Kagan and Kavanaugh Unite: Stop Cutting “That”!
Written by Ross Guberman on June 11, 2021
Kagan and Kavanaugh disagree on a lot these days, including in their Borden v. United States face-off.
These two prominent Justices do share supreme writing skills, though. Like all great stylists, they trim their respective sentences with gusto, but as I’ve explained elsewhere, follow the lead of these Justices by sparing the word that after verbs.
In many of the sentences below, in fact, cutting that would have meant saving a measly four characters at the price of a clunky or even confusing result. Would you want your readers wondering if we’re holding offenses in our hands, explaining the law in general, or disputing the convictions themselves?
BriefCatch is unique in rooting its editing suggestions in the work of the greatest writers. It will help you make thousands of great cuts. But just not that!
