4th Week of Law School

Nothing truly exciting happened last week. I was a bit more fascinated with the potential of having a career in wine law and have been googling and reading about Mendelson who teaches wine law at Boalt. He’s had a very interesting past – he worked at the Wine Institute both during and after law school. Before law school, he also worked in the wine industry. I find it so cool that he knows so much about wine law that he has expanded to land-use planning and even to employment labor since vineyards often employ so many migrant workers. I wonder what other prestigious certifications there are in the wine industry. I’ve often thought about a sommelier license. But I don’t think I’m that interested in the enology aspect. I don’t have the patience for it.

My favorite case of the week is from Torts. We discussed Adams v. Bullock for ages. But basically the story is that in 1919 there was a twelve-year-old kid swinging an 8 foot wire around this bridge area where there was un-insulated wire for the trolley company to run on. The kid’s eight foot wire came in contact with the trolley wire and he got fried. He didn’t die…and the case in the book didn’t say…but he was probably severely injured (which reminds me of Ashton Kutcher in Butterfly effect when all his limbs were exploded off). The court said it wasn’t the defendant’s fault because a trolley line wasn’t supposed to protect society from every extraordinary mishap that could happen (this is the concept we’re supposed to learn – standard of care). Their reasoning was that from the bridge no one can touch the wire…and on the ground anyone standing up couldn’t touch the wire. So…the circumstances in this situation were pretty extreme. Even though I could see how the trolley company shouldn’t be responsible, I felt really bad for the kid. Twelve-year-olds make mistakes all the time, it’s too bad that he had to pay for it the rest of his life. And I guess that is what this case is trying to teach us…that moral obligation is not necessarily legal obligation. I kept wondering about the situation surrounding this case. Was it a class issue? I mean, I could only picture the Charlie-Chaplin-like child roaming around the train tracks playing because his parents were homeless and the kid had nothing to play with. Would the situation have been different if this child was some kid from the judge’s peer group? I’d like to think that these “other” relationships do not matter. And I guess I should assume that the wire is not left from some construction the trolley company engaged in since the case didn’t say so. Otherwise it is the trolley company’s dang fault. Perhaps all judges are just…and it truly is the matter of law. I hate to be so cynical so early in law school. This case makes me wonder if I would “feel bad” for all plaintiffs that are in litigation for their injuries no matter how contributorily negligent they were. I told my dad about this case. He says that the kid’s parents should have warned him of doing these things. Where were the parents? This, though, makes me wonder…because my dad is judging the situation on what he would have warned Eric and me about when we were younger - and not all parents are responsible. It’s funny how one case makes me think for hours about life and all its oddities. LDW says I have a way of saying how everything in life “should” be a particular way. I’m being snobby lately – I feel like if everyone operated by a certain moral code then we wouldn’t all be in such a guessing game all the time (but I shouldn’t pass judgment so quickly, everyone’s upbringing is different – I have to keep reminding myself of this).

Also my favorite memory of the week is driving in the dark with Nicole (not the part where we got pulled over), but the part where we sang a bunch of songs to keep ourselves awake for the 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. drive. I think it is so amazing that we still know all the lyrics to “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid!!!

Erin’s wedding was this weekend. It’s funny how something that I’ve been thinking about for a year finally happened. All my friends are getting married! Pretty soon this “phase” of my life will end (once everyone is hitched). Soon, I really will have no one to go clubbing with…I need to find more adventurous spirits to share in my devious course of life. J

Photos from my B-day Bash

I should be studying...but I'm exploring the features of Bubbleshare. This is so cool. Enjoy!


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Second Week of Law School

Party

I celebrated the end of my second week of law school with a fabulous party. The reason? It's my birthday.

I was very happy for so many reasons:

1) being able to introduce my friends to each other
2) seeing these friends make connections
3) seeing friends that I haven't ran into for a while
4) being out and about on a Saturday night
5) having some friends stay out all night with me (I didn't expect them to give me so much of their time)

Specifics:

1) That Diana was home and I got to visit for her for a little while
2) I didn't expect any gifts - and I got some very very thoughtful ones
3) My "coming" out cake! I love DQ cakes
4) Seeing Fernando because we hardly get to hang out
5) Meeting other people's significant others

Other Thoughts of the Week

1) Feeling weird lonely again - it's strange when you feel like you connect with people and then they utter a statement or do not make an action that makes me feel like we were totally on the wrong wavelength. It's such a forlorn feeling.

2) Passion vs. Practicality - thinking a lot again about working on my passions about everything - art, life, people, music, social change. I think it's sad because I meet so many people that are just going through the motions of life...and I don't feel their passion for many of the things they tell me that they are going to do. Then I wonder if I exude this same feeling on others? I wonder about how strong my convictions are...if my actions are generally not hypocritical. If I ordinarily follow through. It's so funny how people always think that they are better than they actually are. But then there are those people who's head are in the clouds...and they say they want to do all these things and always utter their plans in such a serious manner that you think this time they're going to do it and this time they're going to follow through...and when you finally meet up with them and ask about progress...they have abandoned their dreams or have moved onto something else. Do we do this our whole lives? Or is it part of being in my twenties? I'm too old to not know that not everyone gets to follow their dreams.

3) Voting - I went to vote for the primaries this week. As I was walking into Sandburg Middle School, a white woman was walking out...following her little girl....and a black man walked out and smiled at me. I thought it was so nice...living in a suburb and having a right to vote. It felt a bit surreal - all of us from there separate ethnic boxes to check off on a form - crossing paths to do what we have a right to do - VOTE. And it almost made me cry to to think of what so many generations before us had to do to fight for this day. And it really pisses me off when people who can choose not to vote. So I'm trying to do my part and get people to vote...and specifically to look at the Hutchinson/Reed campaign. Go TeamMN!! They really want to make a difference. And knowing Maureen Reed really helps. She knows what she's talking about. I've worked with her and seen her ask thought provoking questions. Seen her do the follow up. She wants to help us change the healthcare system. She knows the system inside-out. She is a doctor. She's qualified. And Peter Hutchinson- he had his own consulting company to help government become more efficient for crying out loud. He knows his stuff. And they are both not career politicians. Being involved with student government in the past makes me respect this so much more. If career student government kids can suck so much...think of the people in the real world! This is why it's good to have fresh blood in a system -they can ask questions and are at a position to change things because they don't have years of favors to pay back. I am planning to help as much as I can.

4. Law school - Favorite Case of the Week - would have to be....Webb v. McGowin. I like this case for so many reasons. I'm sure once I attend class tomorrow - I will be wrong in all my reasons. This case is about how Webb worked in a lumber company and was carrying these 75 pound logs to throw over the upper floor of the mill to clear the floor area. One day when he was about to throw the log over...in a split second he saw McGowin standing where the log would be and he made the decision to fall with the log to divert where it would land to save this guy, but seriously injures himself and become mentally and physically unable to work for the rest of his life. McGowin - being touched that his life was saved, promises to give Webb $15 (this is case is from 1936) every two weeks until the rest of Webb's natural life. Except McGowin dies, and so Webb sues McGowin to keep getting the money from his estate for the rest of his natural life. This case falls under the subject of restitution that we will be covering. The Court of Appeals ruled that McGowin's estate should be giving money to Webb because McGowin received a material benefit from Webb's actions. He didn't have to pay medical bills or pay for his life. Right now, I find this case interesting because I cannot believe that someone would do that for another human being. Or I should say...I forget how giving some people can be. I wonder how I would feel if I was Webb's wife or family. Would I wish misfortune on the other person instead of having to bear the burden of a loved one's mishaps for the rest of my life? Law is so interesting. Reading about these real life stories make me examine my life in a whole new manner.

Okay time for real studying.

First Week of Law School

Law school is weird. I feel like I'm in a really bad sequel of Harry Potter...where you try to find out from the upper classmen what each professor is like...everyone has tips on how to deal with certain professors...certain subjects. I feel nervous all the time because I know I'm being judged. And I'm not sure why I feel nervous...because I care or because I don't care and want to care more. In any case...I'm still going to eat dark chocolate in the middle of class if I have a chocolate craving...even if that means I have to stop typing and taking notes for like 15 seconds and miss something really crucial for the final.

Everyone fascinates me. I haven't been in an environment so stimulating for such a long time. Everyone has such interesting stories...I made a few good acquaintances already. And I ran into someone from the past that now works at the law school. And it's nice having a couple people I know that say hi to me. This is soo funny. Like high school.

The week's most interesting case is probably Marbury v. Madison. I freaked out, thought I understood it, and freaked out again. After repeating this process a couple of times, I think I have a good handle on the case. I was able to talk it over with a classmate and that always helps.

With law school - I'm going to aim to try to blog once a week. It's relaxing...

Also check out www.anonymouslawyer.blogspot.com. It's funny.

My professor has a website. This is also very cool.