Rhetorical Questions as Argumentative Devices in U.S. Supreme Court Dissenting Opinions

Abstract

This paper analyzes rhetorical questions as argumentative devices in U.S. Supreme Court dissenting opinions from the October 2021 Term Year. The author creates a taxonomy based on question function. The author also notes that most guides to legal writing caution attorneys to avoid rhetorical questions in briefs, and this paper therefore examines why U.S. Justices, when arguing in dissent, frequently use a rhetorical device that is generally disparaged by legal writing experts.