Today's DJ appellate columns

In today's Under Submission column in the DJ, PJ Gilbert (referencing French New Wave cinema) presents Take a Breath, about the use of commas:

law can never be certain because language and its partner, grammar, seldom provide certainty. Ambiguity is the lifeblood of the courts. Without it we in the legal profession would be out of work.

And Moskovitz on Appeals, in Oral Arguments Before the California Supreme Court, discusses ... oral arguments before the CSC. In particular, most oral arguments appear to be ineffective "because the lawyers argue one thing, while the Justices care about something else." Lawyers seem to always argue law, while the Justices ask about policy.