They’ve been out for about a week already, but the US News & World Report’s 2008 Law School Rankings are out on newsstands today. Our school’s response is muted and focuses (correctly in this PR Guy’s view) on the school’s year-to-year improvement. (Am I reading it right that we’re not in the Top 10 for clinical programs???)
If you’re interested in methodology of rankings, we’re working on our own Value Ranking. We’re still working on the formula and tabulating results, so if you have thoughts, fire away.
Mike Arrington at TechCrunch has several good stories on a proposed “music tax” which the recording industry is seeking to impose on listeners. As per usual the industry is talking out of both sides of its mouth by suggesting that the tax would not be mandatory but would instead be a voluntary scheme that ISPs can choose to participate. In reality, Arrington writes:
…the plan essentially comes down to telling ISPs that they can avoid any copyright infringement liability if they pay the fee on behalf of customers. And while the government wouldn’t be directly involved, the willingness of law enforcement agencies and the judicial system to enforce civil and criminal copyright infringement laws is the stick by which Griffin will convince ISPs to jump on board. It’s government endorsed extortion, nothing more and nothing less.
Or, in other words, “pay us not to sue you.” Interestingly, Arrington notes that the tax could bring in as much as $20 billion (twice the current revenue of the entire industry).
Continue reading ‘A Music Tax? The Extortionary Ways of the Music Industry’
Even though we’re building a case against the US News Rankings here at Fight The Hypo (stay tuned), we were pretty excited to see this leaked Top 100 of the rankings listing Catholic U at #86 (up 11 spots from last year)!! No matter how much we read about how bogus these rankings are or how much lower than American U we are ranked, we readily admit to being excited when they show our school moving up the ranks.
(h/t PrawfsBlog)
Also, Concurring Opinions is soliciting thoughts on how to change the US News methodology. Interesting discussion.
There’s not much better than springtime in Washington. I was psyched this morning to wake up to a forecasted high of 67 today - so much so that I donned a golf shirt for the first time this year (big day for any pseudo-yuppy).
I’ve also gotten to play some golf - including one round with Dr. Bombay that I played really well (just 4 over on the back nine).
Most of all, I hope the warmer weather will start to wake me from a semester-long fog I’ve been trapped in. It’s been difficult to get motivated. Last night I got a so-so grade on a paper, confirming that I’ve been really coasting this semester.
So, time to pick it up and really get to work…
If you’re a Florida (or Michigan) resident suing the Democratic National Committee because their primary rules have disenfranchised you, it might be helpful to allege that you actually voted. From pages 6-7 of today’s 11th Circuit opinion in DiMaio v. DNC (citations omitted):
Notably, DiMaio never alleged that he actually voted, nor even so much as suggested that he intended to vote in the Florida Democratic primary. To the contrary, the complaint simply “posit[ed]” that the DNC “may be violating his rights under Article II and the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution”; that enforcement of the DNC’s delegate-stripping rules “may or may not violate [his] right to vote in a Presidential primary”; and that, “[i]f the decision of the National Party violates [his] constitutional rights, it would be appropriate for this court to make such a finding.” As if to underscore the conditional nature of his injury, he also alleged that “[i]f the decision of the National Party does not violate the Plaintiff’s constitutional rights, it would be appropriate for this court to make such a finding . . . .”
These allegations, whether standing alone or in concert, do not plead that the plaintiff suffered an injury in fact, the invasion of a legally protected interest that is concrete and particularized” — the first prong of the Lujan test. As a practical matter, DiMaio’s right to vote, protected by the Fourteenth Amendment, cannot be impaired by the DNC’s failure to consider a ballot that he did not cast in the first place.
(H/T: How Appealing)
So, after overcoming the technical issues with the online registration system, the Fight The Hypo crew is registered for summer classes. We’re not taking any classes that are GPA-padders. Each course is a central part of our legal edcuation either because it meets a requirement of our school or it’s on the bar.
Here’s a list of courses that one or several of us are taking (we can only take 4 credits in the summer):
- Administrative Law - staple course.
- Legal Drafting Seminar - elective; meets upper level writing and professional skills requirements.
- Professional Responsibility - required course, taught by a popular professor.
- Social Justice and The Law - required course at Catholic U; presents the Catholic view of the origins of law and justice as they relate to several modern issues.
Another quintessentially law school experience…
So, we’re taking a vacation to the Outer Banks this summer with some friends. Like many, we found a property online and booked it. Last night - about a week later - I received the rental agreement in the mail. I read every. single. word. of it. It all looked pretty straight forward, but I got a kick out of this sentence: “Most homes are served by septic systems.” (emphasis added) Visions of Mrs. Rush and her port-o-john trap door danced in my head. It’s even got the Hadley Rule covered: “… in no event shall Owner be held liable for any consequential or secondary damages.”
Continue reading ‘Why Can’t I Just Go On Vacation?’
