Law Students

LAST POST!

Posted on May 27, 2008
Last Post: This will be my last post for Soapbox Law. (Wait for boos). The real purpose of the blog was two fold 1) an outlet to express my experiences as a law student and 2) let my family and friends know what I am up to. It also surprisingly became a small resource for law students interested in Santa Clara Law School, the JAG Corps and even for some interested in Mormonism...

Santa Clara Law School Graduation

Posted on May 19, 2008
Graduation was better than I expected. I didn?t go to my undergrad graduation because generally graduations are long and boring and I didn?t want to subject myself nor my loved ones to more than one of those, and since I knew I was going to law school, I figured I?d postpone emergence from the formal educational womb until I finished law school...

FYI: GRADUATION ITINERARY!

Posted on May 15, 2008
Here is the itinerary for Graduation weekend. I have included links to restaurants so that those attending can google maps/mapquest/yahoo map out the directions from and to their respective hotels. Friday 5/16/2008: Family dinner at Magianno?s at 6:30 p...

Nightmare!

Posted on May 09, 2008
I woke up last night in a cold sweat. I really did. My heart was pounding so hard I thought I was going to wake up my wife. Coming into my final semester, I needed 12 units to reach the exact minimum number of units needed to graduate. I signed up for Remedies (3 units), Wills & Trusts (3 units), Jury Law (3 Units), Moot Court (2 units), Elder Law (1 Unit) for a grand total of 12 units...

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Law School: Stick a Fork in it!

Posted on May 06, 2008
- Last Final: I completed my last law school yesterday. There was 60 multiple choice questions on my Remedies final and for the last 10 questions, after I completed each one, I kept saying to myself, ?9 more questions left in law school,? ?8 more questions left in law school,? and so on...

Why ?Wind Fall? Profits Are a Good Thing

Posted on May 02, 2008
With both Democrat candidates trying to make corporations and especially the oil companies the boogie man in our economy, Investors Business Daily gives a healthy dose of perspective regarding ?obscene? profits by oil companies: Our free-market economy is built on profit...

...One to Go

Posted on May 01, 2008
- I finished my Wills final on Monday and I?m a little worried about it, but not a lot. It was 100 multiple choice questions and after the first 30, I was spent. It felt like the longest test of my life. I also felt like the questions weren?t that hard, and trust me, that?s never a good sign...

I?m a Justice Scalia Groupie

Posted on April 27, 2008
While taking a break from studying for my Wills & Trusts final tomorrow, I listened to the 60 minutes interview of Justice Scalia. I?ve read a lot of his opinions both before and during law school, and I have to say I can?t recall ever reading anything that I?ve ever disagreed with...

Thirty-Two Years (and one day) ago...

Posted on April 26, 2008
...Rick Monday saved the American Flag at Dodger Stadium from a couple of hippies.

Last Law School Class

Posted on April 24, 2008
Going to my last law school class today wasn?t a terribly emotional affair. As has been well documented, I?ve never been a big fan of classroom attendance in law school. But I felt a hint of nostalgia as I walked out of my last class, imagining my life as a movie with a collage of classroom related images scrolling across the screen with an appropriate riff blaring...

Playing the Oracle at Delphi and Why the US Army is A-Okay

Posted on April 20, 2008
I participated in a panel discussion today for prospective students who have been accepted into Santa Clara Law School. Afterwards, there was a lunch outside where I shared a table with 6-7 of these students, followed by giving a slightly larger group a tour of the campus...

World Wide Sports Leader and Religious Bigotry

Posted on April 19, 2008
ESPN commentator Ric Bucher when trying to explain why the Utah Jazz have a great home court advantage came to this conclusion: "It is the most intimidating place to play because of the configuration of the arena... and, let's be honest... they are Mormon? They are in Salt Lake, and there's nothing up there," he said...

Graduation Luncheon and Other Thoughts

Posted on April 18, 2008
One month from today, I?ll be a law school graduate and to commemorate the event, we had a graduate luncheon today. It was kind of exciting, cuz we had to make seating assignments for graduation, which had a sense of finality to it. But overall, it was a little depressing...

Winds of Change II

Posted on April 17, 2008
I?ve been swamped lately with the end of the semester (and my law school career) coming to a close. I had to write a policy paper for my Elder Law class after visiting a nursing home, put together a couple of tree killing notebooks for Jury Law and of course, all of the reading for Remedies and Wills &Trusts I?ve been putting off this semester apparently isn?t going to read itself...

Quote of the Day [Updated]

Posted on April 10, 2008
I was talking with some law school friends yesterday about t-shirts, of all things. I mentioned that I?ve seen a guy in school frequently wearing this Soviet Union t-shirt. I don?t like this t-shirt for many of the same reasons I don?t like Ernesto ?Che? Guevara t-shirts; the USSR deliberately murdered 100s of millions of their own people and they brutally oppressed the rest of their citizens that couldn?t flee that murderous regime...

War Links [Update with Petraeus Quotes]

Posted on April 07, 2008
With General Petraeus appearing in front of the Senate Armed Forces and Foreign Relations Committees tomorrow, I figured I'd post some of my favorite links on the war that I've read in the last few days. I doubt that the left will make as big of fools of themselves as they did last time (remember moveon...

Basketball, Bar, & Benjamins

Posted on April 06, 2008
I?m proud of my Bruins for making it to three straight Final Fours, which I suppose is a lot like being a maid of honor in three straight weddings (here?s me sending my Bruins off to the Final Four last year). Seriously though, you can?t be too mad in the face of that kind of success...

No April Fools Here: This is the Last Month of Classes for Me!

Posted on April 02, 2008
While I do have a final in May, this month represents the last month of me having to go to classes I?ve paid for. Period. Ever. Even if the Navy sends me to get an LLM later, THEY are going to pay for it. Look, I know being in the womb of school has its benefits...

Bay Area Baseball Dilemma

Posted on March 31, 2008
I?m a Dodgers fan first, A?s fan second. Two of my best friends happen to be Angels fans don?t respect that because, after all, I grew up fairly close to the Angels and went to many Angels games growing up. But I was never a huge fan, largely because I bleed Dodger blue...

Surprise: Another Anti-War Movie Tanks!

Posted on March 29, 2008
I was asked recently why I have written a slew of anti-Obama posts lately. After explaining I?m not anti-Obama and that I am anti-Obama ideas (which is classic leftist thought wrapped up in a new package), one of the main reasons I gave is that writing about it is cathartic...

Arbitrary and Capricious Roller Coaster: 2009 US News and World Report Moves Santa Clara Law School Up to #77

Posted on March 29, 2008
When I applied to Santa Clara Law School we were ranked #83. By the time I entered Santa Clara, it dropped into the third tier (107 I think). My first year saw SCU creep to #87. Than last year it slid down to #91. And now? A leaked report shows SCU bumped up to #77...

Different, Unique, and Innovative Obama Plan for Economic Change: More Taxes, More Regulations

Posted on March 27, 2008
More evidence that Obama is just Ted Kennedy with a less annoying voice; his plan is essentially $30 billion more in taxes and huge regulatory increases. Brilliant. Nothing stimulates the economy more than taking more money out of people?s pockets. Despite Obama?s desire to not be burdened with distracting labels like liberal, having positions like complete withdrawal from Iraq despite the clear and consistent progress there, government take over and mandate of health care, re-hauling of our economy to make it ?green,? and other huge increases of government in education, and other entitlements with the accompanying huge increase in taxes and populist rhetoric...

Flip Flop Time

Posted on March 25, 2008
The weather has been phenomenal up here in the Bay Area lately and, finally, it?s time. My pasty white toes have been covered from public view long enough and now, I am wearing my flip flops. Right now it?s not pretty. My toes are glow in the dark white right now and it?ll take some time to get them brown, but oh yes, it?ll happen...

Quote(s) of the Day

Posted on March 24, 2008
?I think Cuba has done the best job of implementing communism.? I was eating dinner at a friend?s house, when a friendly conversation on politics revealed this little gem from my left leaning friend. We had a great conversation, but my immediate retort at the time was, ?That?s exactly why thousands of Cubans risk their lives to come to America on floating doors...

"Why seek ye the living among, the dead?"

Posted on March 23, 2008
"He is not here, but is risen." Luke 24:4-5. This blog is usually full of snark and condescension, but I hope I can successfully put that aside for a moment to wish all of you the blessings of the empty tomb and the Living Christ and may it fill you with hope on this Easter Sunday...

Bracket Busted

Posted on March 20, 2008
For the record, I love sports. I love basketball, football and baseball, and choosing which one I love more is like asking a parent which child do they love more. And I know a lot about sports. Especially basketball. Seriously, I have forgotten more basketball statistics than most people ever learn in their life, in either college or NBA...

I Am the Racial Switzerland

Posted on March 19, 2008
Given the topics and comments of my recent post, I found today?s jury law class to be timely. I really enjoy the class (though it?s not as practical as I?d hope), and we often talk about jury bias, using a recent study on, of all things, racially biased calls by referees in the NBA...

That Crazy Media

Posted on March 14, 2008
Michael Goldfarb warns that the media reporting of the new pentagon study is misleading at best. As the headlines by ABC, NY Times, and others say, apparently the pentagon report reveals ?No Al Qaeda Link? between Saddam and the terrorist organization...

Things I Learned at a Santa Clara Law School Bar Review: You Are Not Inferior (If You're a Minority) and You Are Sinister (If You're White)

Posted on March 14, 2008
Along with many other 3Ls here at Santa Clara Law School (though not as many as I thought), I attended the first of several bar preparation courses put on by the Law School for free. Today was just a general over view of the bar, and though I didn?t really learn anything new, I thought it was pretty well done...

Around the Web

Posted on March 12, 2008
Freakiest Story of the Day I have a voracious appetite for news and I surf the internet daily to satisfy that hunger. Rarely have I read a story that made me just close my computer and walk away. This is that story. Quote of the Day As a coreligionist with Harry Reid, it gives me no pleasure to say that he is perhaps the worst majority leader in the history of the union...

Vegas Baby: Don't Stop Believing On a Prayer

Posted on March 10, 2008
What a great way to go out. For my last moot court competition as a law student, I competed in only one round, I stunk, yet I still had a great time. We competed in two rounds and we won two of the three oral arguments, but because of our REALLY bad brief score we did not advance...

Another Reason to Reject the Political Jesus

Posted on February 28, 2008
Outside of being commander in chief (there will be plenty to say later about how disastrous Obama would be as commander in chief), in my mind, judicial appointments are the most important thing a president does. I am confident that if you ask most Americans to describe which qualities they would prefer in our judges, the adjectives would probably include: competence, intelligence, knowledge of the law, high integrity, fairness, etc...

Inconvenient Fact: The Earth's Temperature DROPPED ?Precipitously? in the Last 12 Months

Posted on February 27, 2008
I'm sure there will be enough global warming fruit cakes who still roll their eyes if anyone dare challenge the spurious notion of catastrophic global warming, and probably get apoplectic at the thought of those of us who have been trying to throw dirt on the coffin of global warming...

Moot Court Maven

Posted on February 26, 2008
I am currently preparing for my last moot court tournament of my law school career. It's the ABA Appellate Advocacy Competition, and my enthusiasm for it, as for almost everything in law school is waning. However, the competition is in Las Vegas next week and then it will be mercifully over...

Yosemite Winter

Posted on February 25, 2008
I took my wife to Yosemite for her birthday this weekend. Yosemite has been on my list of places I need to visit while living in the Bay Area, and I'm glad I did. It was gorgeous and gratefully my wife loved it. Here are just a few pictures from our trip...

RIP Dell Inspiron 600M (2004-2008)

Posted on February 21, 2008
It is always sad to see a young computer snuffed out in the flower of it's youth. My parents graciously bought me my Dell for my birthday before going to law school. The plan was for my computer to last at least through the bar in July, but alas it wasn't meant to be...

Last Trial Team Competition!

Posted on February 18, 2008
I have to say that this trial team competition experience was one I savored. One of my teammates and I carpooled up to San Francisco Friday morning (where I learned, incidentally, that San Franciscans don?t like the term ?Frisco) and we checked into the surprisingly nice and centrally located (at least for our purposes) Parc 55 Hotel...

Classroom Attendance Redux

Posted on February 13, 2008
Since so many people have been begging me to blog more about my thoughts on law school class attendance, I will finally relent. Everyone knows how I distaste going to class. I go to the seminar classes that have mandatory attendance and I?ll even skip the bar courses that have a similar policy because most professors in large classes will not notice I?m gone...

Can I Get In On This?

Posted on February 11, 2008
You know how blue chip football players will graduate a semester or two early in order to enroll in their new university and get a head of the curve? If there were such a thing as law school all-Americans, and I were one, and it were possible to graduate law school early to participate in the next level, I'd do it so I could be a part of this...

There Can Only Be One Adam Partridge!

Posted on February 11, 2008
I could totally take him.

Who Said Blogging Isn't Lucrative?

Posted on February 11, 2008
Readers of this blog may have noticed a few months ago I inserted ads near the top of blog. This isn't just for show folks, this is what we call in the biz a "revenue stream." They should call it a revenue river because in the last two months, this humble little blog has generated $10...

Mitt Romney: ?We Hardly Knew Ye?

Posted on February 07, 2008
My man Mitt dropped out the race today. It is unfortunate that he is not the GOP nominee. He would have been a great president and as I told Mitt when I met him, I hoped he would be my commander in chief. Mitt was a great candidate and was one of the last two GOPers standing; an infamous silver medal...

Law Day Program No Requirements

Posted on February 07, 2008
I've been waiting for awhile for my transcript to reflect the fact that I'm graduating this May. The biggest obstacle appeared to be the Supervised Analytical Writing Requirement, which was never really explained to me when I entered law school. The SAWR merely requires you to write a research paper with a tenured faculty member, but I had to read graffiti on the bathroom stall to figure out what the exact requirements are...

I H8 Hukabee

Posted on February 05, 2008
I don't really hate him, although I'm not as enamored with him as others; I find him glib, smarmy and a increasingly catty. That said, this is not a great start for Romney on this Super Tuesday. Apparently Romney had the West Virginia caucus all wrapped but then this happened:After the first round of balloting in West Virginia, Mitt Romney was solidly in the lead with 41% of the votes, followed by Mike Huckabee with 33% and John McCain with 16%...

355th Post for Soapbox Law! (And Some Conservative Clarifications)

Posted on February 05, 2008
This seems like a random number but it holds profound significance: I have now exceeded the number of posts that I had on Joe and I's old stomping grounds SoapBox Politics (354). And on Super Tuesday no less. The karmic forces are churning indeed. This surprises me because I feel like I blog fairly regularly, yet it took me nearly twice as long (three years) to write the same amount of posts that I did in half the time at SBP...

Romney Upswing: Takes Lead in California and Surges Elsewhere!

Posted on February 03, 2008
Romney leads McCain by 37 percent to 34 percent in California. The poll's margin of error is 2.9 percentage points. "California could be Romney's last stand," said pollster John Zogby said.Rasmussen has the Ca race tied.Surprise: Within 3 points in Georgia, Tennessee and Missouri!Update: Mitt up big in Mass...

?Let Me Hear It From All You Estrogen Based Life Forms!? A Conservative at a Hillary Clinton Rally in San Jose

Posted on February 02, 2008
I?m not a Hillary hater per se but, as a conservative, I certainly don?t line up with her on most things. However, the 2008 presidential election is the most important and historic election of my lifetime for a number of reasons (no incumbent or vice-president for first time in 50 years, first legit woman, first legit black guy, first legit Mormon, no clear cut favorite emerging, etc...

"Nonpartisan avatar of hope and healing somehow has most liberal voting record in Senate"

Posted on January 31, 2008
That?s the Hot Air headline any way, and it?s apt. I know my wife has been bombarded by Obamaites at her work (she?s a school teacher) and I can?t throw a rock without hitting an Obama supporter at school. But why? Where is this support coming from? I understand the Anyone But Hillary camp, I really do...

California Bar Post

Posted on January 27, 2008
What's the Big Deal? The California Bar is famously difficult to pass. In fact, the Wikipedia page for the California bar has a section entitled ?The Famously Difficult California Bar Examination.? I remember fretting over the bar before I even started law school...

Mitt Wins Michigan! and the State of the Race

Posted on January 16, 2008
I don't need to exhale with Romney's Michigan victory because Romney was doing great before Michigan. Especially if you chuck the media (and even candidate) driven expectations out the window and you look merely at what the candidates had accomplished during the first three primaries/caucus...

Why McCain and Huckabee Are Unacceptable to this Conservative

Posted on January 16, 2008
Huckabee: This dude is seriously out of control. His consistent populist attacks on wage payers almost frightens me more than his raising taxes, granting clemency to murderers or the way he plays the religion card. Seriously, watch this video and see if you don't feel the same way regardless of your theology...

Mark it Dude: Early Grad Info

Posted on January 14, 2008
My school has not posted any grad info yet (this web page only has last years stuff), but I know that a lot of people would like at least some information about graduation, so I dug deep to find out the basics:When: Saturday May 17, 2008 at 9:30 am (it's usually about 2 hours long)...

Life In The Navy Rocks Even Harder Than The Commercial Implied

Posted on January 14, 2008
The onion is consistently funny media parody. In this irreverent article, they do a great job of mocking the high expectations that are elicited from the rock and roll soundtracked military commercials. But, seriously, who wouldn't want to join an organization like this?:Even basic training was an edgy, quick-cut mosaic of running and climbing and shooting and learning and Pantera riffs.

Former Santa Clara University Law Student Resigns Commission from Navy JAG Corps

Posted on January 12, 2008
?It was with sadness that I signed my name this grey morning to a letter resigning my commission in the U.S. Navy,? wrote attorney-at-law Andrew Williams. ?There was a time when I served with pride ... Sadly, no more.? Why can't this Santa Clara Law grad (class of '91) any longer serve his country? From the military...

Apparently There is No Such Thing as a Liberal Supreme Court Justice

Posted on January 10, 2008
I'm sitting in class and something has happened that has occurred at least three other times in this young semester. Two different professors have referred to justices like Rehnquist, Thomas, and Scalia as ?conservative justices.? They never refer to the other justices as ?liberal justices...

Law School Class Attendance: Almost Always a Waste of Time

Posted on January 07, 2008
I think it's appropriate that my first post since being placed on the SCU blog roll be one that attacks a sacred cow of law school orthodoxy, namely class attendance and it's effect on your final grade. I've danced around this subject a few times, but this subject really deserves it's own post...

Soapbox Law: Your Official Santa Clara Law School Blog

Posted on January 07, 2008
It's not official in the big brother controlling your content kind of way, but my blog is finally getting some props in my last semester at SCU from my soon to be alma mater. I received an e-mail informing that my blog generates enough traffic and user comments to the law school website to the extent that the powers that be have included it on the SCU blog roll which, until now, has been occupied solely by SCU law professors...

A Day Which Will Live in Infamy

Posted on January 04, 2008
January 4 will not only be known as the day after which Iowa Republicans played the losers game of identity politics and class populism, but also the day in which thousands of umbrellas, including mine, died needlessly. I'll miss you.

2008: The Year of Adam

Posted on January 03, 2008
I hate to copy Joe, but technically last year was the year of Joe, and what a great year it was for him. I also had a fairly good year though. Spring 07 was the busiest semester of my life (read about it here). My summer was unfortunately lame with a few important exceptions (here and here)...

My Last Christmas Break

Posted on January 01, 2008
This was my last Christmas Break as a professional student. I imagine with my 30 paid vacation days per year in the JAG Corps, that I'll have ample opportunity to take some time off around Christmas time, but I'll be surprised if the rigors of the job allow me to take an entire two weeks off at any one time...

Me v. Dennis Prager

Posted on December 22, 2007
Not really; I actually love Dennis Prager, in a very manly way of course. With all the bombastic verbosity out there, I find him to be the most thoughtful and respectful conservative on the air waves, if not occasionally goofy. I listen to pretty much every hour of his show throughout the week via podcast as I work out...

Nomentum

Posted on December 20, 2007
It was not a great finals season for me. Let me underscore that has a 3L with a job in hand, my motivation to excel on my exams is really minimal. Don't get me wrong; I'm really focused on learning the material, if for nothing else, pass the bar. My primary motivation is learning things that will improve my skills as a lawyer, which, unfortunately, doesn't necessarily line up with jumping through the often ridiculous hoops of law school exams...

The Speech

Posted on December 06, 2007
Pre-Speech Thoughts: There are at least three potential reasons for Romney?s speech on faith today; 1) to assuage doubts of undue influence by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2) to explain how Romney?s faith will influence his presidency, 3) to explain the church?s doctrines or precepts to the nation...

MPREssions and Other Thoughts

Posted on December 03, 2007
After a long an arduous journey, I have finally passed the MPRE. For those who don't know or remember the MPRE (Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam) is national ethics test that every prospective lawyer must take and pass. I registered for it this summer, studied for it for a few days, and even took four hours on a Saturday and went to the BarBri prep course in Frisco...

Fair Tax Take

Posted on December 01, 2007
Someone recently e-mailed me asking my take on the fair tax. Here was my response:I'm certainly not an expert on the fair tax or any straight consumption tax, but I have heard a lot about it. I understand it to mean the abolition of our current tax code (how can that not be a good thing?) and replace it with a 23% sales tax...

Huck Norris!

Posted on November 19, 2007
I realize I?ve already endorsed Mitt Romney, but I forgot to mention that my free will always has the unspoken caveat ?subject to Chuck Norris approval.?Seriously I?m not a Huckabee guy; too much of an economic populist in my view, but you have to love this commercial...

Three T-Shirts

Posted on November 17, 2007
I rarely read something that elicits laughter, and yet I recently saw the following three t-shirts on-line that really tickled my funny bone. So much so that I felt compelled to memorialize the moment in this very blog entry. #3 The pic is a little small so for those who can't see it too well it is a picture of a blimp blowing up with the phrase "Blimpin' Aint Easy...

Vegas Baby!: Democrat Debate Analysis

Posted on November 15, 2007
I?m going to type biting and insightful remarks as the debate unfolds. - The theme that is being hit on early and often, or at least the one I found the most offensive, was hit on by virtually all of the DNC candidates, namely that Americans are struggling in their daily lives and as they do so, they are wondering why their government doesn?t do more for them...

Safer? At least 19 Terrorist Attacks Thwarted Since 9/11

Posted on November 15, 2007
I personally know too many people on the left for which this will mean nothing. Because waterboarding was used (only three times by the way) or phone calls to terrorist sponsoring countries were tapped, it doesn't matter that thousands of lives have been saved...

Mitt Romney Hodgepodge

Posted on November 15, 2007
As an unabashed Romney supporter, I?ve been following his campaign and the election in general very closely and feel compelled to share a few interesting things I?ve read recently. Just feel lucky that I?ve stopped myself from making daily blog entries about the campaign: - Here is a copy of a 1994 Romney campaign flyer when Mitt was running against Ted Kennedy...

With So Much Drama in the LBC: Anti-War Vets Excluded from Long Beach Veterans Day Parade

Posted on November 09, 2007
I love my home town, I really do. I proudly tell people that Long Beach is my home town and visiting Long Beach is, to me, like wrapping myself in a warm blanket. And if it were possible, my affection for my home town grew when I read this story. Apparently anti-war veterans are being banned from marching in the Long Beach Veterans Day parade...

Suppressed Memory Resurfaces: My Willie Didn?t Do Nothin!

Posted on November 04, 2007
I recently watched this NFL commercial featuring Long Beach Poly alum and NFL superstar Willie McGinest. I?ve met Willie once; he came to my CIF championship game in 1997. Willie was a great basketball player in high school who also happened to win a CIF championship while playing for coach Ron Palmer...

Crazy Things I Heard on the Way to White Plains

Posted on November 04, 2007
I am a right wing kook. There?s no doubt about it. I believe in small government, small taxes and big military. However, I?d like to think I?m fairly open-minded about opposing view points. It?s probably fair to say that I even prefer to sit at a table with someone who opposes my views than with someone who embraces them...