Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Quote: Laugh, Clown, Laugh!

[W]hen the questions come, I do not rejoice!  I may essay a smile, exude an air of confidence and self-assurance, a certain lightness of the spirit, as if to say "Gee, I'm glad you asked that!"  But, all the time I'm thinking: " . . . I explained that 15 minutes ago, when he was gathering wool, and now I'm never going to get in . . . my Big Punch at the end."  My axiom is "Do not rejoice!  Suffer in false and hypocritical jubilation!  Laugh, clown, laugh!"

Milton S. Gould, Oral Argument Losing Its Appeal, Nat'l L.J., Mar. 23, 1981, at 15, 32 (responding to John W. Davis' article The Argument of an Appeal that encouraged appellate attorneys to "rejoice" when the judges ask questions).