A Phrase Judges Should Probably Avoid:
"In my humble opinion." Why? First, a lot of judges are not humble. Second, if their opinions really are humble, they probably don't need to point out how humble they are. True, the phrase "in my humble opinion" can be used as a signal of courtesy rather than humility. But I don't think that meaning comes across well in judicial opinions. Opinions usually are written in a confident style; the judge tries to make his decision seem indisputably correct. Given that, the use of "in my humble opinion" suggests a false humility rather than an earnest respectfulness. (Just a thought inspired by reading this concurring opinion , where a district judge sitting by designation in the 11th Circuit writes a concurrence arguing that "in my humble opinion," the Supreme Court's 8-1 directly on point decision from a few months ago was wrongly decided. It doesn't help that the district judge's interpretation of that precedent was pretty far off the mark).