Poetry in the Law

Our friend Albert came over for dinner last night and we had a good visit.  Albert is a residential real estate appraiser, so he and Walter always have a lot to talk about.  One of the subjects last night was a recent decision by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in a case called FNC.  I won't go into all of the extremely interesting details, but suffice it to say that this is a big case. 

But that's not the reason for this post.  I know that everyone makes fun of lawyers and, believe me, I've read some really horrible writing in decisions over the years.  This decision, however, was a delight to read.  It was almost poetic in places.  My favorite:

While a multifactor test such as this one enevitably entails some measure of internal redundancy, it is nonetheless a valuable heuristic.  These factors do not pose five wholly distinct inquiries.  Instead, each turn of the prism illuminates a slightly different facet of a single underlying question.

Is that great stuff, or what?  Makes you want to rush out and read the entire decision, doesn't it?  Do you know what "heuristic" means? 

Heuristic (adj) - enabling a person to discover or learn something for themselves:  a "hands-on" or interactive heuristic approach to learning.

And no, I'm not bothered by the way the judge used the adjective as a noun.  Just this week we're reading about "sheening" a situation (use your imagination!)  So don't be surprised if I toss this word out in casual conversation...