Former Congressman Morris Udahl frequently said, “God give me the gift to make my words gentle and tender because tomorrow I might have to eat them.”

It is an adage that can be useful for all judges when writing opinions or orders. Some of us are better than others at following Congressman Udahl’s advice — and even the best of us have bad days, as reported by Alison Frankel:  “Cranky Posner opinion mocks brief, suggests sending lawyer to jail.”