Plain Language Translations of American Divorce Law
157level of particular documents. In other words, was a 9th grade reading level
required to read this document, or was it more difficult, requiring a 12th
grade reading level?
In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon decreed that the “Federal
Register be written in layman’s terms.” On March 23, 1978, U.S. President
Jimmy Carter signed Executive Order 12044 (Carter 1978), which said
that federal officials must see that each regulation is “written in plain
English and understandable to those who must comply with it.” President
Ronald Reagan rescinded these orders in 1981, but many political agencies
continued to follow them. By 1991, eight states had also passed legislation
related to plain language. In June 1998, President Bill Clinton issued a
memorandum that called for executive departments and agencies to use
plain language in all government documents. Thus, the Plain Language
Movement began, in fits and starts.
Simultaneously, a number of organizations, such as the Plain Language
Network, began and fostered plain language writing not only for government
documents, but also for consumer contracts and other legal writing.
Calls for improvement, especially in the medical and legal fields,
continued and some progress was made. One article in particular, “Plain
English for Lawyers,” written by University of California at Davis Dean
Richard C. Wydick in 1978, received particular acclaim. (Wydick 1978)
Many law professors who taught legal research and writing incorporated it
into their teaching. I know because I was one of them. Wydick’s work,
however, was aimed mostly at legal communications between lawyers.
Communications to the general public and especially to those who did not
have legal representation evolved more slowly.
Current calls for plain language translations
The Barack Obama U.S. Presidential Administration has also fostered
further plain language translations. President Obama signed the Plain
Writing Act of 2010 on October 13, 2010 (United States Congress 2010).
The law requires that federal agencies use “clear Government
communication that the public can understand and use.” On January 18,
2011, Obama issued a new Executive Order, “E.O. 13563—Improving
Regulation and Regulatory Review” (Obama 2011). It states that “[our
regulatory system] must ensure that regulations are accessible, consistent,
written in plain language, and easy to understand.” Two previous
executive orders (E.O. 12866 (Clinton 1993) and E.O. 12988 (Clinton
1996)) also covered the use of plain language in regulations.