Montgomery.
Even with friends this place can seem so lonely at times. Finals don't help. It only makes it worse to self seclude yourself in order to study. It makes it hard to concentrate at times knowing that when you get home that there is nothing behind the door that you unlock except an empty room.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Bar Exam Results
This goes hand in hand with my underdog post.
http://lawofthegump.blogspot.com/2007/04/underdog.html
These are the results for the February 2007 Alabama Bar:
For first time takers at ABA-approved schools, the pass rates were:
Faulkner JSL---87.5%
Alabama---68.8%
Cumberland---54.5%
For all takers, including repeaters:
Faulkner JSL---74.2%
Alabama---61.9%
Cumberland---50.0%
Congrats to everybody that passed the bar.
"Understand that I aint braggin'. I'm just sayin'...."
http://lawofthegump.blogspot.com/2007/04/underdog.html
These are the results for the February 2007 Alabama Bar:
For first time takers at ABA-approved schools, the pass rates were:
Faulkner JSL---87.5%
Alabama---68.8%
Cumberland---54.5%
For all takers, including repeaters:
Faulkner JSL---74.2%
Alabama---61.9%
Cumberland---50.0%
Congrats to everybody that passed the bar.
"Understand that I aint braggin'. I'm just sayin'...."
Friday, April 27, 2007
DEAD WEEK
Or if you prefer it in Latin “Mortuus Dies”.In college I thought of dead week as a free time. Uhhhh. Not anymore.
Dead Week Starts Monday!
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Review
Please, please, please. If you ever grow up to be a law professor, please do a relevant review that gives SOME idea about what of the vast array of material that was covered is important. I’m not asking for test answers. I learned the law. Now tell me how much of that I need to pour over in minute detail!
Coversation
This is how you know you spend too much time thinking nothing but law.
Conversation today in the Library:
Me: “Dude I need a blue ink pen. Where are all those blue ink pens the financial aid people left up here at the desk?”
Librarian: “Everybody got them. They are all gone.”
Me: ‘Dude, I need a blue ink pen!”
Librarian: ‘I guess you are S.O.L.”
(pause)
Me: “What does the statute of limitations have to do with blue ink pens?”
Conversation today in the Library:
Me: “Dude I need a blue ink pen. Where are all those blue ink pens the financial aid people left up here at the desk?”
Librarian: “Everybody got them. They are all gone.”
Me: ‘Dude, I need a blue ink pen!”
Librarian: ‘I guess you are S.O.L.”
(pause)
Me: “What does the statute of limitations have to do with blue ink pens?”
Monday, April 23, 2007
A-Day
A-Day game at over capacity crowd.
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout!
92,138-plus! – And for a scrimmage game at that!
I didn’t get to go this year. I was studying.
Check out the story here at Sports Illustrated's web site.
Now that’s what I’m talkin’ bout!
92,138-plus! – And for a scrimmage game at that!
I didn’t get to go this year. I was studying.
Check out the story here at Sports Illustrated's web site.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Underdog
I wrote a blog on Adriana Dominguez (a third-year student at Brooklyn Law School).
http://lawofthegump.blogspot.com/2007/04/juris-imprudence.html It was a story that I had seen on Fox news while in the break room at the law school eating lunch. It was picked up by several news outlets and was a topic of conversation among law students around the country for several days. It seemed like a good topic to write about for a law school blog. I mean come on! Sex, lies, and videotape, what more you want? I followed it up with a couple of more blogs on ethics.
I have a counter at the bottom of my page. It is nothing miraculous or extraordianary. It is a regular old free counter that is available to almost any web page. But even with this free counter, I am still able to see what domain (server such as charter, AOL, etc.) my readers come from; how long they looked at my page; and what refered them to me. If it was a google search, it even gives the search terms. If it scares you think that someone can get that much info for free then you should really be scared to think what you could get if you actually paid for a service.
Anyway, I was really surprised when my web site hits shot up the day that I wrote the blog. Over 30 times the average of my normal number of visits.
So I backtracked a few visitors that had actually spent some time reading my blog. I was curious to see how someone from across the country would find my blog.
I was surprised by how much specific things in my blogs had been googled (Such as Barrister’s Ball or other law school specific topics). I was really surprised at how many people were just looking for naked pics of Andrea Dominguez. But what really blew me away was the fact that there are discussion boards out there that linked my blog to their discussion.
This led me to discover that there are several web sites that have my blog listed for users to find easily. For instance I am ranked in the top 4 law school blogs from http://www.jd2b.com/ . That was really neat. Thanks guys.
But the blog also got some bad attention.
It got my link pulled from several other less conservative viewpointed law school blogger sites (A favor that was soon returned - thanks for the support guys).
I also noticed that I had become the topic of actual entire threads of some discussion boards (mainly regarding the Andrea Dominguez story) (and not from the site listed above – I won't give the other sites the time they rightly don’t deserve).
Instead of reading the multiple times that I refer to the article as being from New York Daily News web site, some of these people actually thought that I had written the entire story on my own. They trashed me for spreading the info. They dogged my school as lower tier and undeserving of their respect. I was supposedly trying to “sound smart”. And at one point I was even called a %#@*&^ #@%
Huh?
One point that I have to bring up is this: If you are on a law school discussion board talking about trying to get into law school, maybe you should actually get into one before you bash everything not labeled ivy league. As a matter of fact junior law school wanabees should just hope to get in any school that will take them. And then refrain from comments like the ones made until they actually survive just one semester.
Those who can do. Those who can’t – just talk about it.
As for my school, I have this to say:
I take great pride in the fact that the people who fail out of Jones and go elsewhere to law school have generally done quite well. We are recently ABA accredited. Because of that, our standards are very strict. Our scales are as tough as they come. Our policies leave no room for less then perfect standards of honor or sacrifice. I don’t blame the faculty and school for policies that other schools see as incumberances. We are the under dogs who are currently snarling, thrashing, gnawing, and climbing our way past the naysayer and elitists.
Any sports team is surprised when they are defeated by the underdog opponent.
Why? Because they underestimated the opponent. Because they were so filled with their own bloated vision of themselves that they did not see a worthy oponent before them. At which time they were summarily served their own asses on a plate.
I have friends who are extremely bothered by the lack of respect that we get in relation to longer established law schools (schools that we thougoughly trounced in recent moot court competitions). It doesn’t bother me.
I am from a small town. We had small sports teams. We were always, undermanned, undersized, slower, and underrated. Time and again we beat oppponents who were bigger, faster, had more depth as well as natural ability, and always ranked above us.
Why did we beat these teams? Because we were more determined, more disciplined, and trained harder. Most of all we had no overly grand ideas of our own abilities. We knew that to win we had to want it more than the other guys did and we had to work harder than they did. Simple as that. I have never played anything on a level playing field. It is always an uphill battle for one side or the other. Usually for my side.
You can all me bad names, kick my dog, or spit on the flag. But don’t ever underestimate me (or my law school). Trust me on this one. Otherwise when you come up against us, your are going to get your feelings hurt and your ego bruised. I have been the underdog all my life. I have learned to deal with that. It just means I have to work harder than others do to get the same respect. I don’t have a problem with that. But people desperately need to understan that if they underestimate the people from this school, they WILL get thier asses handed to them in court.
In the words of Forest Gump:
“That is all I have to say about that.”
http://lawofthegump.blogspot.com/2007/04/juris-imprudence.html It was a story that I had seen on Fox news while in the break room at the law school eating lunch. It was picked up by several news outlets and was a topic of conversation among law students around the country for several days. It seemed like a good topic to write about for a law school blog. I mean come on! Sex, lies, and videotape, what more you want? I followed it up with a couple of more blogs on ethics.
I have a counter at the bottom of my page. It is nothing miraculous or extraordianary. It is a regular old free counter that is available to almost any web page. But even with this free counter, I am still able to see what domain (server such as charter, AOL, etc.) my readers come from; how long they looked at my page; and what refered them to me. If it was a google search, it even gives the search terms. If it scares you think that someone can get that much info for free then you should really be scared to think what you could get if you actually paid for a service.
Anyway, I was really surprised when my web site hits shot up the day that I wrote the blog. Over 30 times the average of my normal number of visits.
So I backtracked a few visitors that had actually spent some time reading my blog. I was curious to see how someone from across the country would find my blog.
I was surprised by how much specific things in my blogs had been googled (Such as Barrister’s Ball or other law school specific topics). I was really surprised at how many people were just looking for naked pics of Andrea Dominguez. But what really blew me away was the fact that there are discussion boards out there that linked my blog to their discussion.
This led me to discover that there are several web sites that have my blog listed for users to find easily. For instance I am ranked in the top 4 law school blogs from http://www.jd2b.com/ . That was really neat. Thanks guys.
But the blog also got some bad attention.
It got my link pulled from several other less conservative viewpointed law school blogger sites (A favor that was soon returned - thanks for the support guys).
I also noticed that I had become the topic of actual entire threads of some discussion boards (mainly regarding the Andrea Dominguez story) (and not from the site listed above – I won't give the other sites the time they rightly don’t deserve).
Instead of reading the multiple times that I refer to the article as being from New York Daily News web site, some of these people actually thought that I had written the entire story on my own. They trashed me for spreading the info. They dogged my school as lower tier and undeserving of their respect. I was supposedly trying to “sound smart”. And at one point I was even called a %#@*&^ #@%
Huh?
One point that I have to bring up is this: If you are on a law school discussion board talking about trying to get into law school, maybe you should actually get into one before you bash everything not labeled ivy league. As a matter of fact junior law school wanabees should just hope to get in any school that will take them. And then refrain from comments like the ones made until they actually survive just one semester.
Those who can do. Those who can’t – just talk about it.
As for my school, I have this to say:
I take great pride in the fact that the people who fail out of Jones and go elsewhere to law school have generally done quite well. We are recently ABA accredited. Because of that, our standards are very strict. Our scales are as tough as they come. Our policies leave no room for less then perfect standards of honor or sacrifice. I don’t blame the faculty and school for policies that other schools see as incumberances. We are the under dogs who are currently snarling, thrashing, gnawing, and climbing our way past the naysayer and elitists.
Any sports team is surprised when they are defeated by the underdog opponent.
Why? Because they underestimated the opponent. Because they were so filled with their own bloated vision of themselves that they did not see a worthy oponent before them. At which time they were summarily served their own asses on a plate.
I have friends who are extremely bothered by the lack of respect that we get in relation to longer established law schools (schools that we thougoughly trounced in recent moot court competitions). It doesn’t bother me.
I am from a small town. We had small sports teams. We were always, undermanned, undersized, slower, and underrated. Time and again we beat oppponents who were bigger, faster, had more depth as well as natural ability, and always ranked above us.
Why did we beat these teams? Because we were more determined, more disciplined, and trained harder. Most of all we had no overly grand ideas of our own abilities. We knew that to win we had to want it more than the other guys did and we had to work harder than they did. Simple as that. I have never played anything on a level playing field. It is always an uphill battle for one side or the other. Usually for my side.
You can all me bad names, kick my dog, or spit on the flag. But don’t ever underestimate me (or my law school). Trust me on this one. Otherwise when you come up against us, your are going to get your feelings hurt and your ego bruised. I have been the underdog all my life. I have learned to deal with that. It just means I have to work harder than others do to get the same respect. I don’t have a problem with that. But people desperately need to understan that if they underestimate the people from this school, they WILL get thier asses handed to them in court.
In the words of Forest Gump:
“That is all I have to say about that.”
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Icarus
Just a cool story that I thought you would enjoy.
There once was a man named Larry Walters. Now Larry had a dream. Larry wanted to fly. Larry had always dreamed of flying but was unable to become a pilot in the Air Force due to bad eyesight.
Years before, he had seen several weather balloons in an army surplus store and got the idea that it would be great if he could just float away on a baloon. In July of 1982 he bought and rigged 42 weather balloons to an aluminum lawn chair. He sat down in the chair with a bag full of sandwiches, something to drink, and a BB gun.
He reached down and cut the line that held the chair on the ground. The chair (with Larry in it) shot into the sky.
Larry planned to use the BB gun to shoot a balloon or two if he got too high or wanted to come back down. So Larry just floated around and enjoyed himself. He was flying!!
There once was a man named Larry Walters. Now Larry had a dream. Larry wanted to fly. Larry had always dreamed of flying but was unable to become a pilot in the Air Force due to bad eyesight.
Years before, he had seen several weather balloons in an army surplus store and got the idea that it would be great if he could just float away on a baloon. In July of 1982 he bought and rigged 42 weather balloons to an aluminum lawn chair. He sat down in the chair with a bag full of sandwiches, something to drink, and a BB gun.He reached down and cut the line that held the chair on the ground. The chair (with Larry in it) shot into the sky.
Larry planned to use the BB gun to shoot a balloon or two if he got too high or wanted to come back down. So Larry just floated around and enjoyed himself. He was flying!!Not only was he flying, he was flying at about 16,000 feet!!
He eventually drifted down after shooting a few balloons with his BB gun. He was arrested and fined by the FAA for operating a"civil aircraft for which there is not currently in effect an airworthiness certificate"
When a reporter asked him why he had did it, he responded "A man can't just sit around."
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Taxes
Taxes are due
I know I know already.
I got my W2 way back at the end of January. Which I promptly filed away with a mental note to do my taxes as soon as possible. Those of you that know me know that mental notes are useless to me (as my brain promptly takes the yellow post it of information and wads it up and throws it away).
More observant or organized people may use a technical term for my filing system such as “pile”. But it works the same way. I put it into a pile with other mail that needs to have something done to it. (For instance mail back a portion of the mail with a check for useful things such as my cell phone bill).
It should be mentioned at this point that a short while back I noticed a squeaky sound occasionally to my brakes. At the end of the week it turned into a full grown roar. Several shops I called were busy and asked to drive on it a little longer and to bring it in Monday so that the brake rotors could be totally ruined and they could charge me a lot more money to repair the brakes. No problem.
Back to the taxes
I noticed a while back (yesterday) that it may be a good time to do my taxes seeing as how the deadline is the first of the week. Now most of you with real jobs reading this might be shocked because you have long since filed your taxes and received your return from the IRS. This is not as big a priority to me because I am in law school and my return is; well… let’s just call it minimal. I did my own taxes by hand this year because buying tax software (or lord forbid taking my taxes to H&R block) would have eaten up the measly portion that I am to receive back from the government.
Long gone are the days of deductions, tax credits, itemizations, employment expenses, etc. I filed the EZ form because it will be EZ for the IRS to see that they have a fair chunk of my money. My only job (and W2) was the law school library and I own practically nothing. Taxes done.
After work (Where I filled out my taxes. – Hey, what am I going to do there but fill out tax forms and study?) I went to the post office to mail my taxes. (Brakes screeching like a really bad American Idol contestant). Rain is pouring down. I make it inside after shielding my precious taxes under my shirt because “The Man don’t like no soggy forms”
I put my quarters in the machine to get stamps. No dice. No stamps. Oh, they have stamps in the machine. The machine just won’t let me have any of the stamps. After committing what may have been a federal offense on the post office machine, it finally spit my quarters back out.
So I drive across town to another post office. (Brakes screeching all the way) This post office got hit by a tornado a while back and there is still plywood and plastic sheeting up everywhere. (Walking into the post office makes you feel like you are walking back stage of a local theatrical production where Buddy, the local handyman, has pieced together all the props with duct tape, bubble gum and spit.) I make it onto the post office while keeping “The Man’s” paperwork warm and dry under my shirt.
I walk into the post office and what do I see? Well looky there. It is the new stamp machine with a brand new out of order sign on it. How nice.
Since this is ONLY the second post office that I have been to I asked a nice looking little old lady if she knew where another post office might be. I was on a post office tour. I figured that I might as well see all of them.
Little did I know that the little old lady was simply waiting for another tornado to hit the post office so that she could be interviewed by the local news crews and say things like “Wooeee, it was loud! Sounded like a freight train! We barely got all the dogs and hogs out from under the trailer before she got blowed away! We sure are lucky. The good lord was just watching out for us.”
She wasn’t any help.
I was able to fool some technological marvel of science on the other side of the post office into selling me some stamps so that The Man can look at his clean dry paper and see how much money he took from me this year. Finally I had stamps. I put plenty of extra postage on it so that “The Man” would be proud of me. (And I had no idea how much postage to actually put on the oversized envelopes.)
As the envelopes slide into the slot I notice that the The Man’s paperwork may be a little soggy. I know this because just as the envelopes slid into the slot I saw that some of the ink that used to be the zip code was sliding down the envelope. Thankfully, (due to my incredibly quick thought and amazing hand speed) I was able to reach for the envelopes and push then into the slot just as I mouthed a profanity.
Not to worry. The IRS is the government. The post office is the government. You could tape 37 cents in coins to the outside of a old coffee tin labeled “In care of IRS” and they would get it. The Man has people everywhere. And they take care of The Mans business.
I can’t wait to get back my return. I think I am going to use it to buy some bubblegum, or ask somebody if they want to go in halfsies on a candy bar, or maybe just save it up for stamps for next year.
I know I know already.
I got my W2 way back at the end of January. Which I promptly filed away with a mental note to do my taxes as soon as possible. Those of you that know me know that mental notes are useless to me (as my brain promptly takes the yellow post it of information and wads it up and throws it away).
More observant or organized people may use a technical term for my filing system such as “pile”. But it works the same way. I put it into a pile with other mail that needs to have something done to it. (For instance mail back a portion of the mail with a check for useful things such as my cell phone bill).
It should be mentioned at this point that a short while back I noticed a squeaky sound occasionally to my brakes. At the end of the week it turned into a full grown roar. Several shops I called were busy and asked to drive on it a little longer and to bring it in Monday so that the brake rotors could be totally ruined and they could charge me a lot more money to repair the brakes. No problem.
Back to the taxes
I noticed a while back (yesterday) that it may be a good time to do my taxes seeing as how the deadline is the first of the week. Now most of you with real jobs reading this might be shocked because you have long since filed your taxes and received your return from the IRS. This is not as big a priority to me because I am in law school and my return is; well… let’s just call it minimal. I did my own taxes by hand this year because buying tax software (or lord forbid taking my taxes to H&R block) would have eaten up the measly portion that I am to receive back from the government.
Long gone are the days of deductions, tax credits, itemizations, employment expenses, etc. I filed the EZ form because it will be EZ for the IRS to see that they have a fair chunk of my money. My only job (and W2) was the law school library and I own practically nothing. Taxes done.
After work (Where I filled out my taxes. – Hey, what am I going to do there but fill out tax forms and study?) I went to the post office to mail my taxes. (Brakes screeching like a really bad American Idol contestant). Rain is pouring down. I make it inside after shielding my precious taxes under my shirt because “The Man don’t like no soggy forms”
I put my quarters in the machine to get stamps. No dice. No stamps. Oh, they have stamps in the machine. The machine just won’t let me have any of the stamps. After committing what may have been a federal offense on the post office machine, it finally spit my quarters back out.
So I drive across town to another post office. (Brakes screeching all the way) This post office got hit by a tornado a while back and there is still plywood and plastic sheeting up everywhere. (Walking into the post office makes you feel like you are walking back stage of a local theatrical production where Buddy, the local handyman, has pieced together all the props with duct tape, bubble gum and spit.) I make it onto the post office while keeping “The Man’s” paperwork warm and dry under my shirt.
I walk into the post office and what do I see? Well looky there. It is the new stamp machine with a brand new out of order sign on it. How nice.
Since this is ONLY the second post office that I have been to I asked a nice looking little old lady if she knew where another post office might be. I was on a post office tour. I figured that I might as well see all of them.
Little did I know that the little old lady was simply waiting for another tornado to hit the post office so that she could be interviewed by the local news crews and say things like “Wooeee, it was loud! Sounded like a freight train! We barely got all the dogs and hogs out from under the trailer before she got blowed away! We sure are lucky. The good lord was just watching out for us.”
She wasn’t any help.
I was able to fool some technological marvel of science on the other side of the post office into selling me some stamps so that The Man can look at his clean dry paper and see how much money he took from me this year. Finally I had stamps. I put plenty of extra postage on it so that “The Man” would be proud of me. (And I had no idea how much postage to actually put on the oversized envelopes.)
As the envelopes slide into the slot I notice that the The Man’s paperwork may be a little soggy. I know this because just as the envelopes slid into the slot I saw that some of the ink that used to be the zip code was sliding down the envelope. Thankfully, (due to my incredibly quick thought and amazing hand speed) I was able to reach for the envelopes and push then into the slot just as I mouthed a profanity.
Not to worry. The IRS is the government. The post office is the government. You could tape 37 cents in coins to the outside of a old coffee tin labeled “In care of IRS” and they would get it. The Man has people everywhere. And they take care of The Mans business.
I can’t wait to get back my return. I think I am going to use it to buy some bubblegum, or ask somebody if they want to go in halfsies on a candy bar, or maybe just save it up for stamps for next year.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Last post on Ethics
I promise that this is the last post for a while on ethics.
Here is another perfect example of how a lack personal ethics shows up in a person’s professional life. This time it is not a lawyer or law student.
No other comments.
From http://www.thesmokinggun.com/
Joe Francis, the "Girls Gone Wild" founder, was indicted today on federal tax evasion charges for illegally deducting more than $20 million in phony business expenses from his 2002 and 2003 corporate tax returns. According to a two count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Reno, Nevada, Francis, 34, sought to conceal income through the use of offshore companies and nominees. At one point, he transferred $15 million from one offshore bank account to a California brokerage account in the name of a Cayman Islands corporation he controlled. If convicted of the federal charges, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. Francis was arrested yesterday on an unrelated federal warrant stemming from a civil lawsuit brought against him by seven underage women who were filmed by "Girls Gone Wild" cameramen in Florida in 2003.
Here is another perfect example of how a lack personal ethics shows up in a person’s professional life. This time it is not a lawyer or law student.
No other comments.
From http://www.thesmokinggun.com/
Joe Francis, the "Girls Gone Wild" founder, was indicted today on federal tax evasion charges for illegally deducting more than $20 million in phony business expenses from his 2002 and 2003 corporate tax returns. According to a two count indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Reno, Nevada, Francis, 34, sought to conceal income through the use of offshore companies and nominees. At one point, he transferred $15 million from one offshore bank account to a California brokerage account in the name of a Cayman Islands corporation he controlled. If convicted of the federal charges, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines of up to $500,000. Francis was arrested yesterday on an unrelated federal warrant stemming from a civil lawsuit brought against him by seven underage women who were filmed by "Girls Gone Wild" cameramen in Florida in 2003.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Prosecutorial misconduct
The post goes hand in hand with yesterday’s post on Adriana Dominguez (a third-year student at Brooklyn Law School whose own ethical missteps may cost her more than she planned).
Prosecutorial misconduct
Guilty?: Rouge prosecutor D.A. Mike Nifong; False rape accuser Crystal Gail Norman
Innocent: Duke players
Not caught up on the story? Here are the facts and timeline.
Mike Nifong faces ethics charges for prosecutorial misconduct by misleading the media and public in an effort to gain notoriety in a big case and ensure his re-election. He now stands as an example of what happens when a member of the bar lacks the ethics and higher standard to which we hold our selves and our peers.
March 13, 2006 — Duke University lacrosse players throw a party at an off-campus house, hiring two strippers.
March 14 — One of the dancers tells Durham, N.C., police she was forced into a bathroom by three men and beaten, raped and sodomized.
March 23 — Forty-six of 47 team members comply with judge's order to provide DNA. The sole black member is not tested, because the accuser said her attackers were white.
March 28 — Duke suspends lacrosse team from play.
March 29 — District Attorney Mike Nifong calls members of the team "a bunch of hooligans."
April 4 — The accuser identifies her attackers in a photo lineup.
April 5 — Lacrosse coach Mike Pressler resigns. Duke President Richard Brodhead cancels the rest of the season.
April 10 — Defense attorneys announce DNA tests fail to connect any of the players to the accuser.
April 17 — Grand jury indicts Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty on rape and other charges.
April 25 — Granville County authorities confirm the accuser told police 10 years ago she was raped by three men when she was 14. None of the men was charged.
May 15 — Grand jury indicts team co-captain David Evans on rape charges. He calls the allegations "fantastic lies."
June 5 — Duke president says team can resume play in 2007 under close monitoring.
Nov. 7 — Nifong wins election to continue as district attorney.
Dec. 15 — Director of a DNA lab testifies that, in an agreement with Nifong, he omitted from a report that genetic material from several men — none of them team members — was found in accuser's underwear and body.
Dec. 22 — Nifong drops the rape charges, saying the woman is no longer certain whether she was penetrated. The players still face charges of kidnapping and sexual offense.
Dec. 28 — North Carolina bar files ethics charges against Nifong, accusing him of making misleading and inflammatory comments to the media about the athletes. (He is also later accused of withholding evidence and lying to the court.)
Jan. 3, 2007 — Duke invites Seligmann and Finnerty to return to school. (They have not returned.) The accuser gives birth. Both sides later say she was not impregnated at the party.
Jan. 12 — Nifong asks to withdraw from case because of ethics charges.
Jan. 13 — North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper takes over the case.
Apr. 11 – Duke players announced innocent of charges
What happens now? I certainly hope that Mike Nifong is afforded what he attempted to deny the Duke players; due process, equal access to evidence, and an ethical prosecutor.
The biggest question that this all raises is what if these guys did NOT have the recorces to combat a rouge prosecutor? The answer is simple. They each would be serving 30 years for something they did not do.
Prosecutorial misconduct? Probably so. Do personal ethics affect your performance as a lawyer? Absolutely!
And if Nifong is guilty of this misconduct, how far does it go? Are there innocent people in jail (or worse - facing the death penalty) right now because of his actions? This my friends is why we hold our selves to a higher standard, because we are the defenders of the weak, the balance on the stong, and the protectors of the blessings of liberty.
Someone said they didnt get the cartoon. The lady standing there is lady liberty. Does that help?
Prosecutorial misconduct
Guilty?: Rouge prosecutor D.A. Mike Nifong; False rape accuser Crystal Gail Norman
Innocent: Duke players
Not caught up on the story? Here are the facts and timeline.
Mike Nifong faces ethics charges for prosecutorial misconduct by misleading the media and public in an effort to gain notoriety in a big case and ensure his re-election. He now stands as an example of what happens when a member of the bar lacks the ethics and higher standard to which we hold our selves and our peers.
March 13, 2006 — Duke University lacrosse players throw a party at an off-campus house, hiring two strippers.
March 14 — One of the dancers tells Durham, N.C., police she was forced into a bathroom by three men and beaten, raped and sodomized.
March 23 — Forty-six of 47 team members comply with judge's order to provide DNA. The sole black member is not tested, because the accuser said her attackers were white.
March 28 — Duke suspends lacrosse team from play.
March 29 — District Attorney Mike Nifong calls members of the team "a bunch of hooligans."
April 4 — The accuser identifies her attackers in a photo lineup.
April 5 — Lacrosse coach Mike Pressler resigns. Duke President Richard Brodhead cancels the rest of the season.
April 10 — Defense attorneys announce DNA tests fail to connect any of the players to the accuser.
April 17 — Grand jury indicts Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty on rape and other charges.
April 25 — Granville County authorities confirm the accuser told police 10 years ago she was raped by three men when she was 14. None of the men was charged.
May 15 — Grand jury indicts team co-captain David Evans on rape charges. He calls the allegations "fantastic lies."
June 5 — Duke president says team can resume play in 2007 under close monitoring.
Nov. 7 — Nifong wins election to continue as district attorney.
Dec. 15 — Director of a DNA lab testifies that, in an agreement with Nifong, he omitted from a report that genetic material from several men — none of them team members — was found in accuser's underwear and body.
Dec. 22 — Nifong drops the rape charges, saying the woman is no longer certain whether she was penetrated. The players still face charges of kidnapping and sexual offense.
Dec. 28 — North Carolina bar files ethics charges against Nifong, accusing him of making misleading and inflammatory comments to the media about the athletes. (He is also later accused of withholding evidence and lying to the court.)
Jan. 3, 2007 — Duke invites Seligmann and Finnerty to return to school. (They have not returned.) The accuser gives birth. Both sides later say she was not impregnated at the party.
Jan. 12 — Nifong asks to withdraw from case because of ethics charges.
Jan. 13 — North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper takes over the case.
Apr. 11 – Duke players announced innocent of charges
What happens now? I certainly hope that Mike Nifong is afforded what he attempted to deny the Duke players; due process, equal access to evidence, and an ethical prosecutor.
The biggest question that this all raises is what if these guys did NOT have the recorces to combat a rouge prosecutor? The answer is simple. They each would be serving 30 years for something they did not do.
Prosecutorial misconduct? Probably so. Do personal ethics affect your performance as a lawyer? Absolutely!
And if Nifong is guilty of this misconduct, how far does it go? Are there innocent people in jail (or worse - facing the death penalty) right now because of his actions? This my friends is why we hold our selves to a higher standard, because we are the defenders of the weak, the balance on the stong, and the protectors of the blessings of liberty.
Someone said they didnt get the cartoon. The lady standing there is lady liberty. Does that help?
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Juris-imprudence
Holy torts! Law student in erotic vid
From nydailynews.com
A Brooklyn law student who shed her briefs for a Playboy TV series may have to kiss off her career after the sexy video made its way into e-mail in-boxes all over the city.
Adriana Dominguez - a third-year student at Brooklyn Law School - happily strips naked, gets spanked and holds gavels up to her bare breasts in the provocative clip.
"I wanted to do something a little crazy before I graduate and do become a lawyer ... do something kind of out of character," Dominguez said with a grin as she posed for photographer Andrew Einhorn inside his friend's DUMBO apartment.
"Lawyers can be boring," the 24-year-old later added. But no one will ever call Dominguez buttoned-up. The brainy blond with Ivy League credentials was looking for a lark last July when she answered a Craigslist ad for women to appear in the Playboy TV series "Naked Happy Girls." The episode, called "Rock Star and the Lawyer," aired in January - and was barely noticed.
But in the past three weeks, a 45-second clip spread on the Internet among students and some faculty at almost every New York law school. "I did not expect it to become so widespread," Dominguez told the Daily News in an e-mail yesterday. "I do not know how it was leaked."
The University of Pennsylvania graduate appeared embarrassed and anxious when The News spotted her coming out of a meeting with a top dean. "We don't want this to ruin the career of a young lawyer," said law school spokeswoman Linda Harvey.
When she made the erotic video, Dominguez, a California native, seemed unfazed by the idea that it could wreck her future. "I'm not that shy, so it wouldn't bother me if, say, the opposing counsel has seen these pictures of me. I wouldn't care," she told Einhorn after he asked her if she had any concerns. "When we shot, she knew what might happen down the road if these pictures might get shown to people in her field," Einhorn told The News.
"But she had this self-confidence to not let that bother her. I don't think that she felt that this would be negative in any way to her career," he said.
The sexy stunt could have dire consequences for the would-be lawyer. If she applies for the New York State Bar this year, Dominguez could face tough questions from the Committee on Character and Fitness, which examines the personal character of future lawyers. "It may have an effect. It's a possibility in the worst-case scenario that the person does not get admitted," a committee representative said. And potential employers are sure to discover Dominguez's striptease with a quick Internet search.
Except for her naughty past, Dominguez has plenty to recommend her: she had a fall internship with the domestic violence unit of the Brooklyn district attorney's office and served as treasurer of her law school's Legal Association of Activist Women. Her fellow students at Brooklyn Law, who have dubbed Dominguez "Porn Star," said she should have been smart enough to know better. "It's a striptease. A bit trashy," said one young woman on campus. "I look at her differently. She's definitely smart. It was just a bad decision." 
"I do not know how it was leaked." - LEAKED! LEAKED! It was on cable TV softcore porn! It was on the internet already. How could it be leaked? It was there waiting to be found. Her having it linked to her AIM might have helped a little dont you think?
As lawyers we are paid for our judgment. We are held to a higher ethical standard. Are ethics a gray area? The ABA doesn’t seem to think so.
The bottom line is that this girl will probably get some grief from the NY state bar committee on character and fitness. But the real question is this: If you pay a lawyer for her judgment, aren’t you supposed to be able to trust that judgment?
And as for the comment made by the young lady on her campus, “She's definitely smart. It was just a bad decision."
In NY, “Smart” apparently means something to do with how well you can answer test questions, and absolutely nothing to do with common sense.
HOLY CRAP!!!! HOLD THE PRESS – This snippets below were found below the article in reader comments.
“Oh, and by the way, this is just the tip of the iceberg on this young lady. Her posing nude is the least of what she does. Almost a year ago to the day, friend of mine, had a bachelor's party in a Manhattan hotel. His brother arranged for 3 strippers. One of them was the subject of today's article.” “Anyways, after she participated, with her alleged cousin and another girl who was the supervisor....in a 3 way lesbian activity...did nude lapdances..so on and so forth she goes into the other room and then reappears and asks if there were any lawyers there. She then produces her Brooklyn Law School ID and starts asking about which bar preparation course she should take, Barbri or Pieper. The whole lawschool thing put a cold damper on the event.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/04/10/2007-04-10_its_jurisimprudence-2.html
You have to register to be able to see all the comments. Only the last few are posted bellow the article.
Uhhhhhhh. I don't think "whore, stripper, and porn star" are quite what the ABA had in mind when they advocated "public interest work".
By the way - Don't feel too bad for Ms. Dominguez. She has now hired a publicist.
Monday, April 09, 2007
Sleep strategy for finals
My Sleep strategy for finals:
Get some!
A brain is like a sponge needs time to rest and process the information that you pour into it. Just so much is going to fit in there at any one time without spilling a bunch.
I spent my first day and a half in finals prep mode. I came home and finished dinner by 7pm. I talked on the phone for just a few minutes, and passed out for 2 hours.
Sleep is so important during finals prep. It gets precious towards the end, when time is running short. I have to remember that it can’t be sacrificed, especially the few days before finals. I have to come in rested AND prepared if I expect to do well.
The rest of my strategy:
To borrow a line from “Cool Hand Luke”, I have to get my “mind right”. This means I have to actually sit down and psych myself into understanding the weight and importance of what is now happening. In other words – I will scare myself into “wanting” to study.
Get plenty of rest (see above)
Take care of my self
Take my vitamins (Flintstones don’t get it – I’m a grown man. I need the good stuff)
Eat right (it is so easy to not do this during finals)
No alcohol (goodbye you sweetly brewed, delicately aromatic, nectar of the gods)
Keep my personal life free from strife and drama
(Attention Dramaters: If you have some Drama to disperse, do it now while I have time to deal with it. If you spring it on me right before or during finals. You will deal with an unholy wrath that will consume your very soul. Don’t do it! I know you want to. You folks always do. Don’t even think about it!)
Remember what is important (School, health, personal life).
Concentrate on what is important
Pour it on for the next 4 Weeks
Good luck to you all.
It is time to Strap in, Buck up, and hold on.
Get some!
A brain is like a sponge needs time to rest and process the information that you pour into it. Just so much is going to fit in there at any one time without spilling a bunch.
I spent my first day and a half in finals prep mode. I came home and finished dinner by 7pm. I talked on the phone for just a few minutes, and passed out for 2 hours.
Sleep is so important during finals prep. It gets precious towards the end, when time is running short. I have to remember that it can’t be sacrificed, especially the few days before finals. I have to come in rested AND prepared if I expect to do well.
The rest of my strategy:
To borrow a line from “Cool Hand Luke”, I have to get my “mind right”. This means I have to actually sit down and psych myself into understanding the weight and importance of what is now happening. In other words – I will scare myself into “wanting” to study.
Get plenty of rest (see above)
Take care of my self
Take my vitamins (Flintstones don’t get it – I’m a grown man. I need the good stuff)
Eat right (it is so easy to not do this during finals)
No alcohol (goodbye you sweetly brewed, delicately aromatic, nectar of the gods)
Keep my personal life free from strife and drama
(Attention Dramaters: If you have some Drama to disperse, do it now while I have time to deal with it. If you spring it on me right before or during finals. You will deal with an unholy wrath that will consume your very soul. Don’t do it! I know you want to. You folks always do. Don’t even think about it!)
Remember what is important (School, health, personal life).
Concentrate on what is important
Pour it on for the next 4 Weeks
Good luck to you all.
It is time to Strap in, Buck up, and hold on.
Law school firearm policy
Actual official law school email:
"Please be advised that Faulkner University has a no firearms and weapons policy. A student cannot carry any firearm or dangerous weapon on their person or in their vehicles while on campus. Punishment for violating this policy could result in dismissal from school."
Was this email sent to discourage potential gangbangers from popping caps at each other?
Nope – it was 2 country boys looking at a new shotgun in the parking lot.
You can take the kid out of the country, but…
Country as a turnip green. That is me. And yes, it was a very nice shotgun.
"Please be advised that Faulkner University has a no firearms and weapons policy. A student cannot carry any firearm or dangerous weapon on their person or in their vehicles while on campus. Punishment for violating this policy could result in dismissal from school."
Was this email sent to discourage potential gangbangers from popping caps at each other?
Nope – it was 2 country boys looking at a new shotgun in the parking lot.
You can take the kid out of the country, but…
Country as a turnip green. That is me. And yes, it was a very nice shotgun.
Beard
Because in law school you don’t actually have to go to a job and look presentable all the time, I stopped shaving a grew a beard. I was kind of going for a Unibomber look. Not the hooded artist rendering,
but the full “I just got busted making bombs in my shed up in the woods - now I am wearing an orange jumpsuit” Unibomber beard.
Tonight I shaved it off.
But first I shaved it into big Elvis looking sideburns, then a child molesterish looking goatee that looked stupid. Then I shaved it into a sure enough looking molestash with the edges coming way down, then a little bitty mustache, then took it all off.
It is kind of like playing with soap bubbles in the tub when you were a kid. Too bad girls can’t do that. It is fun.
Wait a minute. On second thought, I am kind of glad that girls can’t do that.
but the full “I just got busted making bombs in my shed up in the woods - now I am wearing an orange jumpsuit” Unibomber beard.
Tonight I shaved it off.
But first I shaved it into big Elvis looking sideburns, then a child molesterish looking goatee that looked stupid. Then I shaved it into a sure enough looking molestash with the edges coming way down, then a little bitty mustache, then took it all off.
It is kind of like playing with soap bubbles in the tub when you were a kid. Too bad girls can’t do that. It is fun.
Wait a minute. On second thought, I am kind of glad that girls can’t do that.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Law school debt and Myspace
Today I attended one of the two MANDATORY “law school debt workshops” that I am required to take prior to graduation. Apparently the Bar isn’t so happy about their members having to dip into client funds just to pay law school loans.
I went ahead and went to the one today because I could knock it out and only have one more to do before graduation (which is in the what seems like now unforeseeable future).
Anyway, we get into the mandatory meeting and it winds up being a freaking sales seminar with a guy trying to get us to consolidate out loans “right now” with company X.
The guy gave some tertiary information about loans in general and said that we are liable for them (duh).
If you are going to employ someone to council students on debt management a financial advisor might be a good choice. A representative of a loan corporation is not.
Loan consolidation guy did tell me one thing that was pretty funny.
Apparently loan companies go to great lengths to find clients. Lately they have taken to looking for their defaulting loan clients on where else: MYSPACE.
Hey look, I have a new friend request.
I went ahead and went to the one today because I could knock it out and only have one more to do before graduation (which is in the what seems like now unforeseeable future).
Anyway, we get into the mandatory meeting and it winds up being a freaking sales seminar with a guy trying to get us to consolidate out loans “right now” with company X.
The guy gave some tertiary information about loans in general and said that we are liable for them (duh).
If you are going to employ someone to council students on debt management a financial advisor might be a good choice. A representative of a loan corporation is not.
Loan consolidation guy did tell me one thing that was pretty funny.
Apparently loan companies go to great lengths to find clients. Lately they have taken to looking for their defaulting loan clients on where else: MYSPACE.
Hey look, I have a new friend request.
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