A cheerfully ruthless copy editor over the years, Judge Roberts has demanded verbal rigor from his colleagues and subordinates, refusing to tolerate the slightest grammatical slip, and boasting an exceptional vocabulary and command of literature himself.

The article quotes a former law firm colleague as saying that very little got by Roberts' editing pencil, even Neil Armstrong's famous line when first setting foot on the moon in 1969. Another colleague had quoted it (as it is commonly quoted): "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Roberts remembered it differently and told him so. "It is my recollection that he actually said 'one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,' but the 'a' was somewhat garbled in transmission. Without the 'a,' the phrase makes no sense."

And as a good grammarian, Roberts can detect flaws that go beyond the writing.

In a memorandum the next year, responding to a letter from David T. Willard, an elementary school superintendent in Illinois who opposed the administration's education policies, Mr. Roberts again concluded that no legal issues needed to be addressed by the White House counsel. But he took the opportunity to note, "The letter is very sarcastic, although Willard inadvertently proves our point about the quality of public education by incorrectly using 'affect' for 'effect.' "

Roberts himself was being a bit sarcastic, but what's the fun of being a good grammarian for if you can't use a little sarcasm occasionally?

Jim Stovall (Posted Seot. 1, 2005)