June 9, 2008 By Robert Amsterdam

Anthony Rose: Conversations with Penfold

[What follows is the latest contribution from the lawyer Anthony Rose, about whom you can read more here. – Bob Amsterdam] anthonyrose.jpgConversations with Penfold * Weekend of June 7th and 8th 2008 I was talking to Penfold over the weekend about some things that were on my mind. He is marvellously uncritical and listens with every evidence of sympathy and agreement, even when I become hysterical. It was said of a certain late 19th century poet that, although he tortured the language, he never succeeded in forcing it to reveal his meaning. So with Hillary Clinton, who did not lie but misspoke – a term with which I was not previously familiar. Our judges do not make mistakes: they “misdirect” themselves. With a certain amount of ingenuity, and assuming a reckless disregard for grammar, syntax and vocabulary, it should never be necessary to own up to anything – a lie, a mistake, an improper pecuniary advantage, even an outright theft.