10.29.2007

Occam's Tax Code

Not so long ago in Torts, we discussed Occam's razor as it relates to strict liability. The razor is the 14th century principle of lex parsimoniae; that is, that, all other things being equal, the simplest solution tends to be the right one. What followed was a delightfully intellectual discussion that does not need repeating here. Rather, it made me think about all the places in life that the razor would make life that much better.

As we get into election season (not that today is any different than the last eight months), it occurred to me that my vote should go to the one who follows the concept of the razor most closely, specifically regarding the tax code. The version just recommended by Charlie Rangel (D-NY) had tortious action performed upon it by CNBC, and rightfully so. Even though it keeps the AMT at bay, and reduces top corporate taxes, it raises taxes elsewhere (for example, a 4% surtax on all AGI over $200,000, which I suspect several of my readers make or will be making). In fact, as the report from the Tax Foundation states, "almost all of the 90 million taxpayers whom Rangel claims would pay less under his tax plan would still end up paying more to Uncle Sam in 2011 as a result of the tax cuts' expiring."

Fortunately, it's unlikely that this bill will pass before 2009, and then only if a Democrat takes the White House. For that reason, this goes as a large point in the "con" column for voting Democratic. I still put my support behind Ron Paul (who, incidentally, will be on the Tonight Show tomorrow), because it seems that his tax code is the most Occam-like. Simple solution indeed.

10.27.2007

Shadow Day

As part of the first-year PRACTICE program that IU has implemented, we get the chance to link up with an alum and shadow them. Since I was going home for Fall Break anyway, I opted to seek only persons in Lake County. I was very fortunate that one of our grads is a senior judge in the Lake County Criminal Court, specifically the high crimes division. I jumped at the opportunity, and it was fantastic.

I knew that shadowing the judge would make my options clearer in terms of career planning and summer work, and indeed it did just that. His career path after IU was fairly straightforward: several years as a prosecutor, then a stint as a defense attorney, then election to the bench. This certainly is one of the paths that I thought might fit my own ambitions.

I have to admit that the day was fast-paced and surprising, and I realized just how little I actually knew about the function of a felony court. The first part of the day was almost Fordian: an assembly line of criminals and lawyers being brought to the podium as prosecutors rotated in and out of several doors. I saw plea agreements accepted and rejected by the bench, several translators trying to keep up, closing arguments in a double-murder jury trial, a sentencing for a high-profile brutal murder, and dozens of other administrative proceedings.

Law and Order tries to make the process look busy, but nothing compares to just sitting in the room watching everyone. Since I was nearer to the back, I got to watch the reactions of the families. Some took it rather well, almost stoic. Others fell apart. I watched a girl and her mother respond to the sentencing of their brother and son, respectively, and saw how a life can be destroyed by one stupid mistake. There were eighty-plus year old mothers, and little children who might never see their parents without bars. The emotions were hard to deal with, even as a neutral bystander.

To be honest, I'm not sure how the whole day affected me. On one hand, it made me want to be a prosecutor even more. The opportunity to be on a stage, performing for a jury, is appealing. The ability to decide how and why to prosecute someone is appealing. The high-profile nature of it all is appealing. Yet, on the other hand, it was overwhelming. You have to keep your emotions hidden. You have to keep from being empathetic. You have to do your best to be "the state." It's a lot to take in at once.

As a result, I know a lot more about the criminal justice system, in reality and out of the books. No matter what I decide to do, at least I will know that I did all I could to be informed before making it.

10.23.2007

Finally a good use for all this computing power

To my regular readers: I apologize for the lack of posting in the last week or so. I've been quite busy. Fear not, however; I have a list of topics to discuss that should be up here before too long.

It seems to me that only a few law schools in the nation actually require laptops, much less laptops with certain required characteristics. IU is one of them. I suppose this is a good thing, because it gave me an excuse to buy a new laptop, but in the long run, it is probably excessive.

The requirements were such that we needed top-of-the-line everything. High powered processors, massive hard drives, and more memory than a herd of elephants. All that so that we can run Microsoft Word in class to take notes, and at the end of the semester run exam software. I equate this to using C4 to light a firecracker.

So, in an effort not to have my money wasted, I sought something for which I could use this thing for. As a result, I have joined the World Community Grid. Essentially, it is a grid computing software that I now run every hour of the day. According to the site, "Grid computing joins together many individual computers, creating a large system with massive computational power that far surpasses the power of a handful of supercomputers. Because the work is split into small pieces that can be processed simultaneously, research time is reduced from years to months. The technology is also more cost-effective, enabling better use of critical funds."

Since I joined the WCG three days ago, I have joined four projects. Discovering Dengue Drugs - Together, Human Proteome Folding Project, FightAIDS@Home Project, and SETIatHome. The program runs in the background all day, and lets me help out worthwhile causes for the sake of humanity. For those looking for a feel-good project that lets you use your excessively powerful law school computers, I invite you to sign up and download the software.

For all students, professors, staff, and alumni of Indiana Law, I have set up teams on the two websites to represent our school (called IU School of Law - Bloomington). The teams don't do anything particular, but they allow us to compete with other teams (notably, the one at the law school up 37).

And trust me, if I happen to be the one who finds proof of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, you'll be the first to know.