Friday, January 29, 2010

Legalese Again

Sometimes you have to wonder if judges go back and read some of the stuff they write. Here's a federal judge reconciling the various subsections of a statute in Wisconsin Knife Works v. National Metal Crafters:
In any event, we are not suggesting that "waiver" means different things in (4) and (5); it means the same thing; but the effect of an attempted modification as a waiver under (4) depends in part on (2), which (4) (but not 5) qualifies.
Really? This is supposed to clarify things for me?

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Unmet Expectations

Back when I scheduled my classes for this semester, I said that I was most looking forward to International Law. How quickly things change. Now I dread the sight of my International Law textbook. So far, the course is more philosophy than law. After all, can there even be such a thing as international law if there is no international legislature to pass it? No international executive to enforce it? If a sovereign nation recognizes a law higher than its own, can it still call itself sovereign? These may sound like fascinating questions to you, but they've been boring me to death for three weeks. I'd rather read Mosley v. General Motors Corp. any day.

There is some hope yet: the first third of the course is a general introduction to international law. The last two thirds is devoted to international criminal law. That has to be juicier, right?

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Review

Now that I'm taking mostly electives, it's easy to see why we were all made to take the same classes last year. The tenets of contract, property, and tort law are pervasive in the upper-level courses. It looks like a lot of the next three semesters is going to be an ongoing review of the first two. I'll need it, since most of that stuff will reappear on the bar exam.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Grades

Fall grades have been posted. As I feared, mine were a fiasco: My GPA for the fall semester was a full point lower than my GPA last spring. I should do better this semester since I don't have so much paper-writing to do, but I've probably damned myself to a middling class rank for good.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Budget Cuts

Going to an inexpensive state university has its disadvantages. The state cut the university's budget this year, so there is a spending freeze in effect for the next several weeks. One by one, the restrooms are running out of soap, toilet paper, and paper towels. The student lounge is under renovation, so we've already been deprived of coffee. Pretty soon it's going to turn into Lord of the Flies around here, and we'll see how devoted to the rule of law we really are.

Friday, January 15, 2010

Struggling to Stay Awake

My Business Associations professor speaks in the same slow. . . contemplative . . . monotone . . . that comedians use to impersonate President Obama. Over the course of a two hour, Friday afternoon class the effect is quite hypnotic. Fortunately, the subject matter is more interesting than the name of the class suggests. Today we read a case in which Karl Rove sued a senatorial candidate who couldn't afford to pay his consulting fees. Word to the wise: if you're going to run for office, incorporate your election committee. Keeping things informal can have dire financial consequences.

Legalese

Sometimes lawyers earn their reputation for linguistic puffery. I just learned from a synopsis of the 1971 case of Gizzi v. Texaco that Texaco, an oil company, "in its advertising, urged reliance on men wearing such oil company's insignia." Do tell. For the young or culturally illiterate, the case is referring to the jingle in this commercial (about 35 seconds in).

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Nowhere to Hide

There are four students in my Advanced Civil Procedure class. I think this is the first time I've been in a class (other than lab or workshop classes) of fewer than fifty. I guess I'll be showing up to that class very thoroughly prepared.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Watching For the Mailman

Every semester I get a little more confident about ordering used books online. This time I took care of books for four of my six classes that way. In the process, I bought from five different sellers (all through Amazon.com's used book marketplace). I haven't been burned yet, but I've never cut the timing this close, either. I'm expected to read material from a couple of these books before Tuesday, six days from now. Here's hoping expedited shipping comes through! I figure it's worth the risk: even after shipping costs, I'm saving more than $200 vs. the campus book store.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Worst Part of the Semester

It's time to buy textbooks. My schedule is loaded up with substantive law classes this semester, which means many, many pricey hardbacks. To make matters worse, the official book list has not yet been released (it's supposed to come out today). Classes start in one week, so any books I buy online at a discount might not be here for the first day of class. This is going to hurt.