February 22, 2008
A Word Without Context: kerfuffle
Well, dear readers, it seems I have a favorite word that I cannot find in a court opinion, at least on the free resources! (I feel as if I should get extra credit for such a discovery, like we would get for successfully stumping our third grade science teacher with scientific questions.) In the last five years in state and federal courts and in Supreme Court cases from 1781, no judge (not even Judge Selya!) has employed the delightful word “kerfuffle.” A kerfuffle is a sort of disturbance, of which factual recitations would seem to provide plenty of opportunities for use (“After observing the kerfuffle in the parking lot, the officers approached the defendant . . . .”). Any clerks out there with limitless Lexis or Westlaw abilities care to extend the search? This word has been a favorite since I learned it from a friend’s page-a-day calendar a few years back. I thought kerfuffle would surely have wound its way into an opinion in the last few years. Let this post effectively throw down the gauntlet to the lurking clerking readers out there!
The Write Bailiwick 
Calendar Owner said,
February 22, 2008 at 11:35 pm
Drat! I know just the case in which this word would have been perfect. I was too absorbed with making sure I had the law right!
Emmel Philips said,
February 23, 2008 at 12:58 am
Calendar Owner, that’s just like you to get distracted with the law! 🙂 Maybe next time . . .