Dueling Bar Reviews

As time is winding down towards graduation, the bar exam is looming on everyone's mind. (Actually, we still have quite a few hurdles to get through in school first, but looming it is still.) Today, I got not only one welcome, but two welcomes, one each from PMBR and BarBri. PMBR was thanking me for having paid in full and letting me know about their early 6 day practice session. Barbri was letting me know that I still owe megabucks for their review. Up until today, I was sweating bullets on how to pay for it. I had earlier set aside some money for it, and like the financial genius I am, I have frittered it away. Luckily, I also got an email today saying that my tax return, electronically filed, had been accepted by the IRS. That is good news indeed, as it will totally pay for my BarBri course. I am so grateful--I don't know how I could have paid for it otherwise. For some odd reason, I am looking forward to taking the courses (but not to the bar exam itself).

Law & Order: Pulled From the News

I had always heard that the show Law and Order comes directly from the news page. I like the show but never pay enough attention to it to have seen that for myself. But tonight I am watching the Criminal Intent marathon, and they have an episode about an astronaut who drives long distance in a diaper to stalk her lover's girlfriend. lol.

Oh my gosh! The next episode looks like one based on Anna Nicole Smith. Directly from the news page!

Moot Court Blues--Episode 8

In our moot court class, we have to do appellate arguments. I like a like a fool agreed to be the one on our team to deliver the argument. I thought that was fine and fair. But yesterday I found out that we will be arguing in front of a panel of real judges. Damn! Double damn! I had totally forgotten that! It is not for a while, so I can figure out what I need to do. But right now, I don't have a clue. Maybe I can find some examples of appellate arguments online and use those as a guide.

AAARRggghhh!

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On a better note, I was studying yesterday at Panera Bread, one of my favorite spots, and someone who had already passed the bar noticed I was studying law. He offered and did send me his outlines from his bar study. So nice! I have found law students to be so helpful and congenial to one another, something most people wouldn't expect. A total stranger giving me his outlines! So nice.

Is John McCain Bad for Business?

That was the question posed on the MSN.com website yesterday. Most of the messages on the discussion board indicated yes, pointing to the fact that conservatives feel that he is liberal.

As an aside, I take issue with the fact that conservatives say that democrats /liberals are bad for business. They just have no idea how many successful business people are democrats. (Hint: a lot)

I think what is bad for business is having a president who is incompetent. And any of the candidate hopefuls would be better than Bush.

Another thing that annoys me is the talk that the democrats are fighting among themselves now. What? There is no fighting. Most demos would be fine with either Hillary or Barack.

It is the republican party that is having the meltdown. They are becoming irrelevant. In good free enterprise terms, they are being cast aside by the market. They are voted off the island.

Go Dems Go!

Go Dems Go! Go Dems Go! Oh wait, tomorrow is Super Tuesday and is just the primary. If Obama wins or Hillary wins--either way--I win!

Go Dems Go!

First Amendment vs. Super Bowl

Once again, I am not watching the Super Bowl game. My excuse this year is that I am studying for my First Amendment law final. I am cementing in my head the concepts behind student expression et al: the Tinker test, the Fraser test, etc.

The Tinker test states:
--"School officials can censor student expression only if they can reasonably forecast that the expression "materially disrupts classwork or involves substantial disorder or invasion of the rights of others."

The Fraser test states:
--"School officials can regulate student speech if vulgar, lewd, or plainly offensive."

The Hazlewood standard:
--"Educators do not offend the First Amendment by exercising editorial control over the style and content of student speech in school-sponsored expressive activities so long as their actions are reasonably related to legitimate pedagogical concerns."

Bong Hits for Jesus exception (from Morse v. Frederick) to the above trilogy:
--Schools can "restrict student expression that they reasonably regard as promoting illegal drug use."

I am taking a break and watching the halftime show--Tom Petty. He is great--I have seen him in concert before. So far, no displays of lewd, vulgar, or plainly offensive actions, like some claimed in previous halftime shows. So, if this were in the student realm, it would pass Fraser!

Countdown to a Law Final

I am sitting here on Friday night, drinking wine, watching Real Time With Bill Maher. I am crazy about him. What a cutie. He is my favorite comedian, and I love his insight into politics.

All around me my condo is a big mess. Dishes piled up. Clean clothes that need to be put away. My kitchen table cluttered with junk mail. My bathroom sink dirty and cluttered. I hope to get to these things this weekend. But tonight I am chilling. And enjoying the fact that I took a conflict of laws test this past week and closed out that course. At least I hope. It was a tough course. The teacher was great but he probably made it tougher than need be. But on the other hand, he has plenty of courtroom experience and knows how tough real conflict of laws situations can be. If you mess up, you could lose your client's lawsuit, and then you might need to call your malpractice carrier.

I think I did OK on the test. But who really knows, as he is known to be a hard grader. Despite the fact I think I did OK, I am disappointed that I didn't study more or harder. As usual, I did not keep up with the weekly reading. I didn't even read all of the cases. I honed in on the material about 3 weeks ago and pretty much lived and breathed my notes and outlines since then. That sounds like a lot, but it wasn't. A few hours before the test, I was still reading some stuff for the first time. Not good! The saving grace is I am a good test taker, and being a journalist, I can cull information quickly out of difficult documents.

As it got closer to test time, I kept streamling my strategy. When it was still three weeks out, my goal was to read everything and understand it perfectly. Well that didn't happen!

I then ditched the idea of reading the book, but still had the goal of reading all of the Westlaw cases. Well that didn't happen!

I then thought I would read through several long outlines, read all of Legalines and Aspen Case briefs, plus my notes. Well, I had to drop the idea of the long outlines and settled for reading through a couple of shorter outlines. I did read all of Legalines but only about half of the Aspen case briefs.

I also wanted to listen to all of the class lectures I had recorded. I did pretty well there--I got to listen to all but the last two.

I took the day off from work the day of the test. It was like every other test day I have had. I always plan to stay up almost all night the night before and then end up falling asleep on the sofa about 1 a.m. Then move to my bed about 4 a.m and set the alarm for about 7 a.m. The alarm rings and I keep hitting the snooze button until about 8 a.m.

Mad at myself for oversleeping, I leap out of bed and put the coffee on. Luckily, my tunnel vision and special test-day clarity sets in, as it always does, and I actually put in a good day of study. I keep streamlining my study strategy, minute by almost minute, as the clock ticks down to exam hour. About an hour and a half before the test, I feel that I finally have to get dressed and get something to eat. I face the reality that I still have much to learn and not enough time to do it in.I take a final survey and give up reading and settle for memorizing the pertinent restatement law.

Remarkably, I memorize the restatement law quickly and still have time to apply makeup and walk my dog before I head to school for the night exam. Driving over in the car, I run through the restatement law in my mind and some other lists of things I know I will have to regurgitate on the exam.

I walk into class with only a couple of minutes to spare. He passes out the test. I look at the test, all essay, and in usual fashion, freak out. I think I don't know anything. I sit there, sad, knowing that this will keep me from graduating and I will be back in this seat next year.

But again, typically, I start making notes on my scratch paper and realize I do know some of this, OK maybe more of this than I first thought.

I gauge my time in order to finish the test in time. My handwriting is poor, and I have to scratch out a lot of passages and rewrite them. I am afraid my essays are disjointed, as I keep thinking of things to write, and making additions, and unlike a computer, there is no "do-over."

But as the test period progresses, I get more and more relaxed as I realize the test is doable. I even have time to daydream a little! I feel badly for at least one or two other people in the room who are visibly upset at the test.

I do the extra credit and turn the test in, and join some fellow students for a celebratory drink. I think I did OK, but not great. But I only need OK and feel that this is actually great in terms of the amount of time I had to study.

I guarantee you this will be the same process I will go through at least five more times before I graduate.