Wanton or reckless conduct that results in another’s death carries the charge of involuntary manslaughter. For an act to be wanton or reckless (those words mean the same thing as far as this is concerned), you must be aware of a high degree of likelihood that substantial risk of harm will occur, but choose to risk danger rather than alter your conduct. Additionally, an act can be reckless if you didn’t recognize this grave danger but an ordinary reasonable person would have. Lawyered.

Once again I feel like I don’t have much to talk about. The weeks are all the same at this point. Thankfully, they pass by quickly. Next week I have a response paper (read: book report) on Courtroom 302, and a practice exam for the first three chapters of Property. That means this weekend will be spent writing, outlining, and studying. It’s scary to think that finals are only nine weeks away. I still have time to watch an episode or two of The West Wing every day, but I’m afraid those days will soon be over. Prepare for shorter and shorter updates.

The final season of The West Wing is great, but I’m sad the end is near. The show, along with the election season, has reignited my love for politics. I think I might want to work in D.C. at least one summer, possibly for the Department of State. I also think it would be awesome to either work in the U.S. Copyright Office, or work with copyright lobbyists. That would allow me to get D.C. out of my system, while also building up experience that would translate to a job in the entertainment industry. Jack Valenti, my teenage nemesis, started out in Washington before transfering over to the MPAA.

I’ve been going out more and more the last few weeks. My section is really close, so we try to eat together at least once a week and also hang out every Thursday before Bar Review. I haven’t been devoting as much time to studies, but having friends makes life in a new town much easier. Besides, I should enjoy socializing while I can.

That’s all for now. We just had a minor earthquake here (3.0), but I didn’t feel anything.

Ryan

I’ve been taking some time to catch up on news this afternoon, and still can’t understand McCain’s rationale for suspending his campaign two days ago. I can understand his return to Washington to work on the bailout, but why shouldn’t his staff just continue without him? David Letterman wondered why Governor Palin didn’t step up and continue the campaign in his sted. Isn’t that one of the most important functions of a Vice-President? McCain’s advisors should have made her the temporary face of the campaign to show that she’s a capable leader. The economy is important, but arguably nothing is more important than the election.

Governor Palin

Of course, the McCain campaign would never elevate Sarah Palin to that level; they hardly let her speak to the press. I am sympathetic to the grassroots “Free Sarah!” movement. McCain and his advisers need to stop holding her back. If Senator McCain is elected President, there’s a good chance that Palin may assume the Presidency mid-term, and it’s important for the voters to know more about someone with that potential.  Of course, some conservative pundits are now questioning whether Governor Palin has gotten in over her head. Conservatives loved the idea of her, but it’s now becoming clear that her inexperience may actually hinder her from doing her job at a basic level. Personally, I am starting to question her intelligence. I think she’s a great VP candidate on paper, but she doesn’t work in today’s news environment. She needs to be able to stop presenting the media as a bunch of bullies; attack them for being wrong, don’t just sit back and refuse to talk to them. She should have gone directly to the media and told them: “I think your coverage of me is sexist, unprofessional, and hurtful. Until you end your smear campaign and focus on the issues of the election, [insent Conservative agenda], I will not be giving interviews. If you bring my family into any interview, the interview will be over.” The campaign did not do this, because the campaign obviously thinks a defensive strategy will work. I disagree, but I’m also severely out of touch with the average American.

I’m also biased because I don’t like Sarah Palin very much. I vote primarily on social issues (since those usually have the most lasting impact), and Governor Palin is a pro-life creationist who thinks it’s a top priority that we keep gay dudes from marrying. Still, I try to approach all political campaigns from a more academic perspective, and Palin just seems to have been a horrible misstep by the McCain camp. In any other election, the last three weeks would have crippled the Republican campaign, but the bitter divide in this election has allowed him to survive surprisingly unscathed. Independents left him a long time ago, and bitter Republicans certainly aren’t going to risk allowing a black Muslim to be President. Maybe this is the right strategy for McCain, but as a former (2000) supporter it’s driving me further and further from his campaign.

My Dream Ticket

Debates

I’m incredibly excited for the debates tonight. My love for political campaigning has only grown since I graduated, and I can’t wait to see how the candidates face off against one another. In case you haven’t heard, evidently John McCain was the clear winner pre-debate.

McCain wins debate! Presidency! Emperorship! Galactic Commander! Publisher's Clearing House!

For those of us waiting for the actual debate, however, I’ll offer my two cents. Obama has the clear advantage as the leader in most polls and more eloquent of the two candidates. McCain, however, has outperformed expectations at nearly every step along the campaign trail. People aren’t expecting him to win, so don’t be surprised if he ends up doing pretty well. That said, this is Obama’s big opportunity. He’s smart enough to capitalize on any McCain error and I’m hoping he comes out swinging.

Those thoughts were probably pretty incoherent, but I just wanted to write something about the political clusterfuck that has been going on the last few weeks. I wish I was still in Austin so I could talk with my government professors about everything that’s going on, because it’s a radical departure from previous presidential campaigning. I’m not sure anyone really knows what is going on right now, or why.

I hope everyone is safe, and doing well. Share your political frustrations in the comments section!

Ryan

Under the firefighter’s rule, a member of the public who negligently starts a fire owes no duty of care to assure that the firefighter who is summoned to combat the fire is not injured thereby. That’s what I’ve been obsessively thinking about for the past few days. Lawyered.

My thoughts are all starting to blur together on this paper. I’m 90ish% done, and not willing to put that much more effort into it.

All day I’ve been thinking about The O.C. season one. I haven’t rewatched it in years, and I think it’s time. I still have nearly two seasons to go on the West Wing, but I might have to put that on hold.

Also, I watched Scorsese’s Shine A Light last night, which was great. It’s incredible how good Mick Jagger remains. The man has more energy than most performers a third of his age.

It’s so pretty outside, and I’m stuck working on this paper.

I apologize for not writing more over the past week. I want to chronicle events and feelings as they occur, but too often I let important moments pass by without writing about them. I’m going to try harder to keep up, but life has gotten noticeably more stressful.

Last week I had my first day of homesickness. All of the Ike coverage focused my attention on Texas for the first time since arriving in California. I spent Friday evening watching CNN and talking to my parents, rather than my usual routine of studying. It was frustrating being thousands of miles away from my family during (arguably) the worst storm to hit Friendswood in my lifetime. I knew my parents were safe, but it would be days before I saw any photos of the damage. As far as I know, my parents as still without power. There was some minor damage to the house, but more significant damage to the property. Between fifteen and twenty trees were uprooted, including one which completely blocked the driveway outside the car port.

I still wish I could be there, but my attention has refocused on school. This week we were assigned our first legal writing memorandum in Lawyering Skills, and everyone’s stress level has increased accordingly. The assignment is not graded, but it’s crucial that we learn how to do a good job before we are assigned our graded memo in October.

Legal writing is incredibly difficult, because there is no room for bullshit. You can’t include facts that aren’t important, and your arguments must be strong and concise. The basic assignment for this memo is to use a precedent case to argue whether or not your client has any basis for their claim. You must determine which rule the precedent case used in their analysis, and then generalize that rule so that it can be applied to your client’s case. I’ve been going over the materials for two days now, and I still haven’t determined the exact rule for the precedent case. I understand the case holding and how it applies to the specific facts, but infering the exact wording of the general rule has been difficult.

I was going to go watch Greg Maddux pitch at the Dodgers-Giants game tomorrow, but I couldn’t find anyone to go with. Instead I’ll try to get ahead on some work. My (completely unrealistic) goal this weekend is to finish the memo by Saturday, and then start outlining for Property on Sunday. We have an upcoming mock exam over chapters 1-3, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to fail. That’s not hyperbole, nor is it concern. No 1L knows how to take a law school exam, and almost everyone fails miserably on their first attempt. The key is taking the practice exams seriously.

On Wednesday I went to the Dean’s Roundtable Lunch with Roger Cossack. Mr. Cossack (a UCLA Law alum) is currently the chief legal analyst for ESPN. The event was great, but I don’t really have any memorable moments to share with you all. I’m sure you’re all glad I just wasted ten seconds of your life with that information.

Also, Aaron alerted me to the brilliant “Half zine. Half blog. Half not good with fractions.” Thesneeze.com. Check it out, particularly Steve, Don’t Eat It!.

Ryan

P.S. I’m glad Brandon has computer once again. I expect his commenting on this site to be back in full-force.

Riss v. New York is a case where the plaintiff sued the state for failing to protect her after repeatedly warning them that she was being threatened. The plaintiff, Linda Riss, was threatened by Burton Pugach, a man she previously dated. He claimed, “If I can’t have you, no one else will have you, and when I get through with you, no one else will want you.” Riss reported the threat to the police, who ignored her. After she was became engaged to another person, Pugach threatened her once again. This threat was also reported to the police, who did nothing. The next day, Riss was partially blinded and disfigured when a thug hired by Pugach threw lye at her face. The court found that the state could not be held liable for failing to protect someone, because there is no special relationship between people and government agencies. For a special relationship to exist, the police have to take an affirmative act (promise to do something about the threat). Okay, so that was just the set up. The real story here happened fifteen years later. After Pugach was released from prison (he was found guilty of the crime), he and Riss married! The whole story is chronicled in this NYTimes article which I found fascinating. Here’s another article, written after the documentary Crazy Love was released last year. Lawyered.

I attended my first Bar Review last Thursday. I’m not sure if I’ve explained it before, but Bar Review is basically a weekly law school gathering where everyone goes to a certain bar (usually with drink specials) and fun ensues. This week’s Bar Review was held at Busby’s on Miracle Mile. The bar itself was really cool. There were four interconnected rooms, with a different atmosphere in each section. We started out in the smallest room, which was very sports bar-ish. After two cycles of SportsCenter, we headed into the largest room where an 80s cover band (somehow related to Fast Times, because the lead singer was dressed like Spicolli) was playing. The room was full of people dancing, but our attention was immediately focused on a certain patriotic gentleman rocking the fiercest mustache I’ve seen in LA. I dragged my friend Katelyn onto the dance floor long enough to capture this moment:

A few hours, and numerous drinks, later we ended up in the “game room”, trash talking over who could get the highest score at the basketball arcade game. I may have won the trash talking, but I definitely lost the game. After a “lost class ring” scare, and a “lost purse” scare, we decided it was time to head home. This decision quickly disintegrated, and we had at least one more round of drinks.

The ride home was arguably the most entertaining fifteen minutes of the night, with my friend Gabe (sitting in the passenger seat of another student’s car) repeatedly and randomly honking the horn, shifting the car into neutral, screaming out the window, and performing a Chinese fire drill. All of this from a Yale alum. I love law school.

   

Both cattle AND chattel!

If you leave something at my house and forget about it, after three years the chattel (personal property) legally belongs to me. At least that’s the case in California. It’s called the rule of discovery. The statute of limitations is different for each state, and there’s an exception if you can prove you were engaged in a “reasonably diligent” effort to recover the property (advertising in newspapers, filing a police report, etc.). I also can’t fraudulently conceal the items. Either way, I’m pretty sure I’m gonna start adversely possessing any personal property you leave at my house. Don’t think of it as theft; the property wasn’t stolen, it was lawyered.

Since I’m approximately two weeks behind current news, my uncle caught me up on the potential disaster that is Ike. It looks like everyone in Texas is in for a pretty horrible weekend. If anyone wants to flee to Los Angeles for a few days, I’m officially offering my apartment. It’s probably less comfortable than a Red Cross cot, but it’s a stone’s throw away from Beverly Hills!

In law school news, I had my first one-on-one talk with a professor today. I met with my Crim Law professor, who was awesome. We briefly talked about the class material before progressing onto significant topics like The Wire, Sarah Palin, and Friday Night Lights (which she just finished, and loved). I hope to work at least one of those topics into a response paper I have to write for her class (spoiler alert: it’s The Wire).

Other than that, I’ve had a pretty hard time focusing this week. There isn’t much going on, and it’s more than a week before my first (ungraded) writing assignment is due for Lawyering Skills, so it’s easy to slack off and fall behind. I still haven’t figured out how to outline my notes, but I’ll write more on that at another time. I did finish a production test for the Entertainment Law Review, which means that (assuming I pass, which I did) I’ll be a staff editor (read: bitch) on that journal. I’ll probably also edit for the Journal of Law and Technology. Each journal requires a one day commitment each semester. Staff editors are given an article (or articles) to check for proper citation, quotation, and content. It’s basically using the Blue Book to make sure all the periods and commas are in the right place. It sounds boring, but it’s nice to occassionally have an assignment with clear guidelines that requires little-to-no thought.

Now that I’ve wasted half an hour, I’m gonna get back to Torts.

Ryan

P.S. The answer to the last post was 4 (10 or more). Each chop, punch, and gunshot could be counted as a separate battery. There were five people who could recover for the batteries (theoretically): the four people Clint Eastwood fights, and Eastwood himself (against the poker player). Since the other three never successfully touch Eastwood, he can’t sue them for battery. He also can’t sue them because they’re dead. Still, I’m gonna credit Brandon with the correct answer (see comments).

Today in Torts we had a few sample questions covering the material in the first two chapters. The questions were projected at the front of the room, and we used these electronic “clickers” to submit our answers. The final question was, “How many batteries appear in this clip?”:

(Note: The clip was the last minute and a half of this.)

1. One
2. Three
3. Five
4. Ten or more

Grady’s coolness factor just doubled, and he was already my favorite professor.

Update: I just bought my first new iPod in five years! 32 GB iPod Touch. Suck on that, Leahanne!

An assault in tort law is any act that causes intentional apprehension of harm or offensive contact. If I try to punch you, but miss, you can sue for assault. If I try to punch the person next to you, but miss and hit you, there is no assault because I didn’t intend to cause you harm. Lawyered.

School has slowed down, and the days are starting to blend into one. I’ve gotten in the horrible habit of going home for a few hours after class, and it’s really hurting my productivity. Instead of finishing my reading by 8 PM, I haven’t been finishing until midnight. Thus, my goal for next week is to get my work done earlier so I have more time to take notes before class.

We’re sprinting in Torts, covering between 10-15 cases each day. I don’t think I’m getting much out of the lectures, but I am getting much faster at reading cases. What used to take me three hours now only takes one. Crim Law is fine, but we’re crawling through the material. Additionally, we just finished our first introductory chapter in Property, reviewing a few cases about wild animals, natural gas, water, finders, bailees, and treasure hunters. It should go without saying that the cases about treasure hunters were my favorite. Columbus-America Discovery Group v. Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co. upheld the “law of salvage” for sunken treasure. The group found the Columbus-America, a ship that sunk in 1857 with over $1 million in gold (unadjusted), at a depth of 8000 ft off the coast of South Carolina. The original insurance company sued, claiming the boat and all of its contents belonged to them. The court upheld the insurance company’s right to title, but under the law of salvage a majority of the reward goes to the party who salvaged the boat (the Discovery Group). The district court then awarded 90% of the treasure to the plaintiff, and only 10% to the insurance company. Being a treasure hunter pays well.

I was planning on writing more, but Torts is starting in 10 minutes. I found out yesterday that my professor (Mark Grady) is the highest paid professor in the UC law system. He’s the Steven Weinberg of California, except he writes about law and economics instead of winning Nobel Prizes.

Happy Friday!

Ryan