We have began studying for the bar exam in February.
There is a saying among law students in regards to the bar exam. It goes something like this: “Do it once. Do it right. Never do it again.”
I’ve heard more bar prep horror stories than I care to recall. Much worse than anything in law school. And I have more than one friend who has taken the bar more than once. I don’t want to take chances with bar prep. So we are taking Barbri’s bar prep courses. Everything that is on the bar you don’t learn in law school. You have to pick up the extra material in a bar prep course before taking the bar. Barbri currently has the lock on being the most comprehensive Bar prep course on the market. Most people swear that Barbri is essential.
Barbri begins in January. Barbri fees are due by December first in order to avoid a $75 dollar late fee. Our combined bar prep fee is around $5000 just to take Barbri. We opted out of taking PMBR just because of the cost even though we both have about $100 already paid into PMBR.
Bar prep is a big cost, and with my lack of a job, Crystal’s job almost pays for our current bills. Six grand for Barbri means that we have to get a bar prep loan. Great. Just great. But with me already owing six figures, what is the difference of a few thousand more. Our law schools loans are currently in a hold position (in deference or hold or whatever they call it nowdays) until a little while after the bar. At that time we will need to look into consolidation loans and repayment. It is not that far off. But we really cant afford to worry about that right now.
We have inherited a good bit of bar prep material from friends and are currently using that along with our law school materials and some early bird Barbri courses taken earlier this year to start prepping early. We will need it. The amount of material is amazing. It is a task unlike any I have ever approached. Some of it I will be learning anew. Some of it I will be relearning. They say it is approachable if you break it down into sections and have a study plan. Ok, that’s a good idea. Only one problem, I have no idea where to start. I have no idea of how to allocate time and on what subjects I need to concentrate the most. I will have to do a little research and figure it all out. In the mean time, I am still looking for a job, worrying about bills, starting to study, wondering where I need to concentrate, and wondering where I will be when bar results come out at the end of next May.
And in the mean time, I will continue to write on this blog. Hopefully it will keep me focused and you mildly entertained.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
To kill a mockingbird - or just make him move away
Recently I picked back up Harper Lee’s “To kill a Mockingbird”. The book is the quintessential southern gothic and I highly recomend it if you have not read it.
In the book Harper Lee said that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird because mockingbirds never harm other living creatures. I understand the juxtaposition of the death of the mockingbird and the death of innocence in the book and all that. But I disagree with the point that a mockingbird won’t harm anything. Mockingbirds are like little heathen gang members.
Jerry, the only mockingbird that I ever knew personally, lived in a tree not far from my front door. He was a terrible and aggressive creature. Maybe it had eggs or little ones in the nest in the tree. But every time I would walk outside the front door, it would screech and dive bomb me until I was out of site. Our poor cat lived in fear of the front door.
Jerry would swoop down and flog the cat, pin him down low and then come in for another flogging swoop. The cat ran for cover in a drain pipe and the mockingbird guarded it until the poor cat had to make his way down the pipe a half block away. The cat eventually made it out the other end and snuck back to the side door where he was let in. From that day on, he would sit in the front window an gnash his teeth at the bird through the glass but lived in immortal fear of going out the front door. I named the bird “Jerry” because he was constantly harassing the little tomcat.
Mockingbirds can imitate just like a parrot. I would go outside and take the cordless phone with me. I would lay the phone down as I worked in the yard. If it rang I didn’t have to run back inside to answer it. All I had to do was pick it up and press “talk”. Eventually, Jerry learned to imitate the sound of the phone. He was actually quite adept at it. He sounded exactly like my telephone. This was funny at first. But a little known fact is that mockingbirds are prolific singers and will make noise all day and sometimes all night. Thus the phone rang whether it was ringing or not at all hours. I eventually had to buy a phone with a different ringer to be able to tell the difference.
Jerry was like a little Frank Sinatra. He sang all the time. Especially on the weekends when your head is under the covers hiding from the early morning sunlight. Jerry also loved to sit on the power line running to my house. The power line cut across the drive way. So Jerry used it as his own private little lavatory. The thing more annoying that being dive bombed was the bombs that he left on my car.
Jerry had to go.
I toyed with the idea of a BB gun but was afraid that if I missed the neighbors would have a cracked window. He seemed to disappear whenever I brought out the BB gun anyway. So I bought a plastic owl and hung him in the tree next to Jerry. I enjoyed watching Jerry dive bomb the owl and make his yellow eyes jiggle. Eventually Jerry got accustomed to the plastic owl and one morning I noticed that Jerry had switched his lavatory to the limb just above the plastic owl. Either it got too cold and Jerry move south or he decided that his bird poop covered plastic barn owl neighbor had driven down his property value to the point that he needed to move. Either way, good riddance Mr. Mockingbird. Harper Lee was full of crap.
In the book Harper Lee said that it was a sin to kill a mockingbird because mockingbirds never harm other living creatures. I understand the juxtaposition of the death of the mockingbird and the death of innocence in the book and all that. But I disagree with the point that a mockingbird won’t harm anything. Mockingbirds are like little heathen gang members.
Jerry, the only mockingbird that I ever knew personally, lived in a tree not far from my front door. He was a terrible and aggressive creature. Maybe it had eggs or little ones in the nest in the tree. But every time I would walk outside the front door, it would screech and dive bomb me until I was out of site. Our poor cat lived in fear of the front door.
Jerry would swoop down and flog the cat, pin him down low and then come in for another flogging swoop. The cat ran for cover in a drain pipe and the mockingbird guarded it until the poor cat had to make his way down the pipe a half block away. The cat eventually made it out the other end and snuck back to the side door where he was let in. From that day on, he would sit in the front window an gnash his teeth at the bird through the glass but lived in immortal fear of going out the front door. I named the bird “Jerry” because he was constantly harassing the little tomcat.
Mockingbirds can imitate just like a parrot. I would go outside and take the cordless phone with me. I would lay the phone down as I worked in the yard. If it rang I didn’t have to run back inside to answer it. All I had to do was pick it up and press “talk”. Eventually, Jerry learned to imitate the sound of the phone. He was actually quite adept at it. He sounded exactly like my telephone. This was funny at first. But a little known fact is that mockingbirds are prolific singers and will make noise all day and sometimes all night. Thus the phone rang whether it was ringing or not at all hours. I eventually had to buy a phone with a different ringer to be able to tell the difference.
Jerry was like a little Frank Sinatra. He sang all the time. Especially on the weekends when your head is under the covers hiding from the early morning sunlight. Jerry also loved to sit on the power line running to my house. The power line cut across the drive way. So Jerry used it as his own private little lavatory. The thing more annoying that being dive bombed was the bombs that he left on my car.
Jerry had to go.
I toyed with the idea of a BB gun but was afraid that if I missed the neighbors would have a cracked window. He seemed to disappear whenever I brought out the BB gun anyway. So I bought a plastic owl and hung him in the tree next to Jerry. I enjoyed watching Jerry dive bomb the owl and make his yellow eyes jiggle. Eventually Jerry got accustomed to the plastic owl and one morning I noticed that Jerry had switched his lavatory to the limb just above the plastic owl. Either it got too cold and Jerry move south or he decided that his bird poop covered plastic barn owl neighbor had driven down his property value to the point that he needed to move. Either way, good riddance Mr. Mockingbird. Harper Lee was full of crap.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Trick or Treat - You choose
I cant stand trick or treaters.
I know, I know. It is a kids holiday. I am supposed to love giving away free candy to kids dressed as fairies and spidermans.
But I don’t.
Years ago I lived in a nice neighborhood that was known to have lots of treaters and we got hit pretty heavy. People would come from miles around so they could put their kids out at one end of the street and pick them up on the other with their bags full of goodies.
Some time in the evening I had to run to the store, so I put a bowl out with candy and a sign that said “take one”. I was gone 5 minutes. The bowl was empty. I had been robbed!
Every year it is the same. A few kids I know show up in the cute outfit so that the parents can show them off and then a bunch of kids I don’t know show up with an open bag begging for candy. Some of them don’t even have costumes. I wish I had a rotten apple to give those no costume kids. I remember Charlie Brown getting a rock in his sack. That is funny. But I know the little hoodlums would just throw it at my house.
Don’t get me wrong. I was a little fat kid who knew how to work Halloween for all it was worth. We hit every house within distance and hit the relatives twice. I had two bags. One bag stayed in the car and one bag went with you to the house. Once I got goodies I emptied them into the one in the car and then went to the next set of houses with only a piece or two in the bag. When they answer the door you give big happy “Trick or Treat!” or if you knew them very well the proverbial “Trick or Treat – Smell my feet – Give me something good to eat!” The people answering the door would load you down because they felt sorry for you after seeing all the other kids with full bags. I guess they thought we had got a late start. But you got more candy with an empty bag. I shared the secret with my siblings the next year and bada bing bada bang bada boom – it was a dandy candy explosion.
That year I had a Halloween haul so big that I still had candy hid under the bed at Easter (another free candy for kids holiday). I donated it all to my sister. She ate candy till she was sick. But she was smart and kept quiet about why she was sick. The next day she did it again. My parents took her to the doctor. They thought it might be a bad Easter egg. But she didn’t squeal on me. We were tight like that. We also learned a valuable lesson about moderation and something called an “expiration date”.
Having worked the system with such gusto for so long, I guess I got old and cynical early. But my plan this year is to put an EMPTY bowl out on the porch with a sign in it that says “TAKE ONE”.
Trick or Treat?
This year I choose "Trick".
I know, I know. It is a kids holiday. I am supposed to love giving away free candy to kids dressed as fairies and spidermans.
But I don’t.
Years ago I lived in a nice neighborhood that was known to have lots of treaters and we got hit pretty heavy. People would come from miles around so they could put their kids out at one end of the street and pick them up on the other with their bags full of goodies.
Some time in the evening I had to run to the store, so I put a bowl out with candy and a sign that said “take one”. I was gone 5 minutes. The bowl was empty. I had been robbed!
Every year it is the same. A few kids I know show up in the cute outfit so that the parents can show them off and then a bunch of kids I don’t know show up with an open bag begging for candy. Some of them don’t even have costumes. I wish I had a rotten apple to give those no costume kids. I remember Charlie Brown getting a rock in his sack. That is funny. But I know the little hoodlums would just throw it at my house.
Don’t get me wrong. I was a little fat kid who knew how to work Halloween for all it was worth. We hit every house within distance and hit the relatives twice. I had two bags. One bag stayed in the car and one bag went with you to the house. Once I got goodies I emptied them into the one in the car and then went to the next set of houses with only a piece or two in the bag. When they answer the door you give big happy “Trick or Treat!” or if you knew them very well the proverbial “Trick or Treat – Smell my feet – Give me something good to eat!” The people answering the door would load you down because they felt sorry for you after seeing all the other kids with full bags. I guess they thought we had got a late start. But you got more candy with an empty bag. I shared the secret with my siblings the next year and bada bing bada bang bada boom – it was a dandy candy explosion.
That year I had a Halloween haul so big that I still had candy hid under the bed at Easter (another free candy for kids holiday). I donated it all to my sister. She ate candy till she was sick. But she was smart and kept quiet about why she was sick. The next day she did it again. My parents took her to the doctor. They thought it might be a bad Easter egg. But she didn’t squeal on me. We were tight like that. We also learned a valuable lesson about moderation and something called an “expiration date”.
Having worked the system with such gusto for so long, I guess I got old and cynical early. But my plan this year is to put an EMPTY bowl out on the porch with a sign in it that says “TAKE ONE”.
Trick or Treat?
This year I choose "Trick".
Friday, October 17, 2008
Worst job interview ever
I am looking for a job.
I moved to Georgia shortly before I graduated in August. Because I missed the July bar by about 3 weeks, I have to wait on the February bar next year.
Ok, so I am not a lawyer yet and am looking for work in a law office. A couple of things were really promising, but fell through at the last minutes. I have resorted to going door to door to door at law offices submitting my resume. Which I believe is usually put into the circular file beside the receptionist / gatekeeper’s desk (trashcan) because she doesn’t want anyone invading her precious space.
Ok, so at this point I just need a freaking job. NOW!!!
I got a reply from some unknown job that I had sent a resume in for at some point. This just goes to show you that the internet is not always your friend.
It was someone wanting to move from what she said was a very successful internet based business that she operated out of her home, to an actual business location and start selling products in a store. She told me all about it over the phone and it sounded very promising. Essentially she was looking for someone to get the business up and running while she handled the online portion and also looked into opening a second location right away. It all sounded very legitimate and the woman talked a good game.
So I went to meet her after hours so that we could discuss the job in person. I took Crystal, my wife, with me.
We met her at a store near her home and immediately things looked suspicious. She was not what you would call professional looking. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt because she had stated that was one of her problems and wanted a person with a professional demeanor to set up her operation. She pointed to some nearby store fronts that were currently in use and said that the owners were willing to remodel it for her and it would be ready in two weeks. (Gee, that is funny because there are already stores there. I don’t see them packing up boxes to move.) She said that she had a few other possible locations that she was looking at.
Anyway, we follow her to her home to take a look at what her plan is for the job. We get to her home and the second alarm bell goes off. It is not a nice place. But it has a garage and I figure that is probably where she does all of her shipping.
Wrong.
We follow her into a smoke filled house with children everywhere and I am alarmed. I look for a way out but it is too late. She dismisses it and says that this is the reason that she needs a more professional location from which to do business. At this point there is no turning back. We follow her to a room she calls her office and she unlocks the door. It is little more than a bedroom with a computer desk. And it isn’t nice.
At this point I am looking for a way out but I want to be nice about it. This lady is crazy and I don’t want to alarm her. Crystal is giving me wide eyed scared looks and I talk to the lady for a few minutes as she makes wild promises that she could not possible even dream of fulfilling. I told her it was something I would have to think about and made up an excuse to leave.
The woman was obviously crazy.
I tried not to spin the tires as we pulled away. Crystal is immediately on the phone to her mother telling her about the danger I had just put her baby daughter in. Crystal swears up and down that it was a meth lab house. I think the lady was just crazy. Either way, it was scary.
Heed these words if you are in law school.
Go to your career office and make them find you a job!!!!!!
Stay on them. They are there to find you a job. Make them work. Apply for everything. Until you pass the bar you are “persona non grata” everywhere. You will be over qualified because you will have a JD. You don’t qualify for most paralegal / legal assistant jobs because they want someone with paralegal / legal assistant experience and someone that will have longevity if they are hired. You cant practice as a lawyer until you have the bar results back. You will be in Nowhereville until then.
The economy is in the dumpster. No one is hiring. Even the staffing agencies don’t have positions. And if they do, you don’t qualify.
If you have a lawyer in the family, start pestering them now. Have a job waiting. If you don’t have that and you are moving out of state after graduation and if you have a while until you take the bar, welcome to my world.
It is hard not to become cynical when you hand over your resume to the squinty eyed receptionists who view you as an interloper onto their precious soil. They have established a very secure and powerful little nest. She will defend it with all her might. She will not easily open the doors that you need opened, and quite likely, she will be as helpful as an angry cobra loose in your house. Beware of the guardians of the gate. I know of at least one lawyer whom I know did not receive my resume after I gave it to the receptionist / gatekeeper.
I moved to Georgia shortly before I graduated in August. Because I missed the July bar by about 3 weeks, I have to wait on the February bar next year.
Ok, so I am not a lawyer yet and am looking for work in a law office. A couple of things were really promising, but fell through at the last minutes. I have resorted to going door to door to door at law offices submitting my resume. Which I believe is usually put into the circular file beside the receptionist / gatekeeper’s desk (trashcan) because she doesn’t want anyone invading her precious space.
Ok, so at this point I just need a freaking job. NOW!!!
I got a reply from some unknown job that I had sent a resume in for at some point. This just goes to show you that the internet is not always your friend.
It was someone wanting to move from what she said was a very successful internet based business that she operated out of her home, to an actual business location and start selling products in a store. She told me all about it over the phone and it sounded very promising. Essentially she was looking for someone to get the business up and running while she handled the online portion and also looked into opening a second location right away. It all sounded very legitimate and the woman talked a good game.
So I went to meet her after hours so that we could discuss the job in person. I took Crystal, my wife, with me.
We met her at a store near her home and immediately things looked suspicious. She was not what you would call professional looking. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt because she had stated that was one of her problems and wanted a person with a professional demeanor to set up her operation. She pointed to some nearby store fronts that were currently in use and said that the owners were willing to remodel it for her and it would be ready in two weeks. (Gee, that is funny because there are already stores there. I don’t see them packing up boxes to move.) She said that she had a few other possible locations that she was looking at.
Anyway, we follow her to her home to take a look at what her plan is for the job. We get to her home and the second alarm bell goes off. It is not a nice place. But it has a garage and I figure that is probably where she does all of her shipping.
Wrong.
We follow her into a smoke filled house with children everywhere and I am alarmed. I look for a way out but it is too late. She dismisses it and says that this is the reason that she needs a more professional location from which to do business. At this point there is no turning back. We follow her to a room she calls her office and she unlocks the door. It is little more than a bedroom with a computer desk. And it isn’t nice.
At this point I am looking for a way out but I want to be nice about it. This lady is crazy and I don’t want to alarm her. Crystal is giving me wide eyed scared looks and I talk to the lady for a few minutes as she makes wild promises that she could not possible even dream of fulfilling. I told her it was something I would have to think about and made up an excuse to leave.
The woman was obviously crazy.
I tried not to spin the tires as we pulled away. Crystal is immediately on the phone to her mother telling her about the danger I had just put her baby daughter in. Crystal swears up and down that it was a meth lab house. I think the lady was just crazy. Either way, it was scary.
Heed these words if you are in law school.
Go to your career office and make them find you a job!!!!!!
Stay on them. They are there to find you a job. Make them work. Apply for everything. Until you pass the bar you are “persona non grata” everywhere. You will be over qualified because you will have a JD. You don’t qualify for most paralegal / legal assistant jobs because they want someone with paralegal / legal assistant experience and someone that will have longevity if they are hired. You cant practice as a lawyer until you have the bar results back. You will be in Nowhereville until then.
The economy is in the dumpster. No one is hiring. Even the staffing agencies don’t have positions. And if they do, you don’t qualify.
If you have a lawyer in the family, start pestering them now. Have a job waiting. If you don’t have that and you are moving out of state after graduation and if you have a while until you take the bar, welcome to my world.
It is hard not to become cynical when you hand over your resume to the squinty eyed receptionists who view you as an interloper onto their precious soil. They have established a very secure and powerful little nest. She will defend it with all her might. She will not easily open the doors that you need opened, and quite likely, she will be as helpful as an angry cobra loose in your house. Beware of the guardians of the gate. I know of at least one lawyer whom I know did not receive my resume after I gave it to the receptionist / gatekeeper.
Friday, October 03, 2008
Smitfraud Fix
I got another virus today. This one was called “Total Secure 2009” and it was nasty.
The latest round of viruses, malware, spyware, adware, or pain the the rear ware, are known as smitfraud. I don’t know why.
I have some high end antivirus software from NOD 32 that got 77 files cleaned when I ran a scan but it still didn’t get rid of this nasty bugger.
Anyway, the way they work is that they pop up continuously saying that you need to use their new and trusty tool. You have to pay for the tool which is named something that appears to look like a legitimate anti virus program. The tool probably does no good or only clears you of the current program they invented for a year or so. Either way, hooligans will now have your credit card info.
No dice!
If you get one of these just look up “Smitfraud Fix” and download the free tool from one of the sites that have the link. Open your computer in safe mode and run the program. It will get it fixed in about 10 minutes.
I got mine here.
http://www.pchubs.com/blogs/totalsecure2009-removal-process-remove-total-secure-2009
Scroll down the page until you see the heading that reads “Automatically Remove TotalSecure 2009”
This is great considering that a similar piece of crap virus cost me all the info on our home computer only a month ago.
The latest round of viruses, malware, spyware, adware, or pain the the rear ware, are known as smitfraud. I don’t know why.
I have some high end antivirus software from NOD 32 that got 77 files cleaned when I ran a scan but it still didn’t get rid of this nasty bugger.
Anyway, the way they work is that they pop up continuously saying that you need to use their new and trusty tool. You have to pay for the tool which is named something that appears to look like a legitimate anti virus program. The tool probably does no good or only clears you of the current program they invented for a year or so. Either way, hooligans will now have your credit card info.
No dice!
If you get one of these just look up “Smitfraud Fix” and download the free tool from one of the sites that have the link. Open your computer in safe mode and run the program. It will get it fixed in about 10 minutes.
I got mine here.
http://www.pchubs.com/blogs/totalsecure2009-removal-process-remove-total-secure-2009
Scroll down the page until you see the heading that reads “Automatically Remove TotalSecure 2009”
This is great considering that a similar piece of crap virus cost me all the info on our home computer only a month ago.
Brian Nichols Trial
Brian Nichols; Public Defenders; Death Penalty; Funding death penalty cases
Brian Nichols killed 4 people when he escaped from the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, GA. The trial is an everyday headline in Georgia and occasionally in the national papers as well. The case has also caught the attention of every public defenders office across the nation.
The case has cost the public defenders office approximately 1.8 million dollars before it ever went to trial.
On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols was on trial for rape when he allegedly overpowered a deputy, took her gun, and went into the Fulton County courtroom where his trial was being held. Nichols allegedly shot both the judge and a court reporter. Nichols is also charged with killing a sheriff's deputy outside the courthouse and a federal agent a few miles from the courthouse. Nichols's escape set into motion one of the largest manhunts in Georgia history; it ended after he allegedly took Ashley Smith hostage and she convinced him to turn himself in.
The factual accounts seem to be clear that Nichols killed several people and there are lots of witnesses. The day before the trial jail officials found homemade knives in each of his shoes, which indicates that the spree was premeditated. So why then is it costing so much to defend this man?
Nichols defense is that he is not guilty due to insanity. The money is going to pay for experts who will testify that he is indeed crazy. These will be negated by other experts on the DA’s side who will say that he is not crazy. Then the jury decides who had the best and most convincing experts.
In the end, Brian Nichols either gets the death penalty, is found not guilty (not likely), or is deemed so crazy that he is not fit to stand trial for his crimes and spends the rest of his life in some sort of jail / mental ward. And will cost Georgia taxpayers over 2 million dollars just to put on the trial.
There is no doubt that there is something wrong with someone who kills several people.
Arguments against war, self defense aside, to willingly take a human life is so against our peaceful culture that any one who does it has to be some what different than the rest of us. The very idea that it is ok to kill someone not trying to harm you is so far removed from what we view as correct, that doing so means that the killer has something inherently wrong with them. The point being that ANYONE who willingly murders another is crazy enough that we don’t want them around. Whether this is temporary or not, the general public does not want murderers running around willy nilly taking lives on a whim. There is one solution. Remove this person from the general public so that he can not do harm.
There are two ways to do that. You can imprison him somewhere so that he does not have contact with the public and can’t commit murder. Or you take away what he has taken from others. Namely, his life. If he is dead, he cant go around killing folks. This also solves the nasty retribution killing problem by putting the state in charge of the death penalty so that it is not performed by lynch mobs.
We could spend a long debating that very subject, and it has and continues to be debated.
On one extreme you have the “eye for an eye” folks who support the death penalty any time someone take a life. On the other extreme you have the “No death penalty at all” folks. Everyone else falls somewhere in between. The voters of the state of Georgia have decided that they like the idea of the death penalty. So there is no argument to be made here. The death penalty was on the table as a valid option. The state of Georgia has decided they want to pursue the that option. The heinousness, callousness, premeditated and very public way in which the murders were done demand that elected official call for the most extreme punishment that is allowed by law.
So why all the hubbub?
Because the defense of this obviously guilty man will cost the taxpayers well over 2 million dollars.
Why does that matter? Isn’t everyone entitled to defend themselves and aren’t we supposed to give him the best possible defense and consider him innocent until we prove he is found guilty by a jury?
Yes?
But the defense of Brian Nichols has sapped the funds of the already strapped Georgia Public Defenders office to the point that they can not now carry on the adequate representation of all of their other clients (some of those are capital murder cases as well).
There are some arguments and questions here:
1. The death penalty is bad and this is just another reason why we shouldn’t have it.
2. The death penalty is a vital part of our justice system but when a life is at stake there should be no question about money. The state should just shoulder the burden of the cost of the defense and move on.
3. Even if the state should have to shoulder the burden of the cost of the defense, is everyone entitled to an “OJ style” multi-million dollar defense?
4. Should the state legislature set a limit on how much a death penalty defense case can use?
5. How much would it be?
6. Would that be constitutional?
7. Why isn’t anyone considering how much it costs the state to prosecute the case?
8. Doesn’t the state have an equally high cost for professional expert witnesses?
9. If anyone who murders someone else is crazy for doing it, how crazy do you have to be in order to avoid prosecution?
I myself have always subscribed to the notion of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It seems just, cruel but just. No one wants to be punished. The human mind rationalizes in order to survive. We can’t see ourselves as bad people because that would undermine our self worth to a point where we could not function. I am sure that crazy or sane that Brian Nichols has rationalized that what he did at the time was perfectly ok, or at least that even if it was not ok that he should not be punished for it.
The people of Georgia have indicated that they want blood for blood, and I’m ok with that.
Brian Nichols killed 4 people when he escaped from the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, GA. The trial is an everyday headline in Georgia and occasionally in the national papers as well. The case has also caught the attention of every public defenders office across the nation.
The case has cost the public defenders office approximately 1.8 million dollars before it ever went to trial.
On March 11, 2005, Brian Nichols was on trial for rape when he allegedly overpowered a deputy, took her gun, and went into the Fulton County courtroom where his trial was being held. Nichols allegedly shot both the judge and a court reporter. Nichols is also charged with killing a sheriff's deputy outside the courthouse and a federal agent a few miles from the courthouse. Nichols's escape set into motion one of the largest manhunts in Georgia history; it ended after he allegedly took Ashley Smith hostage and she convinced him to turn himself in.
The factual accounts seem to be clear that Nichols killed several people and there are lots of witnesses. The day before the trial jail officials found homemade knives in each of his shoes, which indicates that the spree was premeditated. So why then is it costing so much to defend this man?
Nichols defense is that he is not guilty due to insanity. The money is going to pay for experts who will testify that he is indeed crazy. These will be negated by other experts on the DA’s side who will say that he is not crazy. Then the jury decides who had the best and most convincing experts.
In the end, Brian Nichols either gets the death penalty, is found not guilty (not likely), or is deemed so crazy that he is not fit to stand trial for his crimes and spends the rest of his life in some sort of jail / mental ward. And will cost Georgia taxpayers over 2 million dollars just to put on the trial.
There is no doubt that there is something wrong with someone who kills several people.
Arguments against war, self defense aside, to willingly take a human life is so against our peaceful culture that any one who does it has to be some what different than the rest of us. The very idea that it is ok to kill someone not trying to harm you is so far removed from what we view as correct, that doing so means that the killer has something inherently wrong with them. The point being that ANYONE who willingly murders another is crazy enough that we don’t want them around. Whether this is temporary or not, the general public does not want murderers running around willy nilly taking lives on a whim. There is one solution. Remove this person from the general public so that he can not do harm.
There are two ways to do that. You can imprison him somewhere so that he does not have contact with the public and can’t commit murder. Or you take away what he has taken from others. Namely, his life. If he is dead, he cant go around killing folks. This also solves the nasty retribution killing problem by putting the state in charge of the death penalty so that it is not performed by lynch mobs.
We could spend a long debating that very subject, and it has and continues to be debated.
On one extreme you have the “eye for an eye” folks who support the death penalty any time someone take a life. On the other extreme you have the “No death penalty at all” folks. Everyone else falls somewhere in between. The voters of the state of Georgia have decided that they like the idea of the death penalty. So there is no argument to be made here. The death penalty was on the table as a valid option. The state of Georgia has decided they want to pursue the that option. The heinousness, callousness, premeditated and very public way in which the murders were done demand that elected official call for the most extreme punishment that is allowed by law.
So why all the hubbub?
Because the defense of this obviously guilty man will cost the taxpayers well over 2 million dollars.
Why does that matter? Isn’t everyone entitled to defend themselves and aren’t we supposed to give him the best possible defense and consider him innocent until we prove he is found guilty by a jury?
Yes?
But the defense of Brian Nichols has sapped the funds of the already strapped Georgia Public Defenders office to the point that they can not now carry on the adequate representation of all of their other clients (some of those are capital murder cases as well).
There are some arguments and questions here:
1. The death penalty is bad and this is just another reason why we shouldn’t have it.
2. The death penalty is a vital part of our justice system but when a life is at stake there should be no question about money. The state should just shoulder the burden of the cost of the defense and move on.
3. Even if the state should have to shoulder the burden of the cost of the defense, is everyone entitled to an “OJ style” multi-million dollar defense?
4. Should the state legislature set a limit on how much a death penalty defense case can use?
5. How much would it be?
6. Would that be constitutional?
7. Why isn’t anyone considering how much it costs the state to prosecute the case?
8. Doesn’t the state have an equally high cost for professional expert witnesses?
9. If anyone who murders someone else is crazy for doing it, how crazy do you have to be in order to avoid prosecution?
I myself have always subscribed to the notion of an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. It seems just, cruel but just. No one wants to be punished. The human mind rationalizes in order to survive. We can’t see ourselves as bad people because that would undermine our self worth to a point where we could not function. I am sure that crazy or sane that Brian Nichols has rationalized that what he did at the time was perfectly ok, or at least that even if it was not ok that he should not be punished for it.
The people of Georgia have indicated that they want blood for blood, and I’m ok with that.
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Labradoodle
First there was “Desilu”, then “Benifer” and “Billary”, then “Tomkat”. The list goes on of famous couples.
A couple of weeks ago we got back (for the second time) a small poodle that we had given away. Give something away, if it comes back to you it is yours. Give it away again, and if it comes back to you, you are stuck with it.
Buddy is my wife Crystal’s dog from when she lived at home. He had been living at her parents house. She gave him away shortly before we got married. Something happened, we got him back, and then we gave him away again to a couple that worked on the farm. When they left, among other things, they also left Buddy. So we got him back and I guess he is here to stay. And that is fine. She loves hime and he loves her.
Only one little problem. We have a lab that is a little over a year old. A while back Crystal made the statement “I want a puppy.” I had always wanted a lab. So we got one. He is a mess. He has been at a professional trainer since May. He is now supposed to be able to pick up ducks that I shoot. As often as I get to go duck hunting, he may forget before he gets to do it again.
Anyway, Buddy got used to the house and us. Then Jake came home last night. He is MUCH bigger than he was when he left. He is like a big cow running around in the house. And Buddy doesn’t like it. Jake is big, bouncy, slobbery, chews up everything, but is totally harmless. Buddy is tiny, growly, and every since I took him to the barn and clipped him the other day, hairless. Buddy looks like a big naked ferret until his hair grows out.
They are learning to get along. Slowly!!
Buddy thinks of Jake as big nasty intruder. Jake thinks of Buddy as a stuffed toy.
It will eventually work itself out. Until then, stuff keeps falling mysteriously off shelves and Buddy growls at Jake continuously.
But like it or not, the Labrador retriever and toy poodle are going to have to learn how to get along. Like it or not, they are a couple.
Thus, in the current spirit of giving celebrity couples a name all their own. I have deemed these two “Labradoodle”.
A couple of weeks ago we got back (for the second time) a small poodle that we had given away. Give something away, if it comes back to you it is yours. Give it away again, and if it comes back to you, you are stuck with it.
Buddy is my wife Crystal’s dog from when she lived at home. He had been living at her parents house. She gave him away shortly before we got married. Something happened, we got him back, and then we gave him away again to a couple that worked on the farm. When they left, among other things, they also left Buddy. So we got him back and I guess he is here to stay. And that is fine. She loves hime and he loves her.
Only one little problem. We have a lab that is a little over a year old. A while back Crystal made the statement “I want a puppy.” I had always wanted a lab. So we got one. He is a mess. He has been at a professional trainer since May. He is now supposed to be able to pick up ducks that I shoot. As often as I get to go duck hunting, he may forget before he gets to do it again.
Anyway, Buddy got used to the house and us. Then Jake came home last night. He is MUCH bigger than he was when he left. He is like a big cow running around in the house. And Buddy doesn’t like it. Jake is big, bouncy, slobbery, chews up everything, but is totally harmless. Buddy is tiny, growly, and every since I took him to the barn and clipped him the other day, hairless. Buddy looks like a big naked ferret until his hair grows out.
They are learning to get along. Slowly!!
Buddy thinks of Jake as big nasty intruder. Jake thinks of Buddy as a stuffed toy.
It will eventually work itself out. Until then, stuff keeps falling mysteriously off shelves and Buddy growls at Jake continuously.
But like it or not, the Labrador retriever and toy poodle are going to have to learn how to get along. Like it or not, they are a couple.
Thus, in the current spirit of giving celebrity couples a name all their own. I have deemed these two “Labradoodle”.
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