a law student blog ::fighting the hypo, so you don’t have to ::
While looking through Black’s Law Dictionary, Third Pocket Edition today, I found the best page in the history of dictionaries. Page 545 containes definitions for “polyandry”, “polygamy”, “polygraph”, “polygyny” (similary to bigamy), “Ponzi Scheme”, “pork-barrel legislation”, and “pornography.”
You could not put together a more hillarious combination of words if you tried.
Need a break from outlining?
Head on over to PrawfsBlog and vote on the Most Screwed Victim in Caselaw History.
I voted for Peevyhouse. Who did you vote for?
We here at Fight The Hypo are on the cutting edge of legal reform, committed as we are to justice, freedom, and the rule of law. Here’s an example of our innovative and forward-looking thinking for dealing with the critical challenges facing our legal system.
Replace the obscure, outdated Latin phrase “res ipsa loquitur” with the more modern English phrase “it is what it is.”
Granted, I have just learned what “res ipsa loquitur” means. So, while I may have less experience than more seasoned attorneys, what I’m asking for here is a vote for change we can all believe in. And while the common law’s currency is experience, in this case, experience is merely a millstone dragging the law into the depths of confusion.
If I had been there when they chose the phrase, I would have voted differently. In fact, I was always against granting judges the blanket authority to invent Latin phrases. I could have told them it was a losing cause and a dying language. But we have to look forward, not back. So, here’s my case for why centuries of common law parlance must yield to new realities we face.
Continue reading ‘The Case For A New Res Ipsa Loquitur: “It Is What It Is”’
I was going to call this the “Friday Fight The Hypo Award” but who has time to award something every week?
So our first official and illustrious “Every Now and Then Award For Fighting the Hypo” goes to, Mommy on the Floor.
She writes:
I was on call for Torts. The professor kept asking if I had a duty of care in certain situations. If I am a homeowner, do I need to try and rescue a trespasser who has fallen in quicksand? What about a bear trap? I wasn’t really sure so I was hemming and hawing. A few weeks ago, he had talked about sea captains and how they have a duty of care to the crew because he is pretty much the only one who can rescue them. Apparently, this is analogous to being a homeowner. He said, you have a duty of care because its like you are a sea captain.
So I am typing along and my friend who sits next to me starts to laugh. She points at my screen. I had written,
“If someone gets caught in a bear trap, you have to help them because you are the sea captain.”
When will this stop being funny? It just made me realize how ridiculous these hypos are. Am I going to be defending sea captains? Are we plagued with bears and everyone is running out and planting traps?
But I promise you, if you fall into quick sand on my property, I will help you. I have too, because I am the sea captain. Aye Matey!
Fight on, Mommy. Fight on!
(H/T to Divine Angst for the heads up on this post; check out the law school roundup that she and Evan Schaeffer put together each week)
Today, our long time reader and beloved friend Pakistani Princess’ man (Steve) is returning from the Land of the Pure. In celebration, we decree today National Steve Day, and request that all of you print the Official Logo (Co
urtesy of the Artistic Department), and display it proudly in your home or office.
Since “Steve” is internationally known to be synonymous with the ideal state of being, we thought we would list off a few cool things about your first semester of law school.
1. You now know what “offensive, non-mutual collateral estoppel” is.
2. You can tell the difference between remedies in law or at equity.
3. You know what a 12(b) (6) motion is.
4. You can identify things your spouse or boyfriend had done that make them a tortfeasor. And you remind them of this all the time.
5. You think more about the potential lawsuits that may arise from King Cake than you do about its sugary goodness.
So fly the banner my friends. Celebrate that you have taken off the Pants of Ignorance, and stand naked in the bright Sun of Legal Knowledge, basking in its warmth, and allowing its nourishing power to grow you into a “Steve.”
So, a co-worker asked how long it had been since I had a snow day home from school. It would have been super-cool if I could have said something like, “Man not since the Blizzard of ‘74.” You know, some date that really put some age on me, maybe some gray hair. Actually, my last snow day was January 2000. We got a pretty good ice and snow storm in Richmond (where my college is located) and, if I remember correctly, we missed two class days.
Sadly, I could not follow up my rather boring college kid blizzard capers with an inspiring rendition of my wild snow night plans, with all the reading I have to do. I must be getting old.
My favorite snow day has to be the blizzard we got in 1993 (I think that was the year; I was a freshman in high school). I spent the night at a friend’s house so we could get first tracks on the sledding hill and then we played the most epic game of snow football known to man - 4.5 hours of smashmouth football. (I’ll admit to wearing sleeves though)
what was your favorite snow day?
So here’s your hypo for today. If you could record a mix tape (or a “CD” for you hipsters out there) of the best music ever, what would you put on it?
Here’s what would have to be on mine, in no particular order:
What’s on yours? Keep in mind that the RIAA might sue you for doing it… so make it good!
