoax. And people wondered why
I used an 1865 version of Boviers Law
Dictionary
Robert
Is there any confirmation on this, it would explain a lot?
Black's Law Dictionary Revealed as Hoax
Montreal, PQ (Reuters) - Sarah Medhurst (nee Black) shocked journalists
and legal scholars at a press conference held at the Black family estate
Monday when she revealed that Black's Law Dictionary, a highly regarded
legal reference text, was originally written as a joke by her eccentric
great grandfather Henry Campbell Black.
Medhurst appeared unapologetic, suggesting that the Black family had never
tried very hard to keep it a secret. "Have any of you actually taken the
time to read it?" she asked, flipping open the renowned text.& nbsp; "Look
at page 840 for instance. 'John-a-Nokes'? Or how about page 347?
'Correality - the quality or state of being correal." She then cast a
challenging look around the room.
Medhurst admitted that the entire Black family has participated in the
century-long ruse, working together to generate content for the
ever-expanding text. She credits her Uncle Bertrand with developing one of
their most successful filler techniques: "We created more than 30 new
entries just by using the word 'actual'. Actual agency - see agency.
Actual allegiance - see allegiance. Actual authority - see authority. And
on and on - you get the idea."
Medhurst admits that the family started to get lazy in later editions, at
times resorting to stealing terms from other dictionaries. "I remember one
time my brother pulled 'Le Roi' (literally: "the king") right out of his
French-English dictionary to meet the deadline for the 5th edition while on
a three-week ski trip in the French Alps." She claims the ploy has been
used sparingly, however, and that the family put a stop to the practice when
her brother started bringing the Official Scrabble Dictionary to editorial
meetings.
Henry Campbell Black had never intended - or even imagined - that his
dictionary would become the authoritative source for legal terminology. "My
great granddad had actually written the text for an upcoming firm skit
night", Medhurst explains. "It was his way of showing how convoluted and,
well, pompous the legal profession had become." The dictionary became an
instant hit, however, and Henry Black's comedic intentions went unnoticed.
When the money started to roll in, Black elected to pursue a highly
lucrative career in legal publishing instead of becoming a marginally
talented prop comic.
When asked why the family is revealing the fake after all this time,
Medhurst stated that they had grown tired of living a lie, and were
genuinely concerned that the universally accepted legal lexicon "is actually
just a bunch of made-up gibberish." The family is asking that lawyers and
students alike immediately dispose of any editions of Black's Law Dictionary
into the nearest trash receptacle or recycle bin.
West Group, the current publisher of Black's, could not be reached for
comment.
Robert Miller
member of www.norfed.org
Larry
<rmill...@comcast.net> wrote:
>A friend posted this at snopes.com - maybe they'll investigate it and find
>out the truth. My guess is, this report is a hoax. And people wondered why
>I used an 1865 version of Boviers Law
>Dictionary
>
>Robert
>
>
> Is there any confirmation on this, it would explain a lot?
>
>
I'd be curious as tyo the exact page on snopes.com, as I just searched and
couldn't find anything.
However, Black's is now published by West, and regardless of how it
started, is *now* a fairly authoritative legal text. And many of the
definitions provided in your story - for example, "Actual authority -- see
authority" is not in Black's. I just checked my copy.
Robert Miller
I did find a few good laughs though.
Robert Miller
member of www.norfed.org
Bringing America back to value one dollar at a time.
"Larry" <no...@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:none-08030...@192.168.2.4...
Dan Evans
<rmill...@comcast.net> wrote:
>A friend posted this at snopes.com - maybe they'll investigate it and find
>out the truth. My guess is, this report is a hoax. And people wondered why
>I used an 1865 version of Boviers Law
>Dictionary
Because you can twist the archaic definitions to fit your
preconceptions?
> Is there any confirmation on this, it would explain a lot?
Such as your gullibility?
> Black's Law Dictionary Revealed as Hoax
>
>
> Montreal, PQ (Reuters) - Sarah Medhurst (nee Black) shocked journalists
>and legal scholars at a press conference held at the Black family estate
>Monday when she revealed that Black's Law Dictionary, a highly regarded
>legal reference text, was originally written as a joke by her eccentric
>great grandfather Henry Campbell Black.
Several problems here:
1. The "Black family" has had nothing to do with Black's Law
Dictionary for many years. The current edition of Black's Legal
Dictionary is the 7th Edition, published in August 1999, and it was
edited by Bryan A. Garner, not Henry Campbell Black. According to the
publisher (Westgroup), Mr. Garner had the help of "prominent legal
historians and scholars, as well as 33 lawyers and judges." And they
never noticed the hoax?
2. I can't find any evidence that Reuters ever reported any such
story. A search of news on Reuters.com for the word "Medhurst" turned
up nothing. Ditto nytimes.com.
3. Finally, and most importantly, your "news" seems to have been
copied verbatim from www.indissent.com, which describes itself as "a
satirical view of the law, law school and the legal profession" and
declares that "The persons, firms and events portrayed on this site
are entirely fictional, except when they are real, which is never."
Otherwise, I'm sure it's true, and your fine analytical mind has made
another breakthrough.
**Dan Evans
**I post information, not advice.
