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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

A reminder for Washington lawyers: As-of September 1, you no longer need to (and should not) include the P., P.2d, or P.3d reporter information in your citations to Washington decisions. The current Style Sheet reflects the update! I wrote about the change here. #LegalWriting #Citation

Exception to Bluebook rule 10.3.1, at 102-103 and Table T1: For Washington cases, cite
the official reports (Wash., Wn.2d, Wn.3d, Wn. App., or Wn. App. 2d) if therein;
otherwise cite the regional reporters (P., P.2d, or P.3d). For non-Washington cases, cite
the regional reporters if therein; otherwise cite the official reports.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

I'm assuming this is some sort of A.I. transcription error but this friendly interview write-up for a Washington Supreme Court candidate has him using the term "juris potential" and praising Justice "Anthony Scalia."

https://seattlered.com/legal/wa-supreme-court-stevens/4116729

think it's important to actually know what juris potential Supreme Court Justice, who they emulate would want to emulate" Stevens explained on The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM. "So my favorite would be Clarence Thomas. Second would be Anthony Scalia and Supreme Court Justice Alito."

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

My favorite version of using a terrible stadium name. Ray Lewis being intimidating and talking trash. Makes me laugh to this day. www.espn.com/nfl/news/200...

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

The focus sees to be (1) Lane Kiffin is the kind of person who uses ChatGPT for legal advice, and (2) ChatGPT gave bad legal advice. But I think the real shocking thing here is (3) Lane Kiffin had conversations seeking legal advice from his lawyer friend and that friend is divulging it to ESPN.

BATON ROUGE, La. -- As LSU and the SEC found themselves locked in an unprecedented game of legal chicken over coach Lane Kiffin's plan to roster two former NFL players this season, Kiffin routinely reached out to his friend, attorney Tom Mars, for legal advice.

When Mars urged Kiffin to back down, the LSU coach texted him screenshots of legal opinions from an unlikely source.

ChatGPT.

"Usually, when I would express an opinion about what LSU was doing, Lane would reply with a screenshot from ChatGPT that supported LSU's position, which was almost always wrong," Mars said. "Lane ignored most of my unsolicited advice, but I don't think he'll be using ChatGPT anymore for legal advice."

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

But look at how they are marketing the product online. AI is amazing.

A stress-relief gel-filled pickle used as the mast of a child's pirate ship in a sandbox.

An indoor grass picnic with a child playing tug with the pickle while people celebrate holding pickles in the background. There's a hand made sign that says The Great Pickle Adventure.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

My spouse ordered some medicine from Walgreens to be delivered to our house. The bag also contained this item for some reason. No tag. No label. We finally found out this is what it is... www.walmart.com/ip/Giant-Pic...

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Me, whenever anyone talks about AI automating Bluebooking:

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Finally getting some recognition.

LinkedIn message from "Teresa D.": Dear David, You have been selected for a feature on Notable Men, a national platform that highlights accomplished men who are making an impact in their professions, communities, and industries.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

There I go again, not putting enough thought and research into my quips!

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

This is the Jim Bouton position in the "Ball Four" postscript. Always seemed right to me.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Seattle parents, planning for tomorrow:

Schrodinger's Cat, but instead of a cat, it's Wednesday Sept. 2 being the first day of school.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Interesting. Is this right? Before 2018 the state didn't make an official code? I wonder if that is the previous reason and then the BB never updated? Or is the "certification" not enough? Odd. I'd just cite the code if the state says it's good and that's what I looked at!

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Andy Beshear chatting with Mattingly before tonight's Mariners game in Seattle. Makes sense.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Maybe this guy could help?

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

In honor of the Twins sweeping the Braves at home, here's a selection from my recent-ish analysis of the new citation rules governing filings in Washington courts. ziffblog.wordpress.com/2026/06/04/a... #DomeCooking #WS1991 #Momentum #Baseball #Citation #Bluebook

For Washington opinions, that meant you couldn’t just cite Hrbek v. Gant, 123 Wn.3d 45, 46 (1991), for a Washington Supreme Court opinion. Instead, you need to cite Hrbek v. Gant, 123 Wn.3d 45, 46, 87 P.2d 7 (1991). And then the same basic idea for Washington Court of Appeals decisions. For decisions from California, Illinois, and New York, however, we needed to include not only the official reporter, but a triple reporter citation that included the state specific reporter and the regional reporter. See Style Sheet R.9 & R.10.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

Google is wrong AGAIN today for the @twinsbaseball.bsky.social game. This is very annoying.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The Google score widget has flipped the teams/scores for tonight's game and I hate it.

score bot showing Atlanta up 2-1 over the Twins.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

YouTube Music is weird. I started Wilco radio and the first song that came up was this song from the Bloodsport soundtrack? Odd.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I agree with the National Conference of Bar Examiners that more people should have gotten ready for the NextGen bar exam!

NCBE Website with large text saying "Get Ready for the NextGen UBE"

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

I expected more Twins baseball content.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

This email was for the most recent spring. We're closing in on July!

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

This seems like the major issue. Put aside the closed/open book issue, which clearly maps onto different skills being assessed. With strict word limits the assessment changes from volume speed spotting to judgment. And that's harder to neutrally map on to a rubric. 1/

Word limits force students to prioritize among issues, which is a more important skill than typing fast. It’s a skill lawyers practice most days

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Kid finished a bunch of grapes and said the stem looked like "a guy with long hair." Very Haaland-like.

A grape stem that looks like Erling Haaland.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

John Matlock, Fax Nova Artis Scribendi: OR, AN INTRODUCTION (By way of DIALOGUE) To the best FORMS and PROPORTIONS of all LETTERS, in each Hand most useful; and excellent for all business both in Clerkship and Trade (1685).

Fax Nova Artis Scribendi: OR, AN INTRODUCTION (By way of DIALOGUE) To the best FORMS and PROPORTIONS of all LETTERS, in each Hand most useful; and excellent for all business both in Clerkship and Trade.

To which is added, RULES for SPELLING and POINTING.

AS ALSO, A TABLE of Abbreviations, so large that it will facilitate both the Writing and Reading of any business at Common or Civil Law. Together, with some Directions which may be beneficial for a CLERK in the progress of his whole Clerkship.

—Peragunt Linguae Charta manus{que} vices.
By JOHN MATLOCK, of the City of Lichfield, Philographer.

LONDON, Printed by John Leake, for the Author; and are to be sold by Luke Meredith, at the King's Head, at the West-End of St. Paul's Church-Yard. MDCLXXXV.

A TABLE OF Abbreviations.
SInce the Marks for Abbreviations cannot rightly be made by the Printer, you are to observe, That those Letters placed after the Full-Points, must be written a little higher, than the other part of the Words: As, in the writing the Word Accepimus, there the s must be written above the m, and a little forwarder in the Line. And over the other Abbreviations, make a little Dash with your Pen: But if the Abbreviation be in the end of a Word, then turn your Dash of Abbreviation from the ending of the last Letter.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

LWI Discussion: You don't just want your article to have an audience; you want your article to start a conversation. People should be talking back to you, even if they are throwing tomatoes from time to time. That's why I'm always making this point:

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

But see www.theguardian.com/media/mediam...

Maine, Oxford and Scandinavia might look nice on the telly but they're sure keeping the funeral parlours busy, according to the Sun. After totting up the figures, Radio 4's More or Less has worked out that the deadliest fictional place in the world of deadly fictional places is Cabot Cove in Maine, home town of one Jessica Fletcher (played by Angela Lansbury) in Murder, She Wrote, which has 149 murders for every 100,000 people. Ystad, home of Swedish detective Wallander, is nipping at its heels, with 110 murders per 100,000. By comparison, Oxford, which is home to Inspector Morse and his sidekick Lewis, is positively boring, with a mere three murders for every 100,000, while Midsomer, of Murders fame, (where recent deaths include the body of a tax inspector being found dumped in a barrel of cider and a local farmer brutally murdered on an ancient stone circle) has just 3.2 murders per 100,000. Handily, the Sun gives a few top tips for keeping safe if you ever find yourself in any of these places, including keeping an eye on your drink so no one can poison it and making sure you never arrive in storm. Dead-end towns indeed.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

Just an all-time worthless chart.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

I feel like I heard this once but forgot. I was rooting Morocco!

Morocco was the first nation to recognise the fledgling United States of America as an independent nation in 1777, only a year after the country's founding.[64][65][66] In the beginning of the American Revolution, American merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean were subject to attacks by other fleets from the Barbary corsairs. On 20 December 1777, Morocco's Sultan Mohammed III declared that American merchant ships would be under the protection of the sultanate and could thus enjoy safe passage. The 1786 Moroccan–American Treaty of Friendship stands as the United States' oldest unbroken friendship treaty.[67][68]

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

The whole course is a manel?

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The first one that came to mind for me was also Scalia.

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David Ziff @djsziff.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Why do all the websites' "percent/prediction" game-flow charts have the teams/competitors listed L/R instead of top/bottom to match the chart? I hate it. Ex. 1 = The way they all do it Ex. 2 = My better way.

A win percent/prediction chart that has Serena on the upper left and M. Joint on the upper right, but Serena indicated as up and Joint is down.

My better mock-up that lists the top person on top and the bottom person on the bottom!

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