Fogel V. Chestnutt: The Meaning Of An Opinion

Abstract

Extraordinary capacity as a technician is a necessary but not sufficient basis on which to claim the designation of expert. The differentiating aspect is what separates an art from a science, what is learned during apprenticeship as opposed to what can be taught to a student. Within any given field, the technician shares with the expert mastery of the individual objects in terms of which the field itself is defined. The mastery of the expert, however, is also in­ formed by an awareness of the differences produced by variations in the ways those objects are perceived, by what is often referred to as style, rather than substance. What follows is a study in style, and it is assumed that readers are acquainted with the substance of the judicial opinions being analyzed. The attempt i s to demonstrate that such mastery is the beginning, rather than the culmination, of the endeavor of understanding.