Law Students

Ant Eaters in Your Pants

Posted on May 05, 2010
UCI School of Law just announced the numbers for its incoming class and the result is impressive.  A hearty congratulations to Dean O for a successful second admissions cycle.  I guess this is the silver lining to the dark cloud of Boalt losing her as Dean of Students...

But Still...

Posted on May 04, 2010
When word of the arrest of Faisal Shahzad got out last night, I was tempted to write a post betting that within 12 hours, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) would be on the record calling the administration a bunch of pansies for Mirandizing a US citizen who has committed a crime...

Straight From the Horse's Mouth: Spring 2010

Posted on May 01, 2010
It's time for the biannual professor quotes thread. See threads from previous years here.If one were to graph my performance with respect to professor quotes since the beginning of law school, it would look a lot like the NASDAQ in late 2008. Sorry about that...

Vote for Boalt's entry in the ATL Video Content

Posted on April 27, 2010
Hi All,It has come to my attention that the infamous Hitler parody made for THAT day this year has been chosen as a finalist in the ATL Law Revue video contest. Show some love to creator DS and submit a vote (it takes 2 seconds).Here.Perpetual glory here we come.

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A Legal Theory with Teeth, and Pizzaz

Posted on April 26, 2010
Somebody needs to light a fire under Congress about the entertainment industry's abuse of takedown notices under the Copyright act. The current strategy -- which is to hold lawyers to a good faith belief standard, while also permitting them to collect fees for asserting meritless claims -- is as ridiculous dismissing any tort claim where the defendant asserts that she was "careful...

Identity Theft Hits Boalt Students

Posted on April 26, 2010
I wanted to warn everyone about credit card information theft that's been occurring in Berkeley. At least seven students (edited to include Will) have had credit card information stolen and used as far away as Tennessee and a few students have fallen victim more than once...

The "Should Good People be Prosecutors" panel is actually a thing that is happening

Posted on April 21, 2010
We were all reminded that we live in Berkeley today, when students received an e-mail from the BCCJ regarding an upcoming panel titled "Should Good People be Prosecutors?" I work at a District Attorney's office, but as an irredeemably evil asshole with nary a speck of soul within him, I guess I am unqualified to answer this question...

Toilet Paper Prank Video Reveals Perpetrator

Posted on April 20, 2010
The commenters have been really getting on our asses to write something about the Yoo Toilet Paper prank. I wanted to sit it out for at least a few hours so someone could do the hard work and get to the bottom of it for me.Well, Gawker points to the video below posted by an artist from LA...

Some Great Course Evaluation News

Posted on April 16, 2010
If you are a student, you just received an email announcing that from here foreword - and subject to conditions - the 'narrative' portion of professors evaluations will be available students. About freaking time. Huge props to the students who pulled this off (I know it was not easy), although I do have one question about the email...

Resurrection of Boalt's Legendary Gun Club?

Posted on April 13, 2010
Alright Boalties, time to channel Nancy Drew!Last week, cryptic posters started showing up around the law school that featured a black and white photo of John Y*o, with a caption underneath that reads: ?I?m sorry, for everything.? At first glance, they were easy to dismiss as yet another attempt to get a rise out of Boalt?s most notorious professor...

Fall 2010 Courses

Posted on April 10, 2010
Someone asks:Can we have a thread to complain about the newly released Fall 2010 class schedule? Yup. Here it is.This is also an appropriate place to discuss the new ranking policy, which you can find here (scroll to section 3.07, about halfway down the page).

Trickle Down Effect?

Posted on April 09, 2010
By now you've likely heard that Justice Stevens has formally announced his retirement. No real surprises there. Rather than his replacement (near unanimous consensus on the internets is that Solicitor General Elena Kagan will be tapped, or perhaps 7th Circuit Judge Dianne Wood) what I wonder is closer to home: what effect, if any, could a looming SCOTUS appointment have on Professor Liu's April 16th Confirmation hearing?

Scotch: It Kills Germs and Keeps You Healthy

Posted on April 08, 2010
I'm not sure what the tuition was at Boalt Hall in the 1929 but I know who to ask: Josleph Aidlin. Mr. Aidlin is Boalt Class of 1933 and still practicing law. This article from KRSP's website is too short, too pithy, and too perfect to avoid quoting in its entirety:Joseph Aidlin, who will turn 100 this month and is the oldest practicing lawyer in California, spoke to KPSP Local 2 reporter and legal analyst David Wohl about his 77 years practicing law...

Boalt's Very Own Stalinist

Posted on April 07, 2010
Do not be fooled by the pleasant demeanor, pressed shirts, dapper necktie, or stylish shoes of my friend and co-3L Jonathan Singer.1 The National Review has just confirmed what those of you who saw Jonathan's mustache over the winter break already suspected -- the guy is a Stalinist...

What is it Good For?

Posted on April 06, 2010
What follows is horrible.First, some back story. In July, 2007, two Reuters photographers were killed during an altercation with American Apache helicopters in Baghdad, Iraq. The helicopters were assisting ground forces who had been fired upon by insurgents with RPG's and smaller weapons...

The Enemy of my Enemy of my Enemy is my... I don't even know.

Posted on April 06, 2010
Fox News produced some compelling television today, and not for the usual reasons. The players--Bill O'Reilly, Anne Coulter, Westboro Baptist Church (of "God Hates Fags" notoriety), and Megyn Kelly (host of Fox News' America Live and alternative spelling enthusiast)--were pretty much all villains, yet somehow what emerged became an epic battle of good vs...

Choose Your Own Adventure: Voting Can Make You Less Douchey (If You Do It Right).

Posted on April 05, 2010
START >> You wake up on the floor of your apartment, coming off a Peeps-induced sugar high from the night before, and realize that BHSA elections are upon us?CHAPTER 1: Deciding Whether to VoteA) Vote?! Haha. You are a jaded law student. Do you really think BHSA does anything? Do you really think if you voted, your vote would count? Do you even believe that we co-exist in anything but a purely solipsistic universe of one mind and infinite illusion?? Of course not...

Fair Use Humor By Any Other Name

Posted on April 01, 2010
Google nails it again this year.  The trademark dilution chart at the bottom of the post just had me dying.  Good luck explaining the joke to your non-lawyer friends. 

Go Butch Crazy!

Posted on March 31, 2010
I love how fringe conservatives have suddenly become constitutional scholars on health care, while they were silent on the war on terror. (And for the record, the fringe liberals are no worse; they'll cheerfully rake John Yoo over the coals while politely declining to notice that the President Obama has reserved the vast majority of President Bush's most constitutionally questionable polices...

Unsavory

Posted on March 30, 2010
Watch this video.  There was a high speed pursuit in LA.  Must be a day that ends in "Y."  The suspect is wanted for murder or attempted murder (I'm a bit hazy on that) in Indiana.  He ran off when the CHP attempted to pull him over, which probably triggered a license plate search that revealed the murder/attempted warrant out of Indiana...

Summer Sublets

Posted on March 27, 2010
It's nearing that sad time when many of us will have to abandon the Bay Area for less green pastures, leaving our fancy overpriced apartments behind. One of your fellow students has asked me to link to this google group, where Berkeley students and other East Bayers can find and post information about summer sublets...

Health Care Refom Is Unconstitutional

Posted on March 24, 2010
Like everyone at George Mason University, the Volokh Conspiracy, and the Heritage Foundation, I pride myself on intellectual honesty. Which is why it pains me to conclude?in an analysis that has absolutely nothing to do with my political leanings?that, based on clear text and precedent, the health care bill is unconstitutional...

Rule 11?

Posted on March 23, 2010
Here is the complaint filed by 13 states today challenging the HCR Act.  I have only glanced through about half of it, but this does not get past the Rule 12 stage.  Unfortunately, the defense side is the United States, so it's very unlikely that the U...

The Healthcare Vote

Posted on March 22, 2010
So watching C-SPAN, I'm noticing a certain pattern among the callers who are opposed to the Bill.  First, there's a disconnect between their own personal situation and what the Bill actually accomplishes.  One caller complained about spreading Communism...

"Come on, Man. This Affects All of us"

Posted on March 17, 2010
A commentator in the thread below asks for a discussion on the nominations for the faculty graduation speaker. The nominees are:b*rringm*rphym*rrays*lanskys*iftThey're all fantastic. They're all funny. And they're all worth hearing. Nominating speakers is tricky business, however...

N&B March Madness Tourney Challenge

Posted on March 16, 2010
Hi All,I set up a bracket pool on ESPN for the N&B community. Fill out your NCAA bball tourney brackets now. Compete to exert your sports dominance over the rest of us. It's free, and I hereby volunteer Patrick to give a foot massage to the winner (foot massage may or may not be included)...

Down the Rabbit Hole

Posted on March 15, 2010
I came to school today to pick up some books, preparing for another relaxing Sunday evening of Con Law at the laundromat (complete with the music stylings of Kenny G, of course). Sunday at the law school being much like a mortuary when the morticians go on strike, imagine my surprise when something suddenly came flying at my face out of nowhere...

On Asking Professors to Move Up Exam Dates

Posted on March 15, 2010
So, you're in a class where the last few weeks of class are canceled. You've had your outline prepared since week five and boy oh boy, wouldn't it be great if you could just take the exam a few weeks early? Gee, it would be swell, wouldn't it. Why don't I just raise my hand and ask my professor to move the date up?If this is you, please don't do it...

Our Activist 9th Circuit

Posted on March 11, 2010
As pointed out by a reader, the Ninth Circuit has published its decision in Newdow v. Rio Linda Union School District. In an opinion by Judge Bea, the court upheld the use of the words "under God" in the pledge of allegiance. Judge Reinhardt wrote a blistering dissent...

LAT on Liu

Posted on March 09, 2010
A short story in the LAT about the significance of the Liu nomination.  Nothing critical, but DE's quote that he laments the loss of a good teacher stood out.  Loss?  Why?  It's not like a Boalt professor going to the Ninth Circuit is unprecedented...

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