Thanks! I heard about this on the radio. A good win for the drivers. Punctuation purists are feeling pretty proud. Here I was poised to pass on pointless pedantry and accept more nuanced writing styles and now this. NPR says that they follow AP style guide (no Oxford comma) unless clarity demands it. Perhaps that's the best way to go. I used to hate inconsistency. I was a kind of all or nothing person when it came to commas. mk may remember the editing fun we had with the Trojan War. So many commas, so little time. I'll try now and roll that back -- no Oxford C's unless needed for clarity or court cases -- and see if I can stand it. Bye bye Oxford C. See you around, sometimes, maybe.
Legal language is very precise. I kind of love its precision. In this context it makes perfect sense for meaning to hinge on a comma. - I have to deal with, recognize, and interpret similar subtle distinctions in language frequently (enough) as part of my Real Job.
I always use the Oxford comma. I deal in these sorts of precise language issues occasionally at work too, so I am always trying to be aware of how something I put out could be interpreted. Not that the people who are supposed to read my emails actually do, mind you.