So that's how you get a job at Dorsey...

Dorsey & Whitney cans an associate after six months upon finding out that she'd faked her transcript, was not admitted to the bar, and had not graduated from law school. Everyone clap for Dorsey.

Lesbian athlete admits she's in the WNBA

Article here.

Something I meant to post last week.

Happy 17th, Kiddo.

Who exactly am I supposed to root against here?

White Sox? Astros? What gives with this crap? Every World Series needs its Darth Vader...An Atlanta Braves or New York Yankees. Not to sound negative or anything, but if the Dodgers aren't in it, then the only thing that grasps my attention is a team that I really want to lose. This year is kind of like the self esteem Series. Two teams that everyone's really pulling for and no matter who comes away with the most games, everyone's a winner.

Cindy Sheehan foe readies for 2,000th P.R. stunt

Oct 23, 2005 — By Deborah Zabarenko

MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - Brett Clark, the University of St. Thomas law student who made his annoyance over Cindy Sheehan's inane protests a rallying point for the anti-Sheehan movement, plans to tie himself to a fence at Sheehan's home to protest the milestone of 2,000 Sheehan-initiated public relations stunts since the war in Iraq began.

"I'm going to go to Vacaville, CA, and I'm going to give a speech at the Sheehan House, and after I do, I'm going to tie myself to the fence and refuse to leave until they agree to bring Cindy home," Clark said in a telephone interview last week as the milestone approached.

"And I'll probably get arrested, and when I get out, I'll go back and do the same thing," he said.

Story here.

Today is supposedly United Nations Day, and yet when I look out the window, I see no parades or celebrations honoring the creation of the world body. What gives?

Autumn in Great Falls

Black Eagle Falls (not the Great Falls...Might get up there later)















Giant Springs State Park.



















View from the eastern bank of the Missouri.










Charles M. Russell - the great western artist and a great among men.



















Statue of Lewis & Clark in Overlook Park.

Tech Support

I guess Bill Gates is coming to the Minneapolis campus in a couple days to dedicate the new business school building across the street. It's a good thing too because I'm still trying to figure out how to keep Windows from opening MusicMatch everytime I put in a CD. Figure he's the type of guy who could help me out with that.

Observations of a 24 Junkie

• Union rules require at least one mole on staff at all times.
• CTU hasn't yet accessed caller ID technology.
• The best way to steal a brief case or ID card or computer is to blow up the airplane or train of the person carrying it.
• All terrorists, whether Serbian or Middle Eastern, prefer English at all times, even in their own company.
• Black leather is ideal for guarding bad guys in Southern California.
• Your security is important. That's where David Palmer stands. Are you in Good Hands?

The Last Four Days

Friday was one of the best days on record. At midnight, I turned 25. That's cool in and of itself. Half an hour later, I proposed to Lea on a beautiful night over by the broken fire hydrant. When I came into work the next morning, my boss offered me a job for after graduation at the firm. And it was pay day. That doesn't hurt either. One hell of a day. M.N. and I are pretty damn excited too.

Since then I've been engrossed in moot court hell. For those who haven't been stuck there with me, I've been writing an endless brief on something called the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. Rooker-Feldman itself is pretty simple. It bars subject matter jurisdiction in federal district courts over (1) claims that have already been adjudicated in state court or (2) federal claims that are "inextricably intertwined" with previous state court claims. So basically, you can't appeal a state court decision to a federal court. It's actually a tool used to keep judges employed. See, if we just used the legal system to resolve cases and controversies, then there might only be enough work for a few dozen judges. By creating neat little ways to dispose of cases, judges can keep themselves busy--as well as entertained. Rooker-Feldman? Preclusion? Res Judicata? Collateral estoppel? Hell, take your pick. They're all practically the same reinvented doctrine anyway. Sure, we'll create little differences between them....Like the fact that Rooker is an issue of subject matter jurisdiction while preclusion is a matter of respect for state court judgments. Pure semantics. They all do the same damn thing. It's little wonder why the U.S. has 75% of the world's lawyers. Not that I'm complaining. It all reminds me of Topicality.

Whatever. Anyway, the brief is done. So now I can spend my time obsessing over whether or not my brief is as good as all the other ones in the region instead of writing one.

Details to Come...

The Broken Hydrant

Quick study break from Conflicts.

An irony about St. Thomas Law. It's a relatively young school that just happens to have attracted some fine donors: the owner of Best Buy, the Schoenecker family, etc. We're lucky for it. It also means that the school has a lot of cash to throw around--and they do a pretty darn good job of it. Healthy scholarships, good food at law school events, and a pretty sweet brand new $35 million building. They put up paintings of just about anyone they can think of during first and second year...at some point someone noticed that the school is named "St. Thomas" and that St. Thomas More happens to be the patron saint of lawyers. So that meant they needed to install a ten foot marble statue of him.

Here's the one thing I don't get: the fountain. When they designed the law school grounds downtown, they place a fountain out in front of the building surrounded by a few small gardens and some grass. So given everything else they have around the joint, when they designed the fountain, you'd expect a big brass Thomas Aquinas dancing in the middle of it or something to that effect. Instead, water...shooting straight up. On a night like tonight it actually looks pretty cool, but the utter lack of creativity with this thing. It just stands in such stark contrast with everything else here. During the daytime it looks kinda like someone accidentally jumped over the curb one night and knocked over a fire hydrant. Heck, gimme two cinder blocks and a garden hose. I could build the same thing for a lot cheaper.

Just a thought. Alright, back to studying...

From the Washington Times

Staffers also said many of them chuckled over a biographical "pocket card" of talking points about Miss Miers that the White House distributed for use by any senator wishing to praise the nominee. "They had to double-space it," said one aide, laughing.

Article here.

Overheard on the first day of Conflict of Laws

PROFESSOR: Who here can tell me what the most famous conflict of laws case is?

STUDENT 1: Eerie?

PROFESSOR: No. More important than Eerie.

STUDENT 2: Tyson?

PROFESSOR: No.

(Awaits another response)

PROFESSOR: How about the trial of Jesus Christ?

(Allows students to ponder momentarily)

STUDENT 2: (Aside) More important than Tyson??

Libertarianism is a hereditary disorder.

That's the conclusion I've come to. Those who know me also know I've described myself as a Republican since I was a freshman in college. Those who know me better know that I probably have no business in the Republican Party. And those who have known me since high school know that I am a recovering Libertarian. Over the years, I've seriously pondered what caused me to get so caught up in the rich man's anarchy. For awhile I blamed debate and Harry Browne, but I've since come to more properly diagnose the problem. It's genetic.

Makes perfect sense. My dad is a banker. My uncle is bit of a conspiracy theorist. My paternal family would probably be engaged in a holy war if it weren't for an unspoken intrafamily Establishment Clause. Years after the Libertarian bit started, I found out not only that my grandparents and another uncle are former Libertarians, but that my grandparents actually attended the 1980 Libertarian National Convention. They say they have a picture of themselves with Ed Clark, though I don't have a copy. Working on it.

Anyway, this is the clincher. This is from a scrapbook my mom put together for me when I graduated from high school. And I swear to God it's real. It's a Martin Luther King Day assignment from the second grade. Since then, my handwriting has gotten progressively worse and I have not learned to read a single direction on any assignment given to me.

It's a relief to know that my four year ideological derailment wasn't my fault. I have to admit, though, it is kinda disappointing to go from the anarcho-capitalist guy voted class radical in high school to a center-left moderate who doesn't even know that he isn't a Republican. I miss the conviction of my youth...

Rear View Perspective of Law School: Chucky Reid

It's true what they say about law school. The saying about how first year they scare you to death, second year they work you to death, third year they bore you to death. Last year there were weeks when I didn't know how I was going to finish everything that needed to be done--and damn near didn't. This year, it's still busy...maybe even just as busy. But it's not nearly the same. You end up coming up with little ideas to entertain yourself during class...like anonymously running 1Ls for representative without their knowledge or consent. Or setting up a three hour viewing of C-SPAN in the lounge in order to exploit a little known loophole in the Mentor Program. It's a little odd sitting during a lecture with this feeling in your gut that you should be getting stuff done at work rather than wasting it all in class.

Still, I'm going to miss St. Thomas Law when this year is done. After all, we have the number one quality of life amongst American law schools. Sure, there are other lists I'd like us to be on top of, but it's a start.

Tell you what. I'm going to miss this character right here after graduation. This is Professor Charles Reid. He's a very likable guy (even if he does chastise the occasional student for announcing at a Catholic law school that a new Pope had been elected). Maybe it's just me, but he kinda reminds me of the Monopoly man. Anyway, Professor Reid teaches Jurisprudence, Canon law, and Wills, Estates, and Trusts. This is a typical day in Jurisprudence:

REID: Who here can tell me what Ronald Dworkin said about the application of ex post facto rules?

CLASS: (Silence...because no one this side of Cambridge, Mass. knows of the top of their head the answer to this question)

REID: Alright, well who here has heard of Ronald Dworkin?

CLARK: (Half-raises hand)

REID: Ah, Mr. Clark. What did Ronald Dworkin have to say about ex post facto rules?

(pause)

CLARK: Wait a second...You asked if we'd heard of Ronald Dworkin. I have no idea what he said about ex post facto rules. If I'd known what he said about that, then wouldn't I have raised my hand when you asked that in the first place. Do not pass go, do not collect $200, Chuckles!*

REID: (Lighthearted chuckle...Goes on with class)

*Ok, I don't really say that. But dammit, I'm thinking it.

See, this is the problem: about two weeks into class, people have figured out Reid's little philosphy game. So when he asks if anyone has heard of some jurist or philosopher, no one will raise their hand. This results in Reid asking questions knowing that we all know the answer but getting the hugest giggle-fest out of the fact that no one is raising their hands.

"Who here has heard of Oliver Wendell Holmes?"
"Who here has heard of Abraham Lincoln?"
"Who here has taken contracts?"
"Who here graduated from high school?"
"What about the alphabet? Who here can read?"

Usually when it gets to this point, someone will raise their hand...and they'll immediately regret it when he follows up with a question about medeival canon law.