No, it’s not your imagination. Supreme Court of Wisconsin opinions have ballooned in recent years. The latest post on SCOWstats.com shows just how much they’ve sprawled, which justices are most prolix, and which are the pithiest. (Spoiler alert: Thank you, Justice Bradley. And keep up the good work, Justice Crooks!)
If, as Shakespeare wrote, “brevity is the soul of wit, and tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,” what are we to conclude?
Perhaps wit is not the goal.
I miss the days of 5-9 page WSC opinions. They provided real guidance to lawyers and the trial courts. Now, we have to wade through so much it is sometimes hard to find the holding.