Single

In those books your family members buy you before you go to law school, I remember reading strong words of caution not to fall in love during your first year. Because either love or school will suffer. But truly I think it's far more dangerous to be single during law school. Very distracting.

It's easy to tell your bf that you can't go out because you have homework...it takes much more will power to tell a date you can't go out because you have to read your Wills and Trusts.

Hypocrites and Capitalism

In the November 27, 2006 issue of The New Yorker magazine:

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of Iran:
"'Why doesn't America stop enriching uranium?' the Iranian President asked. He laughed, and added, 'We'll enrich it for you and sell it to you at a fifty-per-cent discount.'"

Seymour M. Hersh, "The Next Act."

Muscles Under God

I suppose I should mention in passing that classes have ended, and the study-crush begins. Good luck to my fellow blawgers. Unless you're in my classes. In which case I wish you wouldn't mess with the curve.

Last class was Con Law, where I had to advocate briefly in front of the class on why the words "under God" in the Pledge of Allegience violate the Establishment Clause. My group and I did excellent, and I felt comfortable up there mentally, but physically my body was simply not cooperating. Some kind of weird shaking going on in my neck muscles. I kept tilting my head, trying to shake it out. Very strange how our bodies defy us at these inconvenient moments.

Also, I have my first law school open-book exam. Any thoughts/advice on how to take the damn thing?

Generalized Grievances

Today a friend of mine was talking about some serious problems he's had with a professor (no syllabus, they read two cases throughout the semester, he showed up late or wouldn't show up, etc.). He wants to withdraw and retake the course, so he met with the Dean.

"Are there other kids complaining too?" I asked.
"Yeah," he replied.
"You guys should do a class action then," I said, thinking in legal-ese.
"Hahah, class action," he punned.

Thanksgiving

 

May we all remember what Thanksgiving was really about.

10 points to anyone who can tell me where this mural is located in San Francisco. Hint: It's outside of my favorite bar in the Mission.
 

Craig's List Win

Update on the Craig's List law suit for Fair Housing Act violations:

Case was dismissed. CL is not liable because the Act specifically absolves publishers of ads, and CL is a publisher.

More details here.

Unsubscribe

So I was receiving emails from a club that wanted me to put myself on their guest lists for events. I kept trying to unsubscribe, but the link for it never worked. In a fit of angry proactiveness, I sent them a threat email citing the Cal. Business Code damages on spammers who do not provide an opt-out feature (described here).

A few days later, of course I got another email from them, telling me about some event. But then, I clicked unsubscribe, and it worked.

Success!

Bathwater

Study grouping is so key. First semester I study-grouped, but last semester I didn't, and I think it showed in my grades. Last semester me and another groupie had personality conflicts, so we all studied on our own.

It makes such a difference to have something explained to you by someone at your level, or to explain something. And your groupies fill in the gaps in your knowledge, the stuff you didn't realize you didn't know.

If you're on the fence about study-grouping, do it. If you have drama with a groupie, form a new group. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Of the Week

Bumper Sticker of the Week:
"Linuxgruven"

Product Label of the Week:
On Bounce Dryer Sheets, it says "Discover Bounce freshness in new places*!" And then it has pictures of an easy-chair, a hamper, shoes. The asterick warns, "Avoid direct contact with fabrics."

Come again??

Warning: Profanity

In Con Law, we read FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (438 U.S. 726) from 1978. The Supreme Court decided the FCC was allowed to regulate profanity on the radio. My prof played the George Carlin broadcast that was the target of the case for us today in class (anyone who didn't want to hear it was invited, respectfully, to leave. Naturally no one did.)

Carlin informed us that there are 400,000 words in the English language and only 7 that you can't say on television. In the interest of free speech, I will cite them here:
Shit fuck cocksucker motherfucker cunt piss tits.

(Carlin on "tits": "What's that doing on the list? It's like the name for a snack! Nabisco Tits. Chedder Cheese Tits. Pizza Tits.")

The court said these words had such slight social value that they deserved less protection. The court's beef really was with the intrusiveness of a broadcast like this, which can invade the home and the ears of children, given that a warning at the start of the broadcast might not protect the captive audience. That may be true, but saying the broadcast has no social value is absurd: entertainment and humor are some of the most powerful social values.

Interestingly, during class discussion, the word that was most frequently voiced was "motherfucker."

Patience

It's very strange how innocent the 1Ls look. Even the ones who are clearly older than me, they have this innocent cast, this bouyant confidence in their voices. They haven't been humbled yet.

It's very strange, the people who didn't come back this year. You don't think about them, and then suddenly they pass through your thoughts, and you realize they're gone.

I feel good, I feel like I'm on top of my shit. I have only 3 exams. I prefer to write papers because I can get them done ahead of time. Papers can be harder, and more work, but I find the anxiety of waiting for an exam to be a rougher kind of torture. Waiting, god I hate waiting! That's the reason why I never procrastinate, because I'm so impatient.

Voting Is Sexy

Don't forget to vote today. To find your polling place (they change sometimes) in San Fran, click here:

Polling Place

Spam

This is good to know. Cal. Bus. & Professions Code section 17538.4 requires that spam have an opt-out feature. If you opt out and they continue spamming you, they can be liable for $50 per message up to $25,000 per day.

I wonder if the source of the spam has to be located in California?

Deposition Tricks

My brilliant Civil Discovery professor offered several tricks for holding depositions, of which he said he never partakes but believes we should know about.

He said he once knew an attorney who cut the legs of a chair. He would trim off three inches on the front legs and two inches off the back legs, so the witness would not only be lower ("So they feel like a little kid"), they would also be constantly sliding off their chair.

And my prof told a story about how he was taking a depo of a witness who was represented by a former student of his. When the former student entered the room, he immediately went to the windows and closed the blinds, as the southern sun was shining towards the chair where the witness was to sit. My professor: "Of course I have no idea how those blinds got open..."

Obligatory Voting Pitch

Vote on November 7th.

Constitutional Candy

Con Law prof on why he didn't bring us Halloween candy:

"If I give candy out, it's like I get a bunch of crackheads talking about the 1st Amendment: [in a high voice] 'I love freedom of speech!'"

Also, his advice on this stressful period before finals, which I'd like to share with my fellow blawgers who are feelin the heat:

"If you find that you can't talk to anyone because you're too stressed out...like if someone says 'Good morning' and you're like 'Shut the hell up!'...or if you're too busy to eat cereal...go out and do something for yourself. See a movie, go for a walk. Do normal adult things and get away for a minute."