Monthly Archive for July, 2008

Earth Shaking News!

Published
by
Dr. Bombay
on 07/29/08
in Law School Experience
. 3 Comments

We’ll update this story as it develops, but Mojo just brought to our attention that a 5.4 magnitutde earthquake rocked downtown Los Angeles today. The Hypo’s hopes and prayers go out to those affected. Since this is a legal blog, this includes those poor slobs who were taking the California Bar today.

I’m not making that up.

Today was the first day of the California Bar, and was being administered at three locations in Los Angeles. Generally regarded as one of the hardest bar exams in the country, the mind boggles about what they are going to do if the exam was significantly interupted?

Legal Briefs.

Published
by
Dr. Bombay
on 07/29/08
in All In Good Fun, Law and Legal Briefs
. 16 Comments

Sometimes the news is just chock full of interesting legal stories that we just don’t know where to turn. the last two days have presented an embarrassment of riches, and so I’ve decided to throw them all together in our first installment of “Legal Briefs.”

Anyone Surprised?

The Justice Department’s Inspector General released a report yesterday stating that former employee Monica Goodling (go Regent!) and D. Kyle Sampson broke the law by asking politically based questions of potential Justice Department hires. According to may of those interviewed, Goodling’s interviews frequently in included perhaps my favorite phrase in the history of the Republic “What is it about George W. Bush that makes you want to serve him?” I’ll also note that Ms. Goodling’s attorney’s went to Emory and Michigan, so I guess that settles the ranking questions we’ve been kicking around.

That Was Fast.

Dick “Quick Draw” Heller was back in Court yesterday, filing a lawsuit against the District Government for a revised handgun regulatory scheme that in his opinion, contravenes the Supreme Court’s ruling. Heller has also announced that he will continue to file lawsuits until he is permitted to own a M1 Abrams Main Battle Tank.

I Wonder if His Nickname in the Joint Will be “Klondike?”

Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) was indicted today on seven counts of making false  statements on his financial disclosure forms. Seems he neglected to mention $250,000 in gifts he received from an Alaskan oil company. Whoops! We at the Hypo wish the Senator all the best, and hope that this kind of corruption eventually makes its way over to the Judicial branch so we can get some of that cheddar.

International Legal Tribunals

Published
by
Casebook Sherpa
on 07/29/08
in Law
. 1 Comment

Let’s talk UN War Crimes Tribunal. Thoughts?

The UN War Crimes Tribunal has said it’s ready for the extradition of Radovan Karadžic from Belgrade. Karadžic was, of course, a war crimes fugitive captured earlier this year by Yugoslavian authorities. A Belgrade court is currently considering extraditing him to the UN War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.

On the one hand, it makes sense to have an international court to adjudicate these issues. Crimes against humanity transcend borders and the entire international community has an interest in enforcing norms for the treatment of people.

On the other, Karadzic terrorized the people in Yugoslavia. The families of his victims are there. The wreckage from his - as well as Milosevic and crew’s - genocidal tendencies are there. Shouldn’t justice reside there? In the legal system that was created following their reign?

I tend to agree with the case for the latter. While these countries may struggle with maintaining control of these trials, these men (and, presumably, some women) should be held accountable by and for the families they terrorized. While The Hague may play an important role in the international community’s desire to enforce human rights standards, whenever possible justice is more properly meted out by the countries who suffer at the hands of these thugs.

So… how can you guarantee justice for the victims by trying these guys a continent away at The Hague?

And, more generally, are international legal tribunals a good thing?

Make your case.

Use Blind Tasting To (Help) Rank Law Schools

Published
by
Casebook Sherpa
on 07/24/08
in Law School Rankings
. 11 Comments

So, I’ve got wine on the brain. Mrs. Sherpa and I recently spent a long weekend in the Napa Valley tasting wine and enjoying some time away from the craziness of life.

Since I’ve been back the Freakonomics blog has posted several times on the blind tasting of wine and how most people can’t really tell the difference between a $10 bottle and a $150 one. The discussion is infused with some interesting studies on the topic and, Levitt’s ultimate conclusion that the more you know about wine the more you end up spending on it.

I was swishing this idea around in my head when I read this choice quote from the Case Western Law Dean criticizing the U.S. News law school rankings:

[I]t seems beyond debate that it is truly depressing that law deans, who have so many important educational issues to address, feel the pressure they undeniably feel to make important decisions about their schools in response to a popular magazine’s educationally unsophisticated decisions about ranking methodology.

Read the whole piece. It’s good, if not real original (at least for those of us critical of the rankings). The fact that his piece is, in part, a response to a U.S. News proposal to count the entry credentials of evening students in rankings is for another post. What seems to be lacking in these rankings is a more personal, less manipulable way to measure law school quality.

So why don’t we do what the prominent wine critics do - line up a bunch of glasses, do a blind tasting, and rate purely based on the taste of the wine? The critics supposedly do not know the producer of the wine or its vintage. Just it’s type (syrah, merlot, etc.).

As part of the U.S. News calculation I propose appointing a panel of experts - legal scholars, judges, attorneys, etc - and have them take several steps to measure the quality of education. This panel could listen to classes without knowing who is teaching or at what school, but it would know the area of law. Rate based on overall quality of instruction, discussion, etc. The panel might also read law review articles or student papers to gauge the quality of scholarship being done and promoted at the school.

Perhaps I still have some tannin residue in my brain, but it strikes me that adding a component like this (not to mention Dr. Bombay’s law school value calculation) could help to bring a more personal, less manipulable component to the rankings. Or maybe the U.S. News team just needs a nice Napa Cab when they’re tabulating the rankings.

Criminally Minded.

Published
by
Dr. Bombay
on 07/22/08
in Law
. 3 Comments

Last night, I found myself watching a documentary about Heidi Fleiss, and her attempts to open a male brothel in Nevada. Like most HBO documentaries, I found myself unable to turn away. Partly, it was to stare, wide-eyed, at the plastic surgery Fleiss has had, which makes her look like Skeletor. I also found myself scratching my head in wonderment at the chaos which attends every aspect of her life. This includes her current imbroglio involving a legal brothel owner, federal indictments, substance abuse, and a homeless guy who occasionally lives with her.

Since this is a blog about law school and legal stuff, what I found most amazing about the whole thing is the misdirected empathy that Fleiss had for animals. You remember Tony Soprano and the ducks? Well I’ll be dammed if Fleiss isn’t obsessed with tropical birds. I don’t follow these things closely, but to best of my knowledge, Fleiss has never said she was sorry for what she did. Never apologized for facilitating the exploitation of the women who worked for her. Never said she was sorry if they got the Clap, or AIDS, or the holy hell beat out them by a disgruntled John.

But there she was, getting out the sack cloth and ashes for a red macaw named Dalton. Plastic Faced, Black Hearted Sociopath crying her eyes out over a bird. It was just such a bizarre spectacle.

It made me wonder what it would be like to spend your days working amongst the criminal element, either prosecuting or defending. Anyone out there got any thoughts?

4th Amendment? Never Heard of It.

Published
by
Dr. Bombay
on 07/10/08
in Constitution and Law
. 18 Comments

Being a life long resident of Washington, D.C., I’m used to seeing Members of Congress engage in all types of election year high jinks. You’ve got to go and sell it to the good people back in Omaha or Sacramento that you’ve getting it done for them. Similarly, you don’t want your opponent to be able to represent that you’ve failed.

I would argue however, that demonstrating success to the citizenry would require you to show some basic knowledge of how government worked. Like the Constitution maybe? Article I, Section 9 would be a good place to start, as it specifically enumerates the things that Congress is prohibited from doing. This would include

No bill of attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

Fascinating. Perhaps the 4th Amendment, which states Continue reading ‘4th Amendment? Never Heard of It.’

Here’s a Tip - Skip Summer School.

Published
by
BigShow
on 07/09/08
in 2L, At The Law Schools and Law School Experience
. 4 Comments

I have always enjoyed summer school. I took summer classes in both undergrad and in my masters program. Summer was always more laid back. The classes are more compacted because of the shorter time frame, and that meant no filler and just good information that helped teach the subject. And at my undergrad and grad instiution, summer was no different from the rest of the year. Academically, it was business as usual.

Then I took summer classes this summer. Here’s my advice - don’t ever take summer classes. At least, not at CUA. Continue reading ‘Here’s a Tip - Skip Summer School.’