I finished legal skills... then the earth shook.

No joke. I put the last period into my appellate brief and then BAM:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=32.0931,-115.2491(M6.9+-+Baja+California,+Mexico+-+2010+April+04+22:40:39+UTC)&t=h&z=6&iwloc=A

We rocked and rolled for about 30 seconds. My dog flipped out and and hid under my desk (which has a glass top). I had to pull him out from his hiding place. Crazy!

So long Justice Stevens

I am very interested to see Obama's next appointment.

In Bush v. Gore, 531 U.S. 98 (2000), Justice Stevens wrote a scathing dissent on the Court's ruling to stay the recount of votes in Florida during the 2000 presidential election. He believed that the holding displayed "an unstated lack of confidence in the impartiality and capacity of the state judges who would make the critical decisions if the vote count were to proceed." He continued, "[t]he endorsement of that position by the majority of this Court can only lend credence to the most cynical appraisal of the work of judges throughout the land. It is confidence in the men and women who administer the judicial system that is the true backbone of the rule of law. Time will one day heal the wound to that confidence that will be inflicted by today's decision. One thing, however, is certain. Although we may never know with complete certainty the identity of the winner of this year's Presidential election, the identity of the loser is perfectly clear. It is the Nation's confidence in the judge as an impartial guardian of the rule of law."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Paul_Stevens

Two internships?

I'm getting ready for finals currently. Studying is going pretty well. I'm a little further behind than I would like but this weekend I'm catching up and memorizing some black letter law. Thats it really.

Another internship I applied to asked me to talk to them when I finish up my internship in SB in June. They might have a bunch of work and I offered to do free legal research for them. Its an environmental group which is what I am really interested in. Law is pretty fun and I like working with lawyers (maybe I'm a freak?).

My reflection on the oral argument:

The sophisters were pretty brutal with their scoring. Their input is pretty valuable though. It felt a lot like rapping. You research and know everything you want to say backwards and forwards. You get into a flow and do your best to destroy your opponent's argument and leave them nothing to come back with. Definitely a fun experience. Honestly, Professor Stiglitz is infinitely more intimidating and after getting speared in his class I've developed almost no fear of having to answer an intelligent person's calls for information.

Its beautiful today and I'm really loving the weather. :)

I pleased the court!

I presented my oral argument last night. I pleased the court. I only made one error when I looked down to make sure I hit all my points in my closing. The oral arguments are a part of the legal skills competition. Due to the error I probably didn't win anything but it I had fun participating.

Time for torts.

Is Adderall cheating?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adderall#Performance-enhancing_use

I personally don't use it and I think using amphetamines long run is probably a pretty bad idea. It certainly won't make a person any smarter but the ability to focus continuously for hours on end is a pretty big advantage over those who don't take it. I think everyone knows people who take some sort of ADD medicine to study without having a real medicinal reason for it. Does it make the academic playing field uneven? Should it be considered cheating?

Getting ready for finals.

My outlines are almost done. Hopefully I'll have the black letter law memorized by next week. I have my oral argument presentation next Tuesday for legal skills. Hopefully that goes well.

March Madness is seriously impeding on my ability to get anything meaningful done.

My civil procedure professor is a California Lawyer Attorney of the Year

http://www.callawyer.com/story.cfm?eid=908041&evid=1

Brooks and Stiglitz led the California Innocence Project (CIP) to win reversal of convictions in 2009 for three clients who had been imprisoned for many years. Earning the release of a wrongfully convicted person is one of the legal system's most difficult feats; only 27 post-conviction exonerations occurred nationwide last year, according to the New York Innocence Project's annual list. CIP was responsible for all of the California exonerations, after working on the cases for as many as nine years.

In July a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge granted a motion by CIP and Plourd to dismiss charges against Reggie Cole, convicted in 1995 for a shooting death and sentenced to life in prison without parole. In August a San Bernardino County judge granted CIP's request to reverse the murder conviction of William Richards, who was tried in 1997 and sentenced to 25 years to life. In September a U.S. Central District Court judge granted a petition filed by CIP and Multhaup, reversing the 2002 attempted murder conviction of Rafael Madrigal Jr., who was sentenced to 53 years to life in prison for a gang-related shooting incident. In each case, CIP presented exculpatory evidence and new testimony proving the innocence of the client.

Congratulations professor Stiglitz. He is probably the most terrifying professor.

Tonight I went to an Entertainment Law forum (free food!). It was really interesting. There is another session tomorrow night that I'll be attending.

Time for some legal skills.