December 6, 2011

Calling all grammarians: Help wanted

Should the Court, however, determine that it is within this Court's discretion to appoint a three-judge panel, and instruct that panel to accept the redistricting challenges set forth in the (now-withdrawn) Petition or to defer in light of the pending federal action. — Wisconsin Dept. of Justice, Response etc.*
What do you call that, a dangling antecedent?

Maybe I need a grammarian and a logician. Or maybe the DoJ does.

* Another panel, the federal court in question, noted that the same author "skirt[ed] the line of being intemperate and unduly combative."

Which is nevertheless preferable to being incomprehensible, imho.

5 comments:

  1. From the logic angle, it's an "if" with no "then."

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  2. Even the sentence fragment has a scope ambiguity:

    Should the Court, however, [determine that it is within this Court's discretion to appoint a three-judge panel,] and [instruct that panel to accept the redistricting challenges set forth in the (now-withdrawn) Petition or to defer in light of the pending federal action].

    versus

    Should the Court, however, determine that it is within this Court's discretion to [[appoint a three-judge panel], and [instruct that panel to accept the redistricting challenges set forth in the (now-withdrawn) Petition]] or [to defer in light of the pending federal action].

    There's at least one more scope assignment to be had there, too, but I won't bother.

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  3. See this is why this blog has the best commenters.

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  4. Legal briefs often have that strained construct; whereas...whereas...whereas...resolved. But since this is the concluding sentiment, no "resolved" is forthcoming.

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