I might actually get to see the inside of a courtroom today. No, the bar has not yet decided to allow me to practice based simply on my brilliance. I have jury duty. So far, I have been assigned to a jury pool, but before the action got started, I was released for three hours while the lawyers went over our paperwork and made preliminary decisions. Because I listed my occupation as law student, I find it unlikely I will be placed on any jury during my next two days of duty. I probably could have written and requested to be released, but seeing as this might be the last chance ever to sit on a jury and considering I have rarely ever been in a courtroom, I thought it might be a good educational experience--I am getting a lot of my homework done.
If perchance I am put on a jury, I will not be blogging about my experience until it is over. I read an article a few months ago about a criminal case in New Jersey--I believe--that went all the way up to the state supreme court on a jury related appeal because one of the jury members had been blogging about his experience during the course of the trial. The supreme court ruled that his actions had not been material to the decision and had not influenced any of the other members of the jury, so they let the verdict stand. Personally, I do not want to take the risk. I am probably pushing the envelop right now by blogging from a coffee shop, while officially still on jury duty. Of course the bar has not admitted me yet, but when I have my JD and have passed the bar exam, I would hate to not get admitted because I committed a previous indiscretion or was the subject to a supreme court appeal. I am not a lawyer yet, but considering what I already know, I will probably be held to a higher standard if I were to come up before a bar ethics committee--something I hope never to face. With that said, I will post after this experience is over and leave you all with any other impressions I have, unless they are no different from my experience this morning: hurry up and wait*
*I borrowed this expression. Thanks! I hope this gives you credit without disrupting your anonymity.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Urban Living
Some days I think I should go into advertising. I like coming up with funny short jingles, puns, and I am generally interested in what kind of images/ideas/trends appeal to people. Maybe that is an option if law school does not work out, or maybe just because this town needs some better marketers. Let me just share with you a couple of examples. For those of you who have not heard, Seattle has a new slogan. The Emerald City has been declared outdated, and the city has unveiled a slogan that will capture the spirit of the city--a place where people spend their days hiking and boating and their nights shopping at Nordstroms and eating organic food in chic upscale restaurants. I am sure some one was paid millions of dollars to come up with a word that would capture the feel and spirit of our city, and the best they could do was METRONATURAL, or METRO NATURAL. Are they serious???? First of all, it sounds like a city filled with a bunch of gay hippies. Did they really think it was a good idea to launch a marketing campaign with a phrase that sounds like the adjective for boys who wear Lactose shirts with their collars up, lots of hair gel and get pedicures: metro-sexual? I understand what they were trying to get at, but there are so many better choices: ecourbanism, urbanaturalism, techno-green, cosmonatural! Read the PI article that asks the same question here.
If you think this is an isolated incident, you are mistaken. Seattle is changing very quickly and one of the biggest trends right now is the huge market for condos. This year alone, 4,000 new units are going on the market, and we are not talking about reasonable alternatives to owning in a city with an average home price near a half of a million; 400 square foot studios near downtown are selling for near $200,000. Along with new units sprouting up all over town, many of the older apartment buildings are becoming "condoized." For example, the building across the street from me is in the middle of the process right now, and unfortunately for me, the remodel is considered by almost all residents neighborhood and some local bloggers as one of the ugliest condo projects in all of Seattle. Check out this post on the blog urbnlivn about the project. I love how he describes the question he got,when he was taking pictures of the building if he was doing so because it was so ugly. Although the outside is decidedly ugly, my girlfriend and I went to their open house this weekend and the interiors are actually quite well done, but before one is lulled into the fantasy of chic metronatural living too quickly, it is important to notice that most of what you would be paying for is some new appliances. As a rental property, the building was notorious for having thin walls and outrageous heating bills. Beneath the veneer of new bamboo floors and stainless steel appliances, what you are mostly getting is an old building with single pane windows and old plumbing. One of the biggest outrages is that they are marketing as a two bedroom, a 600 square foot space, where the second bedroom is a murphy bed that folds out of the wall in the living room. They must be delusional if they think they can sell a "two-bedroom" without parking (on capitol hill, which if you know anything has the worst street parking situation on the whole west coast) for $350,000.
If you need further proof that they are delusional, or that there are a lot of suckers in this town, or that the condo market is out of control, you should check out their website. The marketing is right in line with the city's new metronatural theme. I especially like this description of some of the amenities you will enjoy as part of your life at the Vertigo condos: "up on the roof, you'll find a bit of green loveliness known to suburban dwellers as a garden. While the sun reflects off your patent leather boots, check out the city skyline and the Puget Sound." I can't tell if our mockery is intentionally induced as a way to engage our attention. Is is possible that if they were not so obnoxious with their language I would just ignore the building and would not be spending time writing about it. That might be the case, and if true, this would mean it is actually one of the most brilliant marketing schemes presently in operation. Just check out the tag line that is on all of the Vertigo condo posters and flyers: "The city is your game of tag. this is your base." Ha, ha, ha, are they serious? Who thought of that? Is it working? Maybe that "tag line" works in an era when the game of tag is being banned from school playgrounds across the country? One thing is sure, the investors who are marketing the condos are hoping there are enough suckers who place a larger value on image than on quality, because that is most of what they are getting.
If you think this is an isolated incident, you are mistaken. Seattle is changing very quickly and one of the biggest trends right now is the huge market for condos. This year alone, 4,000 new units are going on the market, and we are not talking about reasonable alternatives to owning in a city with an average home price near a half of a million; 400 square foot studios near downtown are selling for near $200,000. Along with new units sprouting up all over town, many of the older apartment buildings are becoming "condoized." For example, the building across the street from me is in the middle of the process right now, and unfortunately for me, the remodel is considered by almost all residents neighborhood and some local bloggers as one of the ugliest condo projects in all of Seattle. Check out this post on the blog urbnlivn about the project. I love how he describes the question he got,when he was taking pictures of the building if he was doing so because it was so ugly. Although the outside is decidedly ugly, my girlfriend and I went to their open house this weekend and the interiors are actually quite well done, but before one is lulled into the fantasy of chic metronatural living too quickly, it is important to notice that most of what you would be paying for is some new appliances. As a rental property, the building was notorious for having thin walls and outrageous heating bills. Beneath the veneer of new bamboo floors and stainless steel appliances, what you are mostly getting is an old building with single pane windows and old plumbing. One of the biggest outrages is that they are marketing as a two bedroom, a 600 square foot space, where the second bedroom is a murphy bed that folds out of the wall in the living room. They must be delusional if they think they can sell a "two-bedroom" without parking (on capitol hill, which if you know anything has the worst street parking situation on the whole west coast) for $350,000.
If you need further proof that they are delusional, or that there are a lot of suckers in this town, or that the condo market is out of control, you should check out their website. The marketing is right in line with the city's new metronatural theme. I especially like this description of some of the amenities you will enjoy as part of your life at the Vertigo condos: "up on the roof, you'll find a bit of green loveliness known to suburban dwellers as a garden. While the sun reflects off your patent leather boots, check out the city skyline and the Puget Sound." I can't tell if our mockery is intentionally induced as a way to engage our attention. Is is possible that if they were not so obnoxious with their language I would just ignore the building and would not be spending time writing about it. That might be the case, and if true, this would mean it is actually one of the most brilliant marketing schemes presently in operation. Just check out the tag line that is on all of the Vertigo condo posters and flyers: "The city is your game of tag. this is your base." Ha, ha, ha, are they serious? Who thought of that? Is it working? Maybe that "tag line" works in an era when the game of tag is being banned from school playgrounds across the country? One thing is sure, the investors who are marketing the condos are hoping there are enough suckers who place a larger value on image than on quality, because that is most of what they are getting.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Law of School is Funny
Law school is a funny place. Along with medical school, we are considered a trade school, but that classification always seems like an awkward fit. When I think of trade schools, I think of those schools that teach you professional skills like plumbing, auto mechanics, and pet grooming. Although we are training to practice the trade of law, a relatively small percentage of what we learn is actually the "practice" of law. I am not saying that a good founding in constitutional principles is not important to the practice of law-it is essential-but, rather, that most law school classes teach general legal knowledge. They are predominantly focused on intellectual concerns, not practical. On the other-hand, law school differs from other graduate school programs. In what feels like a past life now, I was once a graduate student in German literature. I used to joke with the other graduate students that we were in "trade school," and the joke was only funny because the only trade we were really learning was how to be a nutty professor of some obscure topic (mine would have been turn of the century German philosophical conceptions of transcendence through anti-transcendental expressions). Law school probably has broader application, but to give the "trade school" classification some credit-we are learning the intellectual basis for the practice of a particular trade.
So, law school is sort of a trade school and also a bit of a graduate school, but with assigned seats and lockers, it sometimes has an element of junior high. This mix of educational identities has a strange effect on the atmosphere of law school, which is what I really mean when I saw that law school is a funny place. It is not unusual to see students on any given day in suits; actually it is quite common place because many students also work while at school. Yet, it is also not unusual to see students in sweat pants as if they got lost leaving the dorms looking for freshman English class. There are a fair number of students here who did not stop at "go and collect two hundred dollars" after undergrad and for the most part see law school as an extension of their undergrad life. On the other-hand, there is a considerable number of students, especially at night, who have full time jobs, mortgages, two kids, and are already taking cholesterol medication. Add a $100,000+ price tag and a general atmosphere of competition, and more work than anyone could reasonably accomplish in a 16-week race for the finish line, and it is no wonder people are so grateful to get out of law school. As much as a do truly enjoy learning about the law I, like almost everyone I know, pretty much see this time as a necessary hazing ritual; and it is only necessary because they won't let you sit for the bar without it.
That does not mean I am not enjoying my classes. I am particularly enjoying IP and Constitutional law, but sometimes I look around and think, how did all of these people end up here together?
So, law school is sort of a trade school and also a bit of a graduate school, but with assigned seats and lockers, it sometimes has an element of junior high. This mix of educational identities has a strange effect on the atmosphere of law school, which is what I really mean when I saw that law school is a funny place. It is not unusual to see students on any given day in suits; actually it is quite common place because many students also work while at school. Yet, it is also not unusual to see students in sweat pants as if they got lost leaving the dorms looking for freshman English class. There are a fair number of students here who did not stop at "go and collect two hundred dollars" after undergrad and for the most part see law school as an extension of their undergrad life. On the other-hand, there is a considerable number of students, especially at night, who have full time jobs, mortgages, two kids, and are already taking cholesterol medication. Add a $100,000+ price tag and a general atmosphere of competition, and more work than anyone could reasonably accomplish in a 16-week race for the finish line, and it is no wonder people are so grateful to get out of law school. As much as a do truly enjoy learning about the law I, like almost everyone I know, pretty much see this time as a necessary hazing ritual; and it is only necessary because they won't let you sit for the bar without it.
That does not mean I am not enjoying my classes. I am particularly enjoying IP and Constitutional law, but sometimes I look around and think, how did all of these people end up here together?
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Government works?
As part of my work study job, I have occasion to call a local Social Security office. Often I have a very simple question, like yesterday when I simply wished to determine which worker was handling a file, so I could leave a message directly on his/her message machine. An attendant could have answered the question in thirty seconds, but if this particular office has its way, you will get so frustrated, you will never ever track down your claim. Let me explain.
If you wish to get in touch with your local office, the first thing you will have to do is get their phone number, which is neither in the phone book or on the Social Security website (only the address can be found in those places.) If you want the number, you need to call the national 1-800 number and you should expect to wait at least 7 minutes to speak with a representative and give lots of information. After you get the phone number, you can call the local office. I have learned from experience that if I simply act as if I have a rotary phone, I will most quickly be routed to "the attendant." If you follow their prompts for non-rotary phones, you will have to work your way through several levels of menus before you end up in the same place. Now, do not be fooled into thinking I have found a short-cut. I will still have to listen to a long recording telling me I can find all the information I need either on the website or the 1-800 number (which I have already discovered cannot help me.)
At this point I think it is only a matter of waiting in line for the next attendant, as the digital voice has told me. After several minutes, I hear a clicking sound and the line rings only to be interrupted by the message "mailbox 123 is full, your call will be forwarded to the attendant." I thought that is where my call was already going. When did I say I wanted to leave a message? Anyway, I am on my way now, and getting through that obstacle must mean I am close to speaking with a person now. But wait, after several more minutes of waiting, I receive another message: "thank you for calling Social Security. Have a nice day!" Disconnected. Hum. Try again. Same loop. Try a third time. Same loop. I guess if I want this question answered, I am either going to have to go down to the office or write a letter (and getting mail answered from Social Security is a whole other post).
I understand why our homeless disabled clients need us.
If you wish to get in touch with your local office, the first thing you will have to do is get their phone number, which is neither in the phone book or on the Social Security website (only the address can be found in those places.) If you want the number, you need to call the national 1-800 number and you should expect to wait at least 7 minutes to speak with a representative and give lots of information. After you get the phone number, you can call the local office. I have learned from experience that if I simply act as if I have a rotary phone, I will most quickly be routed to "the attendant." If you follow their prompts for non-rotary phones, you will have to work your way through several levels of menus before you end up in the same place. Now, do not be fooled into thinking I have found a short-cut. I will still have to listen to a long recording telling me I can find all the information I need either on the website or the 1-800 number (which I have already discovered cannot help me.)
At this point I think it is only a matter of waiting in line for the next attendant, as the digital voice has told me. After several minutes, I hear a clicking sound and the line rings only to be interrupted by the message "mailbox 123 is full, your call will be forwarded to the attendant." I thought that is where my call was already going. When did I say I wanted to leave a message? Anyway, I am on my way now, and getting through that obstacle must mean I am close to speaking with a person now. But wait, after several more minutes of waiting, I receive another message: "thank you for calling Social Security. Have a nice day!" Disconnected. Hum. Try again. Same loop. Try a third time. Same loop. I guess if I want this question answered, I am either going to have to go down to the office or write a letter (and getting mail answered from Social Security is a whole other post).
I understand why our homeless disabled clients need us.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Classic Lines
It is time for some new classic lines from law school lectures. This time, some advise from one of our professors on dealing with judges:
- Have a healthy skepticism and contempt for judges, because you can never underestimate their stupidity.
- An odd judge may be ignorant, stupid, or lazy. You just never know if the judge in your case is going through a divorce or is just sick of doing his job and does not care any more.
-
With growth of power, members of court interpret the government as having unlimited powers. At some point, people stopped reading the constitution. If we want the constitution to do the things we want it to do, we just amend the constitution. Why do judges keep doing things that aren't in the constitution just because we have been doing them.
- Yo man! Wake up!
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