Even though classes haven't started yet, it seems that law school is already having a mind-altering affect on us. My experience in the last couple days has demonstrated this affect.
Law school seems to bring together a fairly diverse set of individuals. The only common factor seems to be that we are all smart, did well on the LSAT, and got good grades in college. Everything else is up for grabs. In my class, there are a fair number of libertarians, a large number of liberals (this IS Bloomington, after all), and I'm sure at least a few ultra-conservatives.
This week a few of us have been going out, and we got to discussing politics (as happens often when I'm around). One of my friends, a registered Libertarian, was telling me how he disagreed with the death penalty in all cases except treason and terrorism. Now, I am a firm believer in the death penalty, at least when guilt is 100% (or 99.9%) positive, and the crime took the life of another. This is just my personal belief, and I don't generally push it on others.
The following day, he had finished some of his reading for the first day of class, and discovered that perhaps his opinions were incorrect. You see, our first class in Criminal Law, and the first reading is about the purposes of punishment. The reading raised a good point about why the death penalty should exist. Let's assume that the death penalty is abolished, and that capital crimes earn life in prison. Well, as you may or may not know, so too does armed robbery. So in our hypothetical world, if an armed robber knows he is about to be caught, and thus will recieve life in prison, he might just start shooting. After all, a few murders on his hands won't gain him any more of a severe punishment.
While it is reasonable to assume that not all criminals think things out with such logical reasoning, we must believe that one of the purposes of punishment is to act as a deterrent. As such, many of the philosophical ideas that make us who we are will fall by the wayside as we begin to "think like lawyers".
And that's without having been in the classroom once.
6.29.2007
6.19.2007
Requiescat in Pace
As a once and future Hoosier, my deepest sympathies go out to the family and friends of Coach Terry Hoeppner. The most important thing a coach can do is begin and keep traditions. Coach Hep did that, and his presence will surely be missed, both on the field and off. From all of us in the law school, rest in peace, Coach.
6.12.2007
The Week in Ridiculous Legal News
One of my biggest pet peeves is government hypocrisy. You know the type: you can't own guns but we can, you can't grow marijuana but we can, you can't generate nuclear power but we can. Well, this story out of Pennsylvania really has my gears grinding.
At a routine traffic stop, a police officer noticed that a passenger in the stopped vehicle had a video camera and was taping the interaction between the officer and the driver. The camera was originally off, but when the officer yelled at the driver, the friend thought to himself "maybe this cop isn't following all the rules" and started taping. After the officer took the camera, half a dozen more police officers showed up and arrested the teen for illegal wiretapping. In Pennsylvania, it seems, any recording of another individual without their knowledge is wiretapping.
This raises all sorts of issues with me. First of all, the patrol car has a video camera recording audio and video from every traffic stop. The police can tape you, but you can't tape them. Beyond that, though, I think officers ought to act in a way that suggests that they could be getting taped at any time. It is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to keep the government in check, and tapes of police beatings and other police misconduct often result in a cleaner police force. I'm thinking specifically of a video of an off-duty cop beating a bartender half his size in Chicago a couple months back. Government creating laws that can be used to subvert an honest check of government power is downright wrong.
In other ridiculous legal news, strippers in strip clubs apparently can be too naked. 14 dancers were cited for excessive nudity. In California of all places. Nothing against California or anything, but you would think a lovely liberal paradise would realize that the purpose of a strip club is to, I don't know, see naked people. Haven't the police got better things to do? And what happens to the club after these women (at least, I assume they were women) were released? It gets hit with a possible administrative review by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. So, was the liquor what made the dancers get naked? Or was it the sweaty singles? California, you confuse me.
At a routine traffic stop, a police officer noticed that a passenger in the stopped vehicle had a video camera and was taping the interaction between the officer and the driver. The camera was originally off, but when the officer yelled at the driver, the friend thought to himself "maybe this cop isn't following all the rules" and started taping. After the officer took the camera, half a dozen more police officers showed up and arrested the teen for illegal wiretapping. In Pennsylvania, it seems, any recording of another individual without their knowledge is wiretapping.
This raises all sorts of issues with me. First of all, the patrol car has a video camera recording audio and video from every traffic stop. The police can tape you, but you can't tape them. Beyond that, though, I think officers ought to act in a way that suggests that they could be getting taped at any time. It is the responsibility of ordinary citizens to keep the government in check, and tapes of police beatings and other police misconduct often result in a cleaner police force. I'm thinking specifically of a video of an off-duty cop beating a bartender half his size in Chicago a couple months back. Government creating laws that can be used to subvert an honest check of government power is downright wrong.
In other ridiculous legal news, strippers in strip clubs apparently can be too naked. 14 dancers were cited for excessive nudity. In California of all places. Nothing against California or anything, but you would think a lovely liberal paradise would realize that the purpose of a strip club is to, I don't know, see naked people. Haven't the police got better things to do? And what happens to the club after these women (at least, I assume they were women) were released? It gets hit with a possible administrative review by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control. So, was the liquor what made the dancers get naked? Or was it the sweaty singles? California, you confuse me.
6.01.2007
And thus it begins...
Today I received my first "be prepared to discuss" letter from the law school. In just 30 days, I will be sitting in a classroom, listening to and learning from Professor Baude, my classmates, and perhaps even myself. I've always heard that the moment you realize you've begun is when you get this letter. Wouldn't you know it; I heard right. Law school has never seemed so close. I'm nervous, I'm excited, and I'm hoping I'm prepared. 42 pages? I can handle that.
With a month to go until the beginning of "the next three years", I have spent more time thinking about why I chose to go to law school. I've never been shy about the fact that I want to enter politics, with the ultimate goal being the governor's office in Indianapolis. It's the reason I talk to everyone I meet, the reason I read everything I can get my hands on, and (to be honest) the reason I wake up in the morning. I don't believe that I could serve my fellow Hoosiers without being an attorney, and truly understanding and appreciating the law. The law is the one thing that binds us -- our whole society -- together.
Today was my last day at my job. As I shook the hands of the steady stream of well-wishers, I felt as if I had made real connections. Sure, I had worked there for two years, and they had become like family. But most of the people, as they shook my hand, promised me a vote. They promised the vote of their friends, their family, and their communities. As I talked to my supervisor, it was clear that, while he wished I would stay, he knew I was destined for bigger things. It was if he was proud -- proud that he had helped shape me into a leader. As I walked out, I knew that the best thing I could do for these people, my friends, was to become an attorney and speak on their behalf.
We all have reasons to go law school. Some do it for prestige; some do it for money. Some do it for the challenge; some do it because they can't decide on anything else. But I didn't choose it for any of those reasons.
Eternally optimistic, I want to change the world.
With a month to go until the beginning of "the next three years", I have spent more time thinking about why I chose to go to law school. I've never been shy about the fact that I want to enter politics, with the ultimate goal being the governor's office in Indianapolis. It's the reason I talk to everyone I meet, the reason I read everything I can get my hands on, and (to be honest) the reason I wake up in the morning. I don't believe that I could serve my fellow Hoosiers without being an attorney, and truly understanding and appreciating the law. The law is the one thing that binds us -- our whole society -- together.
Today was my last day at my job. As I shook the hands of the steady stream of well-wishers, I felt as if I had made real connections. Sure, I had worked there for two years, and they had become like family. But most of the people, as they shook my hand, promised me a vote. They promised the vote of their friends, their family, and their communities. As I talked to my supervisor, it was clear that, while he wished I would stay, he knew I was destined for bigger things. It was if he was proud -- proud that he had helped shape me into a leader. As I walked out, I knew that the best thing I could do for these people, my friends, was to become an attorney and speak on their behalf.
We all have reasons to go law school. Some do it for prestige; some do it for money. Some do it for the challenge; some do it because they can't decide on anything else. But I didn't choose it for any of those reasons.
Eternally optimistic, I want to change the world.
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