Thanksgiving Thoughts

It's probably clichéd to make a blog of all the things you're thankful for on Thanksgiving, so I won't do that. I think most of that stuff speaks for itself. I do want to wish everyone a happy Thanksgiving, and give best of luck to all of my law school comrades who have only a couple weeks left until finals.

As for me, I've been spending my time working in the IUSA Congress. It has been my passion, and as a result I've been in several hours of meeting for the past few weeks. Will this make it harder to study for finals? Yes, but I'm okay with that. In the coming weeks (okay, probably not until next semester starts) I'll be making a big announcement regarding my future in which folks at IU will have at least a modicum of interest. That will have to wait until after finals and Christmas Break.

Until then, have a happy Thanksgiving break.

A Quick Catch-Up

I recently realized that it has been a month since I last posted, and that makes me seem at the very least forgetful, and possibly even negligent in my duties as a blogger. However, I had to make it through a final LRW assignment, several difficult finals, a job search, planning next semester's courses, and a basic maintenance of sanity. In the end, blogging seemed like the least of my worries. I'll try to catch you all up to date with where I am with regard to these various tasks.

My final exams were certainly more difficult than those in the Fall, despite that I have done this process twice before. I think it was the subject matter rather than the procedure that made them more difficult. This semester I has coursework in Property and Constitutional Law rather than Torts and Ethics, in addition to substantially different material in LRW, Contracts, and Civil Procedure. I really enjoy the topics of Property and ConLaw, and I feel like I'm fairly knowledgeable in those arenas, but I tend to do what some consider foolish: I try to learn and understand the law rather than learn for the exam. This may harm my scores in the end, but at least I can feel like I know something, and can discuss it in ordinary conversation (when non-lawyers are willing to listen or make the mistake of asking me my opinion on something). In the end, I think the finals went well. Probably no A*s, but good nonetheless.

I did find and accept a job for this summer, though it is unpaying, which meant more loans. I will be working for a Circuit Court judge in southern Indiana. I think for the purposes of this blog my exact court and position will be confidential, but I expect to have interesting work to post about when I can find the time (the School requires these touchy-feely essays about what I'm doing, which will probably consume my spare time). The downside is that there is a considerable commute, and gas prices are hovering at $4. The upside is that I get to work inside one of the beautiful old courthouses of Indiana.

I have a full plate in the Fall. In addition to participating in Moot Court, I will be taking six courses for fifteen credit hours. Included in that reading-laden schedule are Federal Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure I, Constitutional Law II, Evidence, Secured Transactions, and Appellate Advocacy. I am used to taking exorbitant numbers of credit per semester, but not in law school. If I disappear completely in the Fall, you'll know why.

I spent this weekend in Louisville, Kentucky, for the 11th Annual National Firearms Law Seminar, hosted by the NRA Foundation. It was a worthwhile experience to learn about law from various professors and practitioners. Some of the topics included discussions about Heller, federal firearms laws, civil rights and guns, and an enjoyable keynote speech by Lt. Col. Oliver North about the Rules of Engagement. Afterwards, we spent some time at the Expo Center and I experienced my first NRA exhibition. We also drove over the Sherman Minton Bridge, mostly to get good luck in the Moot Court named after him at IU, as well as to celebrate the only Hoosier to ever sit on the Supreme Court.

This August I will be attending the ABA Annual Meeting in New York. Any of my readers that will also be in New York can feel free to drop me a line if they'd like to chat or go out. After this weekend, I think I can find interesting things to do just about anywhere.

The Petri Dish

The Law School has become a petri dish. Dozens of students have been out sick (including this one). Classes have shrunk to half their size. Some professors have been calling in sick. I had forgotten how volatile biological systems can be when you pack 700 of us into one building during flu season.

To make matters worse, briefs are due for LRW tomorrow. From what I can tell, many people are struggling to keep working while the viruses keep working. As for me, I'm nearly done. But only with the help of a lot of tea.

My Hero and His Fleet

In Constitutional Law, we happen to be discussing the separation of powers. Our discussions in class me reminded me of a story about my favorite President, and as a "TGIF"-type posting, I thought I'd share.

Theodore Roosevelt has got to be my favorite U.S. President. Sure, there are some other good ones, but I really like him. He was, of course, our youngest president, and probably the one with the most exciting life. He seems to be the type of politician that we today lack: a true statesman, but one who gets what he wants, and was quite handy with a gun.

In December 1907, President Roosevelt made the ultimate display of not only American power, but presidential power. It was a rough time. Japan was flaunting its victory over the Russians in the Russo-Japanese War, and the U.S. fleet in the Pacific was still quite small. President Roosevelt assembled a fleet of 16 battleships and their supporting vessels, painted brilliant white, and proposed to send them around the world a la Magellan.

Congress disagreed. They saw it as wasteful, and potentially dangerous. The fleet couldn't pass through Panama, so they would have to travel around South America, then to victorious Japan.

But President Roosevelt was a stubborn man, and, as a trained lawyer, knew that the President had the power to move the military, not Congress. Congress refused to pay for the trip, a correct use of their powers. Roosevelt told Congress that he didn't need their money, and at Congress's dismay, he sent the fleet on their journey on December 16, 1907.

When the fleet reached Japan, Roosevelt went to Congress. He told them that the navy was out of money. Congress was left with the option to fund the return journey or strand the fleet at sea. If they ever wanted the fleet back, they would have to pay for it to circumnavigate the globe. President Roosevelt had used the beauty of the Constitution to smack Congress in the face.

That is why he is my hero.

Back at It

After a long delay for Christmas break, and a warm vacation in Arizona, I am back to post. I would have posted over break, but, to be honest, I was enjoying relaxation and working on getting out résumés for this summer. I spread my net wide, and hopefully my undergraduate record will help me get a few interviews. Several federal agencies received my information, as did a few firms in Indianapolis. I am hoping that I can find a paying job, but I won't be holding my breath.

I am particularly excited by my schedule this semester. Not that there was anything wrong with my schedule last semester, but rather than Ethics and Torts, I get libertarian lovables Property and Constitutional Law. Further, we get into advocacy in Legal Research and Writing, which I think is my strength. I found it difficult to write completely neutrally last semester, and the opportunity to practice oral advocacy will lend itself well to whatever is in my future.

I am keeping up with the election coverage, but I won't get political here other than to say that the candidate I support is gathering far more votes than the "mainstream media" believed he would. Hopefully he will make a splash in Michigan, where he was running ads in Arabic to the Muslim communities there. I was disappointed to see Bill Richardson drop out of the race, since I believed he was the Democrat most qualified to be President, and a man who developed far more innovative solutions to problems (boycotting the Beijing Olympics to put pressure on China to get involved in Africa, for example). He should have gotten more votes, but apparently he wasn't liberal enough to win in the primaries. He also didn't say the words "change" or "hope" enough on stage. C'est la vie.

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.

Reader Opinions Sought

I am in the midst of deciding how I should spend my first summer. I have two basic alternatives: study abroad or find a job. I would like opinions (in comment form) on which would be better in the long run, and why. Obviously the opinions of practitioners and upperclassmen are more valuable at this point than opinions from fellow 1Ls.

I know (with a fair amount of certainty) that I want to work in criminal prosecution when I finish law school, and I also know that I want to stay in Indiana. Although nearly all study abroad programs I found involved international business or human rights, I was able to find a study abroad program through Tulane University that focuses on Criminal Law. It takes place in Amsterdam, because of its proximity to the Hague, among other reasons. The focus of the coursework would be comparative criminal procedure, international criminal law, and terrorism (as seen in the European way, as a crime rather than something upon which to declare war). The downside is that it is costly, and I would have to take out additional loans to fund such a trip.

My other alternative is to find work in a prosecutor's office or courtroom somewhere in Indiana. More populous counties like Marion, Lake, Monroe, Tippecanoe, and St. Joseph have large court systems, but I would love to work in a rural office (say, Park or Adams county) just as much. I have also looked into the Army JAG summer internship program, and wouldn't be opposed to working there, either. All of these alternatives give me valuable networks for when I want to find a job in a prosecutor's office in three years. The downside is that many of these positions are unpaid, so I might still need to take out loans.

So, for all the practitioners, judges, professors, and upperclassmen reading this: in your opinion, which is the better alternative? Your help is much appreciated.

Absorbing Wisdom

I found myself a new hobby.

As I described in my last post, I found myself very interested in listening to the stories and knowledge of a variety of persons in the legal field. It has taken the place of reading The Economist in my weekly schedule, actually. And, thankfully, the law school offers a great deal of optional educational opportunities for people like me.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of listening to a lecture on mental capacity and the legal ramifications of being on the fringe of such a category (i.e. those who are capable of making good decisions, but only just, and those who are not capable of making good decisions, but only just). The main thrust of the discussion was aimed at Alzheimer's patients, and how to treat them. For example, if a person my age says "When I'm old, if I can no longer remember my children, and cannot enjoy the intellectual pursuits I once did, I would like to be killed." Do we respect that person's choice when they become old, or do we count the older self as a new person?

The lecture was given by visiting Oxford professor Jonathan Herring, a very qualified speaker (nothing like hearing about Hoo-zee-er basketball in an English accent). I found it particularly interesting that in Britain, whether a person is mentally qualified is a question of law, while here in the States it is a question of medicine. I suppose that we Americans assume doctors are better at assessing mental incapacity than judges.

In the coming weeks, we have lectures on comparative British & American law, constitutional design in emerging democracies, and others. In October we have a pair of Courts of Appeal hearing arguments (one is a military court) in our Moot Court Room. You can be assured that I will be there for all these lectures and more. The law never ceases to amaze me (although, to be honest, Contracts can occasionally cease to do so).

I must rest up. Tomorrow after class I'm going to sit in on the Monroe County Court and hopefully hear some worthwhile legal argument.

Dinner Date with the Judge

One of the new things Indiana Law is trying on us is a 1L PRACTICE program, that ties in themes of ethics, professionalism, and career-planning. Last night we were fortunate to have a pair of speakers practicing in an area of the law in which I'm particularly interested. One is a county judge and former prosecutor here in Bloomington, while the other is a top criminal defense attorney. The actual presentation was quite interesting, as the two often disagreed and bickered (over such things as whose job is harder and who has better investigators).

As insightful as the presentation was, the most enjoyable part of the evening happened afterwards. One of my professors invited a group of students to dinner with the two speakers. The dinner conversation lasted about three hours, and I was glad that I accepted the invitation. I spent the first part of the night talking to the defense attorney, a highly regarded lawyer from Indianapolis. While I have no interest in working on that side of the courtroom, it was great to talk to the guy one-on-one. His golf-course living and iPhone were a testament to the economic success that such a position can offer.

After he left, we spent a while talking with the judge, exchanging law school stories and hearing tales of the most interesting folks to enter her courtroom. I felt like her life story was similar to mine, in regards to growing up, and our opinions of the legal profession. At the end of the night I was unhappy about leaving, as I could have absorbed her knowledge for at least a few more hours. Not all my comrades shared that enthusiasm, though. In the end, I found a good connection in a prosecutor's office and a courtroom.

Moral of the story: never turn down a dinner date with the judge.

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.