Law Students

MPRE

Posted on August 09, 2009
Many people have asked me recently, “Hey Steve, what are yo up to?”  My answer has generally been, “Finishing the Enrichment stuff up, writing my papers, editing my publication, working on law review, oh and studying for the MPRE a little...

Transitions Are Difficult.

Posted on May 11, 2009
Law school is, at its heart, about transitions.  First, one transitions from college  into law school itself, and from there into a profession. The challenge, to my mind, is not simply in learning the law, or even in learning how to discover the law, or how to think like a lawyer...

UC San Diego School of Law? Maybe? Possibly? Wait, what are we talking about?

Posted on April 28, 2009
So, for years (read: decades) there have been various discussions, rumors, and proposals about the possibility of the University of California, San Diego opening a law school.  The most common version is that UC San Diego would completely take over California Western School of Law to become “UCSD School of Law”...

Summer Vacation - Swine Flu Edition

Posted on April 27, 2009
Well, what an eventful semester!  As I’m sure you’ve noticed, this website has gone through an incomplete redesign.  My former host/server exited the industry, and so went the original version of this website.  Fortunately, I was able to recover a few of my old posts through cache’d web-pages...

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Ok, and we’re back.

Posted on April 25, 2009
JollyLawger.com is back online.  Anyone still out there?  Hello?  Anyone?

Back In the Swing of Things (1/9/2008) (irony post)

Posted on April 25, 2009
Well, it?s the start of a brand new semester at school, and so far so good. Most of my classes seem interesting, and my law review editing assignment for the week is interesting. Funny story about that assignment. I wrote my note last semester, sadly I was no picked for publication, oh well, it happens right? [...

Seasonal Adverse Possession.

Posted on April 25, 2009
I posed a question to my 1L tutants earlier in the question regarding adverse possession of a piece of property by two seasonal users unaware of each other. I posed the question, and then refused to answer it. Apparently this was annoying to some of the students...

This Is Halloween (10/31/08)

Posted on April 25, 2009
As many of you non-law student readers might imagine, the average law student is in fact a gigantic nerd. I have never met a group of people with as large a per capita amount of Star Trek fans. Today in Criminal Procedure our professor invited us to dress up in costume, with the promise of [...

Bachelor Party Mayhem (10/27/08)

Posted on April 25, 2009
This weekend was my bachelor party. My fiance and I had long drawn out discussions about what would and would not happen at my bachelor party. For instance, on the issues of strippers we had a very large disagreement. She thought I should have strippers, I politely declined...

I’m Getting Married and I’m Really Happy. (10/22/08)

Posted on April 25, 2009
In nine (9) days I will be married. I?m very excited to finally make an honest woman out of my fiance. In addition to all of the nice state and federal benefits that come with getting hitched, it is nice to just be getting married. I know that?s atrocious grammar, but the mere fact that [...

Does Law School Change You?

Posted on April 25, 2009
The other day I was asked by a prospective student whether I felt that law school had changed me, and if so how. I felt it was a fair question so I told her the honest answer and in the process probably scared her away from all law schools ever. I think that law school does [...

Apparently I’m Certifiable!

Posted on April 25, 2009
Today I received a very nice e-mail from the State bar informing me that I can now stand up in Court and talk (as long as I have an attorney hovering over my shoulder, and client consent). I am excited to finally be certified. I?ve always wanted to be in Court, and to represent people, [...

Mid-Term-Itis.

Posted on April 25, 2009
I have a mid-term this semester. It is in Crim. Pro. I do not like mid-terms. I do not like Crim. Pro. As you can imagine, I am ever-so-thrilled at the combination thereof. I have adopted a stringent study regimen for the upcoming examination. Today I was quite productive...

Way to go Connecticut! (10/08)

Posted on April 25, 2009
Well, with less than a month before California voters decide whether to strip marital rights from some people while confirming them for others, Connecticut?s Supreme Court has held that the civil union laws in Connecticut do not go far enough in preserving equality for homosexuals...

So You Think You Can Dance (4/20/2008)

Posted on April 19, 2009
Because I am such an awesome paragon of studiousness I am watching the tryouts for So You Think You Can Dance. I really enjoy the show. I think that dancing is amazing. If I could re-do my childhood, I think I would have taken up dancing when I was still young and limber...

The Grasshopper and the Palm (5/18/2008)

Posted on April 19, 2009
Living in an apartment with no backyard is always a bummer for someone who loves nature and greenery as much as Katie and I do. We have a nine square feet large balcony where I?ve put out a few plants. I have a lily, a mexican sage, and a phoenix palm...

Does Law School Change You? (5/15/2008)

Posted on April 19, 2009
I?m one of those big nerds on campus who give tours to prospective students (it beats studying). ?Does law school change you?? is a question that pops up a decent amount. Through talking to the people who ask it, I?ve found that most people who are in relationships ask that question, where most single people [...

Summer Vacation* (5/01/2008)

Posted on April 19, 2009
Well, my long glorious summer vacation* has started. Today I woke up, got dressed, and went to Court. I think Katie was a little concerned that I went to Court today considering that our Federal Courthouse got pipebombed over the weekend. Fortunately, I don?t work at the Federal Courthouse, I work at the Domestic Violence [...

And Done. (4/23/2008)

Posted on April 19, 2009
Well, 1L is over. It?s pretty exciting to be done with the first year of law school. Our last exam was Torts. It was open everything. The upside means that I probably did really really well. The downside is, so did everyone else. It was a racehorse exam...

And Then There Was One.

Posted on April 19, 2009
Yesterday was the hardest exam I have ever taken in my life. I think that a good number of my classmates joined me in feeling completely shellshocked by yestersday?s Civ Pro II exam. I know that there were several people who struggled with the time limit in the exam...

Study Day Civ Pro II

Posted on April 19, 2009
My Civ Pro II final is tomorrow at 8a.m. I will be very glad to be finished with this course. I have very much enjoyed both of my Civ Pro professors this year. But Civ Pro as a subject is the driest class in school. Civ Pro is essentially the Rule Books for anything that [...

Half-Time

Posted on April 19, 2009
Property final over! I felt decent about this final. Last semester property was my strongest class, and I figure it will be again this semester. Having a final on Saturday is weird. It?s not as bad as you might think, because when finals roll around, the day of the week stops mattering...

Study Day Property

Posted on April 19, 2009
I work up today around 7:00a.m. I spent the rest of the day at my computer refining my little one page (double sided) cheat sheet. Trying to get the margins as small as printingly possible, the font as small as I could make print legibly. I?ve also been making sure I really go over the [...

One Down Three To Go.

Posted on April 19, 2009
Today I woke up at 5:19a.m. in order to actually be awake by the time testing started. In order to accomplish this I went to bed at 8:30pm last night. Surprisingly I actually fell asleep pretty quickly. Normally, the night before an exam I toss and turn and ?pre-game? the exam to death...

In 24 hours? I will be finished with (k)ontracts forever.

Posted on April 18, 2009
Tomorrow, Thursday, is the first final of second semester. It happens to be (k)ontracts and is closed book and closed notes. This class happens to be the one that everyone does well on from a raw score perspective. So, it?s one of the most challenging tests...

WestLaw and Lexis killed my writing ability.

Posted on April 18, 2009
I?ve noticed recently that I?ve been writing some qualifiers in all CAPS in e-mails. AND, OR, IF, THEN. I couldn?t figure out what was going on until this morning when I was doing a Terms and Connectors search on WestLaw and realized that I?ve used capitals for the connectors in order to see at a [...

What I’ve Learned About Law School (Or At Least Cal Western) Thus Far (1L Recap) (4/12/2008).

Posted on April 18, 2009
Well, 1L year is over (I don?t count finals as part of the year). Law school was in many ways exactly what I was hoping it would be, but in other ways very different from what I was expecting. All in all, I?m really glad that I chose California Western...

Things You Don’t Want to Hear on the Last Day of Class. (4/10/2008)

Posted on April 18, 2009
Faculty Support called me today and informed me that my Civ Pro professor contacted them to let me know that my ?Answer? for our pleading?s assignment wasn?t in my folder. This was annoying because I had in fact turned it in over a month ago. The pleading assignment is worth about a sixth of our grade...

Today is the First Day of the Rest Of Your Life (4/10/2008).

Posted on April 18, 2009
Today is the last day of my 1L year classes. Finals start next week, but after today, no more property lectures, no more torts outlines, no more (k)ontracts, and no more Federal Civil Procedure EVER. This year has been interesting in ways I would have not imagined law school to be interesting...

And So To School… (4/8/2008).

Posted on April 18, 2009
Today I woke up at 8:15a.m. I went to class. Changed my brief some more. Turned it in at 10:05a.m. I can?t change it anymore. I think my last minute additions help. I took out some of my ?stylistic repetition? and put in one more sentence of explanation of precedent...

And So To Sleep…. (4/7/2008).

Posted on April 18, 2009
Well, after spending just a ?little while longer? tweaking my brief, I?ve given as good as I can. Now we wait eight (8) weeks and we?ll see how it turned out. Thank god I did well on our other assignments. For those of you wondering, the constant stream of updates tonight is to demonstrate to prospective law students [...

10, 9, 8…. (4/7/2008)

Posted on April 18, 2009
With less than eight (8) hours till deadline, I am finally (relatively) happy with my argument. I am happy because I think I have written it as well as my meager talents will allow. I am also so tired that I?d probably be happy with anything at this point...

T Minus 12 till brief deadline (4/7/2008)

Posted on April 18, 2009
This is really the only part of law school that I dislike. I keep wondering if there are better ways to say what I want to say. I know that my brief gets the message across. And I know I have good arguments. The oral presentation proved that. But, which sentence gets me an A? [...

2008 US World News Rankings (March 29,2008).

Posted on April 18, 2009
Well, March 28th has come and gone. The U.S. World News has published a list of law schools and ranked them. That?s right, not graded, or evaluated, just ranked. Once again my beloved school has failed to crack into the Top 14 schools in the nation. We?ll get you next year, Yale!! A large number of [...

Multiple Choice Fact Pattner (Archive Post 1/22/2008)

Posted on April 08, 2009
Back in February of 2007, I went to Guitar Center to purchase a Gibson Melody Maker with two singlecoil pickups. They didn?t have the guitar in stock, so I special ordered it. I gave them the price of the guitar, and they gave me a receipt. In May my guitar arrived (Gibson is notoriously slow)...

Application Time (Archive Post 1/18/2008)

Posted on April 08, 2009
It?s crunch time for a lot of applications for summer internships around the nation. I?ve spent most of today tweaking personal statements to suit the peculiarities of each prospective organization. Career Services always tells you that you need to craft a unique personal statement or cover letter for each job so that you don?t give [...

Overheard in Court (Archive Post)

Posted on April 08, 2009
At oral arguments for an appeal involving potentially prejudicial introduction of evidence at trial in a slip and fall case at a store: Justice O?Connell: ?I am afraid that Justice Smith is ill today, I believe that counsel for both sides have agreed to argue the appeal in the absence of Justice Smith who will read [...

1L Opening/Closing Competition. (Archive Post)

Posted on April 08, 2009
Our school is putting on a competition for 1Ls to make opening and closing arguments. I?m excited for it, there?s nothing better than a bunch of people who have no concept of what an opening or closing argument really is trying to out open or close one another...

So Politikal! (Archive Post)

Posted on April 08, 2009
One of the things that I?ve found I like about law school, and my school in particular, is the absence of political apathy. It has been a nice change of pace to actually have legitimate conversations with people regarding their preferences for the upcoming primaries and elections...

Back in the Swing of Things.

Posted on January 06, 2009
Well, it’s the start of a brand new semester at school, and so far so good. Most of my classes seem interesting, and my law review editing assignment for the week is interesting. Funny story about that assignment. I wrote my note last semester, sadly I was no picked for publication, oh well, it [...

Merry Christmakwanzaakkah from a new 3L.

Posted on December 30, 2008
Well, it’s been one heck of a 2008. In a few days 2009 will begin. I’ve got a lot of hope going into the new years. A new administration will be in place and, as far as units go,I’m a 3L now…. and I’m afraid I’m already suffering from senioritis...

Seasonal Adverse Possession

Posted on December 10, 2008
I posed a question to my 1L tutants earlier in the question regarding adverse possession of a piece of property by two seasonal users unaware of each other. I posed the question, and then refused to answer it. Apparently this was annoying to some of the students...

I Know I Was Right Because….

Posted on November 27, 2008
In discussing what sort of dog the incoming First Family will have, the following exchange occurred: [The Obamas have] not yet chosen what kind [of dog they would get]. Walters suggested one like her Havanese named Cha Cha. The president-elect grimaced and said it sounded like a “little yappy dog,” the type that seems a little “girly...

So…

Posted on November 23, 2008
… if Senator Clinton gets the Secretary of State job, will President Clinton replace her as Senator from New York? Just askin’. Oh, and I totally called the Sec. of State thing during the primaries. C’mon MSNBC, where’s my column and talking head gig? I’m like the Oracle from [...

Democracy in the Constitutional Republic.

Posted on November 19, 2008
Proposition 8 seems to be mutating into one of those watershed events in the history of America where the delicate balance between our Constitution and our Democratic Republic seeks a new fulcrum. Twice in the past decade Californians have voted to deny gays the right to marriage...

Little Known Fact.

Posted on November 15, 2008
I hate flying. A lot. Details to follow when I make it back to San Diego sometime in the next few weeks.

Split Decision.

Posted on November 05, 2008
Well, the election is finally over. At about 8:00 tonight Katie and I popped the Champagne to celebrate the election of Barak Obama. I don’t think Katie or I have ever been so happy about an election result. Then we waited. The California Proposition results started coming in...

Sarah Palin Doesn’t Understand The Constitution.

Posted on November 04, 2008
Sarah Palin wants abortion to go away, because it only exists because of the pesky Supreme Court “inventing” rights. Today, after casting her vote Sarah Palin talked about exercising her right to vote. When asked who she voted for, she stated she was going to exercise her right to privacy...

Proposition H8te.

Posted on October 31, 2008
Please vote no.

This is Halloween.

Posted on October 31, 2008
As many of you non-law student readers might imagine, the average law student is in fact a gigantic nerd. I have never met a group of people with as large a per capita amount of Star Trek fans. Today in Criminal Procedure our professor invited us to dress up in costume, with the [...

Bachelor Party Mayhem.

Posted on October 27, 2008
This weekend was my bachelor party. My fiance and I had long drawn out discussions about what would and would not happen at my bachelor party. For instance, on the issues of strippers we had a very large disagreement. She thought I should have strippers, I politely declined...

More Stupid Prop. 8 shit.

Posted on October 25, 2008
Ok, so assume that the second coming is in fact nigh, and Prop 8 passes. Then what? If a man and man are in love, could one of them have a sex charge operation and now be a woman and get married? If a man and a woman are married and in love, but the woman realizes that [...

I’m Getting Married and I’m Really Happy.

Posted on October 23, 2008
In nine (9) days I will be married. I’m very excited to finally make an honest woman out of my fiance. In addition to all of the nice state and federal benefits that come with getting hitched, it is nice to just be getting married. I know that’s atrocious grammar, but the [...

Does Law School Change You?

Posted on October 20, 2008
The other day I was asked by a prospective student whether I felt that law school had changed me, and if so how. I felt it was a fair question so I told her the honest answer and in the process probably scared her away from all law schools ever. I think that law school [...

Apparently I am Certifiable.

Posted on October 16, 2008
Today I received a very nice e-mail from the State bar informing me that I can now stand up in Court and talk (as long as I have an attorney hovering over my shoulder, and client consent). I am excited to finally be certified. I’ve always wanted to be in Court, and to [...

San Diego Music Drama.

Posted on October 15, 2008
While most of San Diego’s music scene is devoted to punk/emo/indie/alt “white dudes in dive bars” or “suburban kids with so much real genuine angst” type stuff, it seems a storm is brewing in another genre. Pop. In a story circulating the internet, it seems that Beyonce Knowles has recorded a cover of San Diego [...

Mid-Term-itis.

Posted on October 11, 2008
I have a mid-term this semester. It is in Crim. Pro. I do not like mid-terms. I do not like Crim. Pro. As you can imagine, I am ever-so-thrilled at the combination thereof. I have adopted a stringent study regimen for the upcoming examination. Today I was quite productive...

Disneyland Engagement Photos.

Posted on October 10, 2008

Way To Go Connecticut!

Posted on October 10, 2008
Well, with less than a month before California voters decide whether to strip marital rights from some people while confirming them for others, Connecticut’s Supreme Court has held that the civil union laws in Connecticut do not go far enough in preserving equality for homosexuals...

This is NOT how the Curve works.

Posted on October 09, 2008

My Controversial Idea.

Posted on October 09, 2008
Someone suggested I post controversial things for discussion so here goes: In light of the Proposition in California to ban “gay marriage” I think a new definition of things is in order. “Gay marriage” is not “gay” at all...

The Rule Against Perpetuities Just Died.

Posted on October 07, 2008
For a while now, there has been some discussion about the implications Artificial Reproductive Technology would have on the Rule Against Perpetuities. Well, I think it’s safe to say that the classic formulation is now dead doctrine. This year a child was born from sperm that was…...

So, Sarah Palin’s international experience comes from being kinda close to Russia:

Posted on September 30, 2008
And apparently Pop-punk makes her qualified to run the economy. Speaking at the Columbus rally alongside McCain, Palin said: “Here in Ohio, the high price of gas is making a full tank seem like a luxury.” Tom DeLong of Blink-182 replied, over a decade prior: “A tank of gas is a treasure to me, I know [...

Nepotism, Social Capital and Generational Planning in the Law.

Posted on September 30, 2008
There is an old saying, “It’s not what you know but who you know.” I’ve got to tell you it’s true. Unfortunately, it seems that I don’t really know the right people. You see, I’m trying to get up to Portland, Oregon...

All Your Banks Are Belong To Us.

Posted on September 26, 2008
Today Washington Mutual was taken by over by the Government. The assets were then sold to J.P. Morgan. This is the second bank in 6 months taken over by J.P. Morgan. First Bear Stearns and Now WaMu. I predict that in 2101 A.D. they will realize that J...

All Your Talking Points Are Belong To Us.

Posted on September 26, 2008
In A.D. 2008 Election was beginning. American Public: What happen ? Wall Street: Somebody set up us the bomb. American Public: We get signal. Sarah Palin: What ! American Public: Main screen turn [...]

Bullet Dodged

Posted on September 21, 2008
On Friday our Summer grades were released. I have to say that I’m very pleased all things considered. I managed to win an award in Negotiation, which was surprising and very gratifying. But most importantly, I didn’t fail Evidence. Our Evidence final was disrupted by a fire alarm...

GARRRR!!!!!

Posted on September 19, 2008
Avast and ahoy Jolly Readers! T’day be Talk Like a Pirate Day! This be the most wonderfully time of the years! Truly tis sweeter than dew on a barrel of rum. I invite each and every one of ye to spread the word. As for my own self, in Property, I shall [...

Kerry Steigerwalt’s Pacific Law Center Commercials.

Posted on September 17, 2008
Ok, so here’s something that has always bothered me about Pacific Law Center. They use “actual clients” who explain that when they got in trouble they needed aggressive representation and blah blah blah PLC saved their asses, ok, whatever...

Work Life Balance.

Posted on September 17, 2008
I’ve written a few times about the importance of balancing work and life in law school. In the 1L year especially, it can be tempting to throw oneself with reckless abandon into law school. But it is important to keep focused on the important things outside of law school...

The Routan Creeps Me Out.

Posted on September 16, 2008
So Volkwagen has these new commercials with Brooke Shields talkin about some VW mini-van. One of the quotes used is “Thousands of women are having babies for German engineering.” Anyone else think that sounds a little Reich-y?

Brain Swabbin’.

Posted on September 13, 2008
Today I went to the Doctor’s office. I’m generally a pretty healthy and hale guy. Really the only things wrong with me are frequent ear infections. My “regular doctor” is actually my ENT Doc. The past few days I’ve been under the weather...

Raisin’ McCain.

Posted on September 11, 2008
for the life of me I could not imagine what possessed that Big n’ Rich guy to make a song called Raisin’ McCain. Then I realized… Zombies. This song is really an incantation. If McCain should pass on to Valhalla, Big n’ Rich and Cowboy Troy and all the other repbulicans will ring his grave in [...

This Is Way Better Than Being a Summer Associate.

Posted on September 06, 2008

The Bitter Sting of Being Good, Not Great.

Posted on September 05, 2008
Let me start off by saying I don’t really have much to complain about in life. I have a wonderful, beautiful fiance, two cats, a dog, a car that runs well, every musical instrument I’ve ever wanted (almost). I’m in law school, I’m on law review...

The Belly Of The Blue Book Beast.

Posted on September 05, 2008
Today is my first day manning a desk at Law Review working on editing a comment for publication. It’s a bizarre feeling. When I applied to law school, I had no idea what Law Review was, just that it was a good thing. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still think Law [...

Oh Anderson Cooper.

Posted on August 27, 2008
Q: Is New Orleans ready? A: We are ready to evacuate.

Love Train!

Posted on August 27, 2008
So, the states aren’t even remotely following what their elections were. New Hampshire and New Jersey just unanimously cast their delegate votes for Obama. This is utterly insane. The homeslice from New Mexico went off in Espanol and then was about to cast their votes and then dramatically yielded to the [...

Minnesota Wins.

Posted on August 27, 2008
Home of the college champion Duluth women’s hockey team.

Boos at the Convention.

Posted on August 27, 2008
Not for Clinton or Obama. For the Patriots and Red Socks. Seriously, Massachusetts delegation, it’s cool that you’re the home of Ted Kennedy. But do you have to bring in your sports teams?

Home of….

Posted on August 27, 2008
Ok, so Kansas pointed out that they were the home state of Obama’s parents. Louisiana pointed out that they were the home state of Gumbo and Jambalaya. Seriously.

Roll Call

Posted on August 27, 2008
I’m watching the DNC Roll Call vote on CSPAN. And this thing is crazy. It’s like Kabuki Theatre. Every state gives a little speech about how cool they are and what they’ve contributed to the Democratic party. And some of the delegates talk about what they are and who they are [...

Puppy Pictures

Posted on August 27, 2008

How Do I Become A Talking Head?

Posted on August 26, 2008
So, I watched Hillary Clinton’s speech at the DNC. And Katie and I were talking about it at length. I made several points about the intricacies of her speech, what she said, what she didn’t, how good the speech was, blah blah blah. As we went back into the living room, some guy named [...

The Same Ol’ Faces in Same Ol’ Places.

Posted on August 26, 2008
Today was Law Review orientation. We had some great pumpkin muffins. Then we learned a little bit about the actual mechanics of Law Review. Then we were divided into teams. I was surprised to learn that half of my negotiation class is #1 in Law Review, and #2 on my team...

I Never Knew….

Posted on August 25, 2008
…that Kermit The Frog was voiced by Jim Leach, former Republican Representative from Iowa. Seriously, turn on the DNC and listen!

Friday the 13th

Posted on June 13, 2008
Sounds like a great day to go to Las Vegas doesn’t it? Well, that’s my plan. I’m trying to finish up my write-on competition writing before I go to bed tonight (this morning). I need to get some sleep tonight though. I have Negotiations at 9:00a...

Draft Done.

Posted on June 13, 2008
A little editing tomorrow, and then some Bluebook fixin’ on Monday and then we’ll see what Law Review thinks. All in all a very gratifying, but very strenuous exercise. Not very fun, but I feel good having done it. Also, I think it was a great dry run for my one billion scholarly articles I need [...

Insomnia.

Posted on June 12, 2008
About one (1) night every two (2) or three (3) weeks, I am unable to sleep. Dunno why, just can’t. I’ll sprawl out in bed, toss and turn, stare at the ceiling, bury my face in a pillow, anything to try and find sleep…. but no dice...

General Thoughts on the Socratic Method, and In Class Debates.

Posted on June 11, 2008
I was having a conversation with my friend Brian about how to participate in class without being a jerk. We came to the following conclusions. #1 In the “policy debate” form of the Socratic method, take a position. Don’t always say ,”It depends...

Write On? Right On!!

Posted on June 09, 2008
Let me start by saying that I enjoy law school as a general rule. I like my classes most of the time, I like most of my fellow students. I enjoy writing and I like academic challenges. Just sayin’ so that you have a clear idea of where I’m coming from on [...

One Point.

Posted on June 06, 2008
Well, I think I will re-watch the season finale of the Grey’s Anatomy television program tonight. I really enjoy the show. Lots of good lines. Lots of good characters. The character I identify with most is George O’Malley, probably because he’s the really nice guy who has managed to inexplicably hook up with [...

….. and one half pounds.

Posted on June 05, 2008
Today a surfer in San Diego alerted police to a huge stash of marijuana hidden amongst some rocks. The total weight of the stash was 70 1/2 lbs. Yes, you read that right, a bulk stash reported to the police ended in a one half pound weight. ……somewhere in San Diego tonight the following [...

Clinton for…… Anything BUT VP.

Posted on June 05, 2008
Let’s all get real for a few moments here. Obama supporters, Clinton supporters, moderates, Republicans…. everyone. The truth is, Barrack Obama NEEDS Hillary Clinton’s support to get into the White House. Without her support, he’ll find it impossible to convert enough of her supporters to his cause...

No Stay?!?!?! No Way!!!!!

Posted on June 04, 2008
Well, the State Supremes are sticking to their guns. The California Supreme Court has declined to issue a stay in their recent ruling allowing for same-sex marriage*. So starting June 17, 2008 the first marriage licenses between partners of the same sex will be issued...

Gay Marriage.

Posted on May 31, 2008
First, I think that calling it gay marriage is a misnomer. There’s nothing inherently homosexual about two men marrying one another. Sure, I would be willing to be that 99.5% of all same sex marriages will be homosexual (or at least bisexual) in nature...

Oh, and by the way…

Posted on May 30, 2008
I totally am going to latch on to the episode of Grey’s Anatomy where Lexie Grey tells George how close he came to passing his test, and then telling him what REALLY separates him from his intern class. Oh yeah!

Swing and a Miss.

Posted on May 30, 2008
Well, dear readers… I did not do as well as I wanted. I came very close to my goal of grading on to law review, but missed the cut by four (4) spots. C’est la vie! Better by four (4) than by one (1). And certainly better by four (4) [...

Grades.

Posted on May 30, 2008
Today is G-Day. Grades will come out in 20 minutes. I have to admit that I am scared crapless. Not because I feel that I did poorly, but because in law school there’s really almost no way to tell. No matter how well you did on a final, if other people [...

So You Think You Can Dance.

Posted on May 29, 2008
Because I am such an awesome paragon of studiousness I am watching the tryouts for So You Think You Can Dance. I really enjoy the show. I think that dancing is amazing. If I could re-do my childhood, I think I would have taken up dancing when I was still young and [...

The Gracious Out.

Posted on May 27, 2008
I think that the best thing that the superdelegates of the Democratic Party can do for Sen. Clinton is to flock to Obama en masse. But, with a twist. They should stop before he reaches the tipping point. In the lead up to the June 3rd primaries, where Obama is certain to pick up [...

Emergency Landing

Posted on May 26, 2008
I’ve been in Aspen this weekend, and it’s been a blast. A photoblog entry will follow. I just wanted to write this little blurb to say two things. #1 Emergency landings in the Rocky Mountains suck. #2 On the other hand, any landing you can walk away from is a good landing...

Jack Thompson Gets PWNEDZXORZ!!!

Posted on May 22, 2008
Fo’ Reals. For the past few years, I’ve been utterly shocked and dismayed every time this lunatic moral crusader has been called an attorney. The fact that a member of the bar would engage in the priggish intimidation tactics that Thompson did over the years with no apparent backlash was disturbing...

Engagement Photos Part Deux.

Posted on May 18, 2008
Engagement Photos. I meant to post this link a little while ago. Here are a few more engagement photos of Kate and I. These are located on our amazing photographer’s blog.

The Grasshopper and the Palm.

Posted on May 18, 2008
Living in an apartment with no backyard is always a bummer for someone who loves nature and greenery as much as Katie and I do. We have a nine square feet large balcony where I’ve put out a few plants. I have a lily, a mexican sage, and a phoenix palm...

Holy Crap!

Posted on May 15, 2008
The California Supreme Court has overturned the ban on gay marriage. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie can finally get hitched here!!!

Does law school change you?

Posted on May 15, 2008
I’m one of those big nerds on campus who give tours to prospective students (it beats studying). “Does law school change you?” is a question that pops up a decent amount. Through talking to the people who ask it, I’ve found that most people who are in relationships ask that question, where most [...

Clinton.

Posted on May 08, 2008
Hillary Clinton is all but mathematically eliminated from the race at this point. Still she is trudging on (reminding me of how Mike Huckabee ended his campaign a few months ago). While I have no particular problem with someone staying in the race for as long as they can loan themselves millions of dollars, there [...

The Joys of Summer Vacation*.

Posted on May 05, 2008
Well, my long glorious summer vacation* has started. Today I woke up, got dressed, and went to Court. I think Katie was a little concerned that I went to Court today considering that our Federal Courthouse got pipebombed over the weekend. Fortunately, I don’t work at the Federal Courthouse, I work at [...

And Done.

Posted on April 26, 2008
Well, 1L is over. It’s pretty exciting to be done with the first year of law school. Our last exam was Torts. It was open everything. The upside means that I probably did really really well. The downside is, so did everyone else. It was a racehorse exam...

And Then There Was One.

Posted on April 23, 2008
Yesterday was the hardest exam I have ever taken in my life. I think that a good number of my classmates joined me in feeling completely shellshocked by yestersday’s Civ Pro II exam. I know that there were several people who struggled with the time limit in the exam...

Study Day Civ Pro II.

Posted on April 21, 2008
My Civ Pro II final is tomorrow at 8a.m. I will be very glad to be finished with this course. I have very much enjoyed both of my Civ Pro professors this year. But Civ Pro as a subject is the driest class in school. Civ Pro is essentially the Rule [...

Half-Time.

Posted on April 19, 2008
Property final over! I felt decent about this final. Last semester property was my strongest class, and I figure it will be again this semester. Having a final on Saturday is weird. It’s not as bad as you might think, because when finals roll around, the day of the week stops [...

Study Day Property

Posted on April 18, 2008
I work up today around 7:00a.m. I spent the rest of the day at my computer refining my little one page (double sided) cheat sheet. Trying to get the margins as small as printingly possible, the font as small as I could make print legibly. I’ve also been making sure I really [...

One Down Three To Go.

Posted on April 17, 2008
Today I woke up at 5:19a.m. in order to actually be awake by the time testing started. In order to accomplish this I went to bed at 8:30pm last night. Surprisingly I actually fell asleep pretty quickly. Normally, the night before an exam I toss and turn and “pre-game” the exam to [...

In 24 hours… I will be finished with (k)ontracts forever.

Posted on April 16, 2008
Tomorrow, Thursday, is the first final of second semester. It happens to be (k)ontracts and is closed book and closed notes. This class happens to be the one that everyone does well on from a raw score perspective. So, it’s one of the most challenging tests...

WestLaw and Lexis killed my writing ability.

Posted on April 14, 2008
I’ve noticed recently that I’ve been writing some qualifiers in all CAPS in e-mails. AND, OR, IF, THEN. I couldn’t figure out what was going on until this morning when I was doing a Terms and Connectors search on WestLaw and realized that I’ve used capitals for the connectors in order to see [...

What I’ve Learned About Law School (Or At Least California Western).

Posted on April 12, 2008
Well, 1L year is over (I don’t count finals as part of the year). Law school was in many ways exactly what I was hoping it would be, but in other ways very different from what I was expecting. All in all, I’m really glad that I chose California Western...

Things You Don’t Want To Hear On The Last Day Of Class.

Posted on April 10, 2008
Faculty Support called me today and informed me that my Civ Pro professor contacted them to let me know that my ‘Answer’ for our pleading’s assignment wasn’t in my folder. This was annoying because I had in fact turned it in over a month ago...

Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life.

Posted on April 10, 2008
Today is the last day of my 1L year classes. Finals start next week, but after today, no more property lectures, no more torts outlines, no more (k)ontracts, and no more Federal Civil Procedure EVER. This year has been interesting in ways I would have not imagined law school to be interesting...

And So To School…

Posted on April 07, 2008
Today I woke up at 8:15a.m. I went to class. Changed my brief some more. Turned it in at 10:05a.m. I can’t change it anymore. I think my last minute additions help. I took out some of my “stylistic repetition” and put in one more sentence of explanation of precedent...

And So To Sleep…

Posted on April 07, 2008
Well, after spending just a “little while longer” tweaking my brief, I’ve given as good as I can. Now we wait eight (8) weeks and we’ll see how it turned out. Thank god I did well on our other assignments. For those of you wondering, the constant stream of updates tonight is to demonstrate to prospective law students [...

10, 9, 8…..

Posted on April 07, 2008
With less than eight (8) hours till deadline, I am finally (relatively) happy with my argument. I am happy because I think I have written it as well as my meager talents will allow. I am also so tired that I’d probably be happy with anything at this point...

T minus 12.

Posted on April 07, 2008
This is really the only part of law school that I dislike. I keep wondering if there are better ways to say what I want to say. I know that my brief gets the message across. And I know I have good arguments. The oral presentation proved that. But, which [...

Worst Photo Ever.

Posted on April 01, 2008
I will post it when I get a copy… assuming I get a copy. You have no idea what I’m talking about. On Sunday, Katie and I took our engagement photos. We saw some previews of them, and they look great so far. Once they finish touching them up, they ought to be the best [...

People I Know. Pt. 1

Posted on March 30, 2008
This gentleman’s name is FreeWind. He is a tattoo artist. He used to fence. I know this guy. Apparently he either tattooed Audrina from the Hills, or pretended to for Ashton Kutcher’s new show where he Punk’s the paparazzi. So yeah, FreeWind...

U.S. World News Rankings.

Posted on March 29, 2008
Well, March 28th has come and gone. The U.S. World News has published a list of law schools and ranked them. That’s right, not graded, or evaluated, just ranked. Once again my beloved school has failed to crack into the Top 14 schools in the nation...

A Week In the Life Of Steve Pirates.

Posted on March 29, 2008
Monday: 7:00a.m. Wake up. Eat, bathe, read. 9:50a.m. Legal Skills lecture. 10:50a.m. Civ Pro II lecture. 12:05p.m. Go home, read, read, lunch, read, laundry. 8:20p.m. Legal Skills Appellate Advocacy Competition. 10:00p.m. Go home, sleep. Tuesday: 7:00a...

This is just really cool.

Posted on March 28, 2008
My only objection is that if I was going to get a robo-arm I would want it to have six fingers and an extra thumb on the other side of the hand. I mean, why not go for increased functionality instead of just replacing pre-existing functionality?

Pre-emptive Questions.

Posted on March 24, 2008
So today in Civil Procedure we are talking about Joinder under Rules 18 and 13. I have to admit this stuff is a little abstract for my taste. The difference between “case or controversy” and “transaction or occurrence” is too subtle for my mind I guess...

Justice Pirates

Posted on March 20, 2008
In Legal Skills II, we had in-class appellate arguments based on the fact pattern that we are all briefing. The full blown competition starts on Monday. Because I am competing on Monday I did not argue in class yesterday. Instead I, along with a few of my colleagues, sat in judgment...

Legal Libations (ongoing post).

Posted on March 18, 2008
Feel free to distribute these across as many tubes of i-nets as you’d like. If I have accidentally put a drink name that you’ve seen somewhere else, please notify me so that I can give proper credit. Please feel free to add to this list as you see fit...

Summer’s ’round the corner.

Posted on March 18, 2008
I love this time of year. The days are getting longer, the weather is getting warmer. I am finally making serious inroads in losing my holiday “cheer”*. School is winding down for the semester. But this year I am a little anxious. For the first time in my life I don’t know [...

California Western School of Law Admitted Scholars Reception

Posted on March 16, 2008
On Friday I had the privilege of attending a reception dinner held for the admitted scholars for the Fall 08 entering class (c/o 2011) as a 1L to meet some of the admitted students and to talk to them about Cal Western. It was a definite flashback for me, since this time last year [...

I Hate Helicopters.

Posted on March 12, 2008
It is 12:45 in the morning. I would love to be asleep right now. However, for the past three weeks there has been a helicopter that has been flying around my neighborhood starting at 10:00p.m. Yes, STARTING at ten at night. I can’t figure out if it’s a military chopper, or [...

Overheard in Law School (Legal Skills Edition).

Posted on March 12, 2008
Today we watched a movie in legal skills about the ins and outs of appellate procedure. One of the tips from the film was, “Don’t sandbag your adversary.” Later in class, we were discussing our upcoming Appellate Arguments for class...

John McCain Hates Bears: Ensures JollyLawger Support for any Democratic Nominee

Posted on March 10, 2008
John McCain Hates Bears In case any of you were wondering about the political views of JL.com, let’s just say we’re moderate. And by we, I mean me. And by moderate I mean I voted for the Governator, and for Gore. I have been following this years primaries with great interest because I like John [...

Law School in San Diego

Posted on March 09, 2008
I really like going to law school in San Diego, especially during the winter. We’re not locked in by snow, or hurricanes, or monsoons, or sleet. So the Fall semester in San Diego is great. Spring semester on the other hand is problematic. It’s just too gorgeous here to care about the Palsgrafs...

Tres Politikal.

Posted on March 08, 2008
Source. So wait, it was CLINTON’S aide who said to take the NAFTA criticism with a “grain of salt”? And yet Obama is getting attacked for it?? Now, personally, I would be willing to bet that Obama is in fact posturing, but I’d be equally willing to bet that Clinton is too, and McCain, and [...

Happy Birthday to Me.

Posted on March 05, 2008
Lived to see another March 5th. Better luck next year Reaperman.

Birthday Update.

Posted on March 05, 2008
This morning, the Dean brought in coffee and doughnuts. I told him that he shouldn’t have gone so out of his way just for my birthday. This afternoon, I got called on in Contracts II. Definitely the way to spend your birthday, no? Fortunately it was a case that I had enjoyed reading, so [...

Sometimes I Really Like Law School.

Posted on March 04, 2008
Most of the time, like most students I figure, I like the classes I like, and dislike the ones that don’t interest me, and view the whole affair as slightly burdensome. But there are a few days every now and then where I get really enthusiastic about being in law school, and the whole [...

In The Past 24 Hours I Have….

Posted on February 29, 2008
Been the subject of not one but two classmates’ dreams. Talked more in class in one day than I have all semester (sorry folks, I liked the cases). Been told I had warm eyes. Been mistaken for a hiring attorney at an OCI event (thank god career service’s straightened that one out, [...

The Day That Should Not Be.

Posted on February 28, 2008
Leap year day has always bothered me. I understand that the Earth’s cycle is not precise. I understand that if left unchecked, the quarter-day differential will add up over the years and we’ll have Christmas in July; but really, do we need another day every four years? Why can’t we just have a long [...

The Paralegal Paradox.

Posted on February 25, 2008
Being a paralegal is a great job. I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the law, but who is not certain they want to commit the next three years of their life to the competitive education. For me, going to paralegal school, and working as a paralegal made me certain [...

The Man Who Went Up A Hill And Came Down A Mountain.

Posted on February 22, 2008
This weekend I went to Big Bear to go snowboarding. I didn’t do so well. I am on hiatus until my shoulder heals enough to type with both hands.

Co-Presidents.

Posted on February 12, 2008
So, can anyone tell me why we have to have one president and one vice president? Can’t we divvy up the duties associated with the presidency between two people? I mean, I know that the idea is to have one person as the figurehead leader, and as the actual executive of the nation, [...

In The Middle.

Posted on February 12, 2008
Right now is when the semester really starts to pick up steam. Our classes are all at full throttle and all the extra activities are starting to show up. So far it’s been a great semester, grades went well (not fantastic, but well), the arguments competition went very well, and our current classes [...

Super Bowl Deluge.

Posted on February 03, 2008
San Diego is apparently being struck by the wrath of God this year. We have heavy winds and heavy rain. The rain is basically coming sideways at us. So of course this is a great weekend to go look at wedding locations for our outdoor wedding! All in all it has been a good weekend...

Songs stuck in my head.

Posted on January 31, 2008
Bloc Party - The Prayer Linkin Park - Shadow of the Day Andrea Bocelli - Con Te Partrio If you listen to the chorus of Linkin Park’s song it has the same progression as the Bocelli song. The theme of the songs are similar as well. You can sing the chorus of The Prayer by Bloc [...

Busiest Week Yet.

Posted on January 30, 2008
It’s Hump Day of the busiest week of law school yet. In addition to my regularly scheduled classes I have a mock interview and am in the middle of a Moot Court competition. Here’s my calendar for the week, with commentary on how it has gone so far...

Is there anything more awkward than…..

Posted on January 26, 2008
…a law school “grades party”? Yesterday was grades day. As I posted from Contracts, everyone was anxiously awaiting the 4:00 p.m. release time. Sadly, Contracts was scheduled between 2:40 and 3:55. As such, I can safely say that almost no one was really paying any attention...

2:50

Posted on January 25, 2008
Today is G-day at Cal Western. Our grades will be released at 4:00p.m. today. Needless to say I am very nervous. I didn’t feel particularly comfortable with the finals, although I suppose that no one ever does. As I sit in contracts, studiously paying attention, I’ve noticed that many of my classmates are [...

Other People, Property.

Posted on January 24, 2008
You down wid’ OPP? Yes, it is my favorite class and concept. At the beginning of the year, I read a paragraph stating that the law of Property is not about things. And to a large extent it’s not even about the way people interact with things...

Mental Competency

Posted on January 22, 2008
Competency Issue Article I personally feel that if the person is mentally competent to try and evade capture, then he is certainly mentally competent to stand trial. I know that sometimes people can have been competent at point A (crime) and have lost that competency by point B (trial) or vice versa...

Overheard in Class.

Posted on January 22, 2008
Our Torts professor was talking about False Imprisonment, and gave the hypothetical question of “If a third party handcuffs you to another person, is that confinement for False Imprisonment? While you aren’t imprisoned or confined in an area, you are confined to that person, and it restricts your freedom...

Multiple Choice Fact Pattern:

Posted on January 22, 2008
Back in February of 2007, I went to Guitar Center to purchase a Gibson Melody Maker with two singlecoil pickups. They didn’t have the guitar in stock, so I special ordered it. I gave them the price of the guitar, and they gave me a receipt. In May my guitar arrived [...

Application time.

Posted on January 18, 2008
It’s crunch time for a lot of applications for summer internships around the nation. I’ve spent most of today tweaking personal statements to suit the peculiarities of each prospective organization. Career Services always tells you that you need to craft a unique personal statement or cover letter for each job so that you [...

Overheard in Court.

Posted on January 17, 2008
At oral arguments for an appeal involving potentially prejudicial introduction of evidence at trial in a slip and fall case at a store: Justice O’Connell: “I am afraid that Justice Smith is ill today, I believe that counsel for both sides have agreed to argue the appeal in the absence of Justice Smith who will [...

1L Opening/Closing Competition.

Posted on January 15, 2008
Our school is putting on a competition for 1Ls to make opening and closing arguments. I’m excited for it, there’s nothing better than a bunch of people who have no concept of what an opening or closing argument really is trying to out open or close one another...

So Politikal!

Posted on January 11, 2008
One of the things that I’ve found I like about law school, and my school in particular, is the absence of political apathy. It has been a nice change of pace to actually have legitimate conversations with people regarding their preferences for the upcoming primaries and elections...