“Since when does a plaintiff’s lawyer ghostwrite a decision for a US District Court Judge to sign later, just to “make it easy” for him?”
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That’s the way my attorney explained it to me the first time I sued someone and he did the same thing.
Happens every day. Some motions require the moving party to include a proposed order, so the judge knows exactly what he/she's being asked to do. At the end of the hearing, the winning side is usually asked to draft the order for the court to sign. It does not have firm letterhead on it, just the court caption. The document is titled [Proposed] Order Granting Motion For Injunctive Relief, or whatever was sought by the motion. When the judge signs it, he/she crosses out the Proposed part. A copy is sent to opposing counsel, and if they don't like the wording they can object. Same thing with Final Judgments. The judge asks the winning side to prepare it. Litigation 101 lesson for today. It will not be a regular thing, like the nautical terminology has become (which I like very much, by the way).