JD Law Students Blog

Let no one fool you: having a 13 month old and a spouse that works 40 hours a week (with two 12 hour days) is no picnic.  Or “picinic,” as Yogi Bear would say.  Yet Vermont Law in the little village of South Royalton is probably the ideal place for you to spread your blanket if you think you are going to be in a similar situation as I. 

Not only is the only barrier to bringing my daughter to class my own sense of responsibility to my classmates attention spans, but upon stepping outside, I had multiple offers of complete notes for that class and a classmate who had to attend another event on campus offered to watch her so that I could catch the last 15 minutes of the review session. 

I’ve made a few friends and some close acquaintenances here despite the distance I live from the law school.  These folks are always up for keeping an eye on my daughter while I run a quick errand on campus or even if I just need a break.  It’s something that I can almost take for granted here… even if all of my classmates are suffering the same anxiety and stress that I feel at this point in the semester.

I learned about my personal stress level yesterday.  I foolishly thought that I could wait at the law school with my daughter until my partner was able to pick her up after work.  I figured that even if I accomplished nothing, I could at least have the satisfaction of telling myself that I wanted to and had placed myself in a position to do that work, even if prevented by child-sitting.  By 9pm when I was relieved of kid-sitting, the frustration of being unable to complete any work during that time was so great that it was useless to remain at the school to complete any work. 

I definately would have been better off going home and writing off last night as a “break.”  The kid would have been in bed by 7:30 and I would have at least gotten my reading done that night instead of rushing through it in the morning and between classes - although I wouldn’t have gotten any outlining done.  But alas… no solace.  I had a mild headache from all the contemplation when I got home, but I went to bed, only to be awakened in the middle of the night by a skullsplitting headache uncomparable to any other in my life (law school is full of new and exciting experiences).  I was clammy and felt cold even under layers and layers of blankets.  My shoulder muscles were rock hard and it felt like there was an icepick stuck in my temple.  After disturbing my wife sufficiently, I decided a shower might help but ended up turning off the shower and passing out exhausted in the tub.  When I woke up, I dragged my then headacheless self to bed only to awake at 6:30am.   I never want to have that kind of experience again.

So I may be under a great deal of stress in law school… possibly.  And the VLS village will likely continue to aid in the raising of my baby.  I will definately say that it is an academic advantage to have no child in law school or 24/7 childcare available, especially if your kids can’t watch themselves in any degree. I just remember that this is worth it in the end and (for me, God and) the fates will work things out.

I inadvertently took a different route in terms of pacing my workload this semester:  I pretty much didn’t.

Last semester I was very good about it.  I worked hard throughout the semester, getting everything done as required but also working ahead on outlining and consolidating.  This semester, I’ve just found it very difficult to do the regular reading, let alone thinking ahead.

I’m not sure why.  Maybe I got too comfortable here, but I don’t think so.  I’m happy with where I am, but I’d like to improve my class rank.  Maybe it’s more work this semester, but it doesn’t feel like it.  Maybe……. I don’t know.

I think I just had a hard time getting back into it the beginning of the semester, especially through the winter months after returning from Montana.  I certainly procrastinated too much until about March, and now I’m paying for it.

I’m not necessarily worried about it.  But I will be putting in a good 80 hours of work the next two weeks, especially considering that I have to go to Boston the weekend before finals to say good-bye to my sister for 2 years.

My advice: look ahead.  Start your outlines about 8 weeks in (if not earlier).  BUT if you’re not feeling up to it, don’t worry; just understand that you’ve set yourself up for a lot of work at the end of the semester.

I last wrote something for this blog halfway through my first week of law school.  Why haven’t I written since? I’ve been buried, and any “free” time has been spent avoiding all thoughts of law school.

So, now that I’m a bit older (although not necessarily wiser) I thought I would share some observations about law school.

First, it’s hard. You don’t have the same leeway you did in college. Skipping reading and classes until late in the semester, then cramming right before an exam just won’t do. I’ve been told how smart I am for a long time. I had a 3.9 GPA in college. In law school that has about as much value as a common law remainder that has a possibility of not vesting within 21 years of a life in being at the time of the conveyance.  For those of you who have yet to suffer through/enjoy first-year Property—it’s nothing.  No value.  

Second, it’s empowering. For example, our propane company tried to charge us two-and-a-half times our contract rate when we went above our estimate for the year. I got on the phone, cited some UCC sections, and they gave us 400 more gallons at the contract price (I want to write “K” for contract, and after your Contracts course you will too). I’ve turned into a bit of a bulldog. If I’m not happy with a bargain, I get my money back. You truly start to think in a different way. It’s ‘fun’ to know the law.

Third, it’s not everything. School is important, but you need other outlets. I have a wonderful girl who makes coming home something to look forward to. Spend time with your loved ones. Have fun; goof off once in awhile.  It’ll pay off in the long run. You need to laugh or you might go insane. Law school may be one of the most stressful places on Earth.

I have to throw in a plug for the Sports and Entertainment Law Society. Prospective students, it’s not just environmental law here.  

Two weeks to go. And I feel like I’ve been slacking by writing this post.

Second year student malaise has spread like wildfire, taking with it some of my best mates and colleagues. I too have found myself adrift from time to time. I know very little, but I know enough to appreciate that I can do what ever it is lawyers do. That said, I’m vaguely aware that my time is nigh. I’ve got amazing opportunities ahead of me, the summer and fall will see me back in the city that never sleeps with an adrenaline high from the palpable electricity of being home, finally.

New York feels like home in a different way than it ever has. My father passed away ten months ago and living through that, in law school has changed the air I breathe. I’m almost positive that a study of my biorhythms would reveal that I now parse oxygen from water at a different rate than that of more normal folks. I’m no authority on such things but can confidently claim the mantle of savant of the self, and I belong in a city with an underground life force of twenty four hour transit.

That said, Vermont charm has often healed and invigorated me. I have read things that made me want to run straight into the atmosphere and rage against atrocity, see the loss of habeas corpus and the redefinition of navigable waters. I have seen deer in abundance, or rather more abundance than the concrete jungle yields in a decade. I have taken picnics in the grass and learned to love dogs bigger than a purse. In short, it’s gotten in a little, and I like it, I really do like Vermont.

Second year means that I’m halfway home and halfway here. I’m straddling my future with a grimace, because I’ve just gotten the hang of the tubing phenomenon and the three season per day weather cycle. The school bit is blissful for the most part. Mondays mean Environmental Dispute Resolution and Estates with Dean Wilbanks and each put a unique spin on the rest of the world. The education on offer at VLS is as intoxicating as the views. For the most part culture clashes are interpersonal at worst and superficial best.

As an example of the culture clash lets look at blue jeans. Jeans serve different purposes in Vermont than NYC. In the city a pair of jeans cost as much as an outfit and speak louder than a city cop, as identifiers of group personality, values and style. In Vermont, jeans are pants, full stop. Hopefully, they cover your hindparts and sometimes they keep the mud off of your shins. World-view on review in a nutshell.

I’m a job seeker on August 1, 2008, a dot connector trying to present my whole self to the world with the expectation of employment if not acceptance. I will be on the edge of the overhanging place, with my urban environmentalist sentiments and a resume in tow.

See you there.

TDT

The end of the second semester of the first year of law school is, allegedly, the hardest.

That’s right.

The Hardest, Period.

The hardest period of the first year. The hardest period of law school. The hardest period of your life. The hardest period EVER.

With two weeks until exams, I can see why. After the long slog of spring semester, the weather is turning brighter while the atmosphere grows darker. A semester’s worth of slacking must be remedied in a fortnight. It’s time to register for next year’s courses, although unable to plan more than a few hours ahead. It’s time to decide whether to try to get on next year’s Law Review staff, without knowing how this year will turn out. Ornery by nature, first year law students grow unusually difficult.

The siren song of sun and mud calls through the library windows, a distraction from testy classmates and test-driven review sessions. But if I go outside, all my willpower will evaporate and I will never get back to work. Also, the library staff frowns on muddy studying.

Instead, I think I’ll go complain to my friends.

I recently watched “The Kite Runner,” and was impressed by Amir’s father’s comments on sin.  Here they are:

 ”Now, no matter what the mullah teaches, there is only one sin, only one. And that is theft. Every other sin is a variation of theft… When you kill a man, you steal a life. You steal his wife’s right to a husband, rob his children of a father. When you tell a lie, you steal someone’s right to the truth. When you cheat, you steal the right to fairness… There is no act more wretched than stealing, Amir.”

 In our criminal law class today we heard from the director of the Springfield, Vermont (Home of the Simpsons movie premiere) restorative justice program and a victims advocate from Windsor county, Vermont where our professor is also the state’s attorney. 

 The presentation by the RJ program Director brought that quote to my mind… It was interesting… both from a religious perspective (we’re simultaneously discussing the establishment and free-exercise clauses in Constitutional Law), and from a criminal perspective. 

Is there just one crime?  Is that crime theft?  It brings to mind the assertion made by some that “property is theft.”  We talk of time being a thief.  Death comes like a thief in the night. 

Is thievery… or the deprivation of another of his rights to some thing … the foundational element to all crime?  Or do all crimes simply share this element?  I don’t know and I assert nothing, but I find it interesting to think about. 

My wife and I think we have found a house that is a little closer to the law school, a little cheaper and that will perhaps allow me to have an enclosed space to work on our cars when needed.  I sold my spare car last night (ah, craigslist)… and my chimney clogged… so we’re paying for propane heat instead of the wood stove heat we’re used to.  Now that I think of it though, I think they both vent through the same chimney, so perhaps we’ve traded death by smoke inhalation for a more silent death by carbon monoxide.  It is finally warmer today.  Supposed to get up to 65… but that’s a vicious rumor. 

OK, well should be getting back to all the things I need to do… none of which is this (for now). 

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…

——-

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.