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Most attorneys agree that writers need to tailor their writing to a particular audience. This just makes sense. So it is not a stretch to argue that to convey a clear message to a client, attorneys should use plain language. But there is little empirical data supporting the public’s preference for plain language. Rather, most sources largely rely on anecdotal evidence to prove this point.Therefore, in 2011, I conducted a study to help measure many of the following unanswered questions: To what degree does the public prefer plain language over traditional legal language? How do people react when they see complicated legal language that they do not understand? How often will people look up these complicated terms? Have they ever been so frustrated by such language that they quit reading a document? This article describes this study, analyzes the 376 responses to the survey, and explains the results in numerous, detailed ways. What you'll find is that this study provides much needed support for a simple principle – that the public prefers clear, understandable communication.

The Michigan Constitution grants the Legislature the power to pass laws to promote and protect public health. While the Michigan Constitution does not specifically mention burials, handling dead bodies, or any other subject related to death and dying, regulating these areas helps promote and protect public health. Thus, the Michigan Legislature has used this authority to promulgate numerous statutes regulating this area. This report summarizes these statutes in an effort to provide a broad-based overview of this area of law. This report was originally drafted to assist the Michigan Law Revision Commission in discovering defects and anachronisms in the law that should be addressed by the Michigan Legislature. However, this report is particularly useful to any practitioner or academic looking for a discussion of the law in these areas.