JD Law Students Blog

As next year approaches, we, the email inboxes on 1Ls are flooded with invitations to informational meetings about all the great things we can do here.  No, I’m not being facetious; there really are a lot of great things to be involved in next year.  The problem I’ve found is decided how to say no.

 I have thus far done a pretty terrible job of saying no.  I’m applying to the General Practice Program, I just ran for Senator for our class (still waiting for the results to go public), I’m thinking of trying out for the Trial Advocacy Team, I just sent in my application for Ambassador, and, of course, I want to be on Law Review.  This is all in addition to what I’m currently doing — International Law Society, Environmental Education, Baccus Society — and the challenges that every 2L has to face, most notedly Appellate.

 Why am I planning so many things for next year?  Well, there’s always padding the resume.  Then there’s the attempt to reform my lack of involvement thus far by taking on more than I should.  Most importantly, though, I’m afraid that I’m not going to get accepted into any of these things.  A lot of them require applying, trying out, or otherwise “making the cut.”  While I probably should have more confidence, I don’t.  I honest to goodness had a nightmare last night because I didn’t make Law Review.  AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  Is this what my life has become?

So what’s the worst that could happen?  Well, I won’t get into anything new and will just keep up my current activities (and probably do better in school).  Or, I could get in to some of the things and rejected for others.  Finally, I could get in to everything.  While my grades would probably go down, I think my general experience would be greatly enhanced.  And, that’s exactly what I did in undergrad (mostly because I didn’t have to try out for most of the activities), and it worked just fine.

We’ll see.

Today is a sad day for international law and a sadder day for America’s standing in the world. In a rare nod to this country’s diplomatic commitments, the Bush Administration attempted to intervene in state judicial processes where Mexican nationals sentenced to die by state courts have not been afforded their rights to diplomatic assistance under the Vienna Convention. The President’s intervention comes after Mexico v. United States, in which the International Court of Justice ruled that the United States must respect its treaty commitments with respect to Mexicans accused of crimes within its borders. In handing down Medellin v. Texas today, a conservative Supreme Court - in spite of long-held beliefs against ‘judicial activism’ - blocks the President’s attempt to manage foreign affairs and satisfy our international obligations.

Besides being a source of embarrassment, the Supreme Court once again demonstrates that there has never been a time when the study of American law has been more important. Lawyers and judges across the globe participated in an effort that ended today, reaching a result that many - including Justices Breyer, Souter and Ginsburg - find unacceptable. And yet there will be no changing this outcome unless and until we use our education to interface directly with decision-making processes in advocacy, elected government and the judiciary.

The comments above are my own and not attributable in any way to Vermont Law School.

I have a thousand things on my mind - law school does that to you.  I suppose anything does that to you… but it has never seemed so challenging to me before.  I suppose that law school is a time to grow - to bloom, if you haven’t already. 

 We debate a lot here over the “everyone” function of the school email.  Too many of us find our voice via the everyone feature.  I used it a few times.  It is convenient…and humbling.  I don’t use it anymore.  I also try not to waste time focusing on extracirricular activities though as well.  I have enough to do. 

I am realizing that my innate desire to be liked conflicts at times with my desire to have a voice.  A voice can be shouted down… or shouted at.  I don’t like that.  So I’m attempting to curb my perceived need to be heard.  It has been educational.  At a minimum…

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Perhaps the past couple of weeks were not as bad as I thought them to be.  I also feel that advertising my challenges might not be appropriate.  The bottom line is that in law school, wherever it be located, you will face challenges.  They may be environmental, they might be personal, they might be medical… or they might be some other things.  The important thing is remembering that “such is life.”  You might face those crossroads anywhere… but you will have made the conscious choice to attend law school - whatever your motivation - and so you will make any subsequent life choices from that institution, unless you choose to leave. 

I committed to going to law school because I felt it was the best option for achieving my goal of not having to kill my body through physical labor like my fathers did.  I also felt that, having a family, I had an obligation to have the ability to earn enough money to provide for my family if one of us couldn’t work.  I didn’t feel like my BA in History was sufficient to accomplish that. 

It isn’t a high and mighty reason… but it works.  It will get me out of bed…actually I refuse to quit because I can’t see taking on educational debt without having anything to show for it.  I don’t want to be the guy who says that “I went to law school for a year.”  But that’s my extra motivation.  Plus, I still am enjoying it.  I’m proud of getting here… and now I should get back to work so that I can get good enough marks to stay.

The Supreme Court of Vermont heard oral arguments for six cases at Vermont Law School today.  The most titillating case concerned “Nutraloaf,” a nutritionally sound but unappetizing substance fed to Vermont prisoners who misuse their food, food utensils, or food “byproducts” (think of monkeys).  The issue was whether forcing convicts to eat Nutraloaf is a punishment, and therefore the convicts are entitled to due process.  The WCAX TV crews were there.  Papers across the country carried the story.  I guess any case that involves any type of “loaf” is automatically popular.

One case I enjoyed hearing (because the issues were simple enough for me to understand) concerned the owner of an apple orchard who sprayed his crops with pesticide.  The pesticides travelled through the air to a neighbor’s property, and apparently prevented him from building developments on that property. The issue was whether airborne pesticides create a trespass or nuisance cause of action.  In Vermont, farmers are protected from many nuisance cases but not from trespass cases.  Traditionally, trespass requires some unauthorized, tangible entry onto a person’s property.  Are pesticides tangible enough?  If they are, would other airborne particulates be tangible enough?  What about smell?  Can I sue the farm across the road for the frequent odor of manure that comes wafting onto our property in the summer?  I think it’s really interesting, and the concepts were simple enough that I could follow the arguments.  The case has a lot of potential implications for Vermont.

Supposedly the court holds its most interesting cases for argument at Vermont Law School.  They probably get a lot of dry cases.  There is no middle appeals court in Vermont, as in most states.  That means that after a case is tried at the trial court, any appeal goes directly to the Supreme Court.  Also, the Vermont Supreme Court has no discretion for declining cases.  They must hear all appeals.  This adds up to a heavy, largely uninteresting work load.

But we were lucky.  They brought the A-list today.

Today is the first day of Spring. The Vernal Equinox occurred this morning. The north and south poles are the same distance from the sun. Everywhere in the world gets twelve hours of light and twelve hours of dark (more or less). The day has astrological significance and celebration. Balance rules the day, and change. Today, the north pole moves from 24-hour nights to 24-hour days.

Meanwhile at VLS, change is everywhere but balance is elusive.

Today is also the start of the VLS-sponsored NAELS Environmental Law Conference and on Monday, the Vermont Supreme Court will hear oral arguments at the school. Throw in the first round of the NCAA tournament and you have an exciting alignment of planets.

But there is a problem.

How can I attend the many workshops and speakers for the NAELS conference, listen to the Vermont Supreme Court arguments, properly celebrate Spring, watch every NCAA tournament game, and still attend class and complete homework?

Elaborate balancing. Divide the day not in two halves, one light and one dark, but into a multiplicity of times. Fifteen minutes for basketball, half an hour for reading, an hour for Environmental workshops . . . alternating between the big dance, the cosmic dance, and the law school dance

The fates will not leave you alone for the duration of law school nor do they take spring break. The fates are always with you.

Luck comes in strings…. good bad and neutral.  I’ve had a spate of what I’d call “bad” luck, although… there is an argument that the happenings are actually examples of good luck.

It’s complicated, but it started when my wife flipped her Subaru (yes, she was perfectly fine…not a scratch or a bruise).  I had the great fortune to drive past a little after it happened… except our ‘Roo was down a short embankment, so I didn’t even recognize it as our car.  Imagine my surprise as my Good Samaratin self slogged over the snow bank and quickly spotted the Alaska license tags.  Hello!

It turned out that she had already gotten out and was waiting in a neighbors truck down the road for the state troopers.  The car was relatively inexpensive to repair to usable condition and it was town meeting day, so no school for me to miss.  No ticket from the state trooper, either.

Since then, its been one thing after another… a chip in the brand new windshield, a broken ignition coil on the other car, then a blown water pump, then our ‘Roo sported a ‘check engine’ light, and then a busted strut…. all in less than 2 weeks.  I think I’ll have spent an extra $4K just on car repairs in the past month.

 Really, its great timing over spring break and all… but didn’t get much done in the way of catching up or staying ahead of my school work.  I’ve got an oral argument brief due next week… my daughters 1st birthday, our 3rd anniversary, family coming to visit… and less than a week to whip out this complicated assignment that I’ve never even attempted before. 

 There’s so much riding on this semester…. still need that summer intern position… and the cost of living going up so much everywhere, not just Vermont… tough to make ends meet even with the other half making over $40k/ year. 

As with any other endeavor, you simply keep going.  It’s interesting… all this stress and pressure… you just keep going.  It begins to amaze you how much you can put up with.

So if you thought LSATs & law school applications were tough to do …. just wait.  Its not just law school that is tough - it’s life. 

I’m not sure anymore that I believe that it does get any easier.  I just think that I’ll get stronger and more disciplined.

If only there was an actual break, but I have outlines to make and reading to do. I have Property and Con Law and Civ Pro. Maybe there will be time, later, to party. Maybe there will be time to relax. But I’m in Massachusetts and it is raining, which I guess is better than snow.

And I am reading about the Rule Against Perpetuities, which still doesn’t make sense.

Hold still. Don’t move. There is an executory interest on your shoulder.

Four more days.

I’m not sure if anyone who is considering VLS has ever had something stolen while at school, but I’m pretty sure you shouldn’t have a problem with that here. 

 Except with hats and mittens.  If you leave your hat and mittens and don’t immediately return to claim them once you step outside, you are risking having your hats and mittens adversely possessed.  And you almost deserve it… but not really. 

On the other hand, you can leave your Mac powerbook sitting in the main hallway …. and it will remain for days.  You can misplace your cell phone, but it will likely be exactly where it dropped from your pocket.  You can leave your books, lunch, laptop, jacket, wallet and cellphone in the Chase building and go have lunch next door in the SoRo Cafe or to use the restroom and never fear that your belongings will be misappropriated.  You can leave your coat on the hook in the back of the classroom and it will remain for months.  Your books left in a study room… still there.

 Coming to VLS from a city of +350,000….  it is almost annoying to me.  I mean, you have to actually remember where things are… going to lost and found isn’t really practical when the thing you lost, although seen by many, is not picked up and taken to L&F for fear that it will be stolen…. rather it is left, so that it can be readily found.

I’m getting used to it though.  It is nice to not have that small added level of paranoia.

A confession: I’ve lived in Vermont for eighteen years and never been to Town Meeting. Somehow, going to the local Elementary School at 9am to discuss how much money to spend painting the town garage never appealed to me. But since we get the day off at VLS, I decided to finally check it out.

For an outdated New England anachronism, Town Meeting still offers a bastion of hope for the democratic process. For instance, the East Montpelier Town Meeting (moderated by VLS professor Michael Dworkin) featured an interesting debate over an article declaring a moratorium on the extraction of large volumes of spring water. The article was proposed in response to an attempt to pump a town spring for a local business. I was impressed by the civility and depth of the debate. The “ayes” carried the day, but only after lengthy deliberation. I left convinced that I could propose an article next year and, with a sufficiently compelling case, get it passed.

Town Meeting is the last fragile, gasping vestige of pure interactive democracy. Let’s keep it around, even if the debate on a $250 donation to the local food shelf starts to drag.

All in favor of returning to Town Meeting next year?