"Lest We All Drown in a Sea of Slop"

From Kelleher v. Town of Brookfield, decided earlier this month by Judge Brian Murphy (D. Mass.):

Plaintiff's Complaint is more than 100 pages long, often repeating itself or presenting information piecemeal and out of order, to some sort of titanic effect. While the Court appreciates that there is a long history between these parties and that Plaintiff is a pro se litigant and so entitled to a fair amount of leeway, "[e]ven pro se litigants are bound by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," including Rule 8's requirement that pleadings be "short" and "plain," with allegations that are "simple, concise, and direct."

Of course, the Court is well aware that attorneys, too, have long and often violated this rule (sometimes at great profit). See, e.g., Trump v. New York Times Co. (M.D. Fla. 2025) (excoriating experienced counsel for submitting a complaint that was "decidedly improper and impermissible"). However, particularly as artificial intelligence makes the production of language cheaper and faster—undoubtedly a boon to those that have historically been unable to afford garrulous counsel—it will become increasingly incumbent upon courts to insist that parties respect our limited bandwidths, lest we all drown in a sea of slop.

The Court would not make an example out of this case. However, moving forward, the Court would ask that Plaintiff (or any other prospective filer) do his best to write plainly and precisely, trusting that the Court reads closely and is unmoved by too much rhetoric.

Comments

[John F. Carr]

Some judge out there must have good enough AI skills to produce a video of summary execution of a lawyer in his courtroom for filing an AI-assisted brief. Maybe that would be unethical?

[Dr. Ed 2]

I know of students who were committed to the psych ward for stuff like that, I’ve attended trainings where we’ve been warned to watch for stuff like that.

To the extent that anyone is watching the mental health of judges, this would be the fire siren in the night. Like I said, to the extent…….

As an aside, anyone remember what happened when Sarah Palin put someone’s picture on a pistol target? This is a wee bit more extreme…..

[John F. Carr]

The dead lawyer doesn't have to be real. The point is to let the profession know judges are mad as hell and they're not going to take this anymore.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I argue that this is an example of why the law school prerequisite to the bar should be abolished, and for good reason.

First, in discussing a bit of litigation that I was incidentally involved in with an attorney friend, I asked why opposing council — well regarded and quite expensive — took over three pages to say something I could’ve said in a paragraph, that should’ve been said in a paragraph

She pointed out that such was an acquired skill that one learned in law school.

And second, perhaps more importantly, it is the high price of council that forces clients to go pro se. and the high price is the consequence of one factor, the high opportunity cost of law school.

[Dr. Ed 2]

I noticed on the mass municipal association website that Brookfield is looking for an interim town treasure, and an interim town administrator — in addition to people to hold those jobs full-time. I’ve seen other jobs posted in Brookfield recently.

The only reason to look for an interim is that the incumbent either left without notice or was abruptly fired, sometimes a distinction without a difference.

Looks to me that it’s a nice little cauldron in that town….