slogger...

wow. my blogging has been sparse of late. not that there isn't plenty going on: the georgian revolution, jacko the sicko, steel tariffs, bush goes to see the queen, more white collar crime than ever, and as always, no end in sight to the middle east 'conflict'.

but more important matters are consuming my time and making me crazy.

hint to other law students: it is NOT recommended to do your wedding planning as first semester finals are approaching.

I'm somewhat mad for even trying. I feel a battle of priorities: the most important day of your life vs. the most important semester of your law school career.

of course, it is good training to be able to balance everything and still manage to dance.

Its amazing what you can do in a week to put ducks in a row for a wedding (which, it so happens, is only 10 weeks away!): invitations mailed; hall, caterer, florist and hotels reserved; wedding gown, crown, and flower girl dresses purchased; wedding website up; sanity still somewhat intact.

now I can set everything aside and concentrate solely on final exams.

I think my fiancee and my parents could certainly use the break from my frenzy.

but all my madness will be worth it, because this wedding is going to be the most elegant affair ever (on a small budget).

no such thing as a palestinian....

One reader's response to the middle east debate.

clear, concise statements of fact.

yes, in 1967, Jordan and Egypt attacked Israel, and Israel won the land as fair war booty. So, in a sense, she may be right (though I've heard these arguments made before and they really don't lead to any effective resolution.)

yet, I am bothered nonetheless by the fact that even though the palestinian identity has never been granted official recognition, that is essentially the root of the problem ...

the palestinian identity is forged "neged" (against) Israel, and to have peace would mean to give up essentially what it means to be a palestinian. the root of the problem is that there is no positive foundation of identity...the identity is that all palestinians are "struggling" against Israel to be given the right to an identity.

around and around it goes...such circularity. no wonder there has yet to be a solution.

I'm just reacting and pondering here, and not intending any major political statement.

Indiana chimes into the gay marriage debate...

Indiana's marital law still supported

So, gay marriage is constitutional in MA, but not in IN???

I suppose if we were just speaking of state constitutions, this might be a matter of state's rights. states have the right to define marriage however they should so choose.

But IN might lose its appellate court battle on its ban of gay marriages if the court should consider the MA ruling persuasive.

The issue I see looming is one that will ultimately have to be resolved as a federal constitutional matter: whether one state can ban the formation of a legal relationship while another state permits the formation of that legal relationship.

but the supreme court hates to interject itself in the state's rights issues...especially Scalia.

The problem arises if the legal relationship is formed and recognized under MA law... what happens if the married couple should move to IN? will they still be entitled to recognition of the marriage? will they still be entitled to the spousal benefits that are otherwise provided as an operation of state law?

thorny issues indeed...

In MA, gay marriage is legal!

Landmark ruling on gay marriage

one would have thought CA would lead the forefront on this, capitalizing on the Supreme Court's recent decision in Lawrence.

But MA beat them to the punch!

No More Justice Moore

well that settles that.

Judge Ends Moussaoui's Stint as Lawyer

(LA Times - free subscription)

it is about time. This guy has dug himself a hole so deep that it will take every talent his appointed attorneys have just to hand him a rope.

while the court is making the pleadings confidential, some time ago I saw a list of his pleadings, which were sprinkled with colorful adjectives like 'dirty jew sympathizer' (probably referring to the judge).

I'm actually surprised that the judge let his attempt at 'lawyering' go on for so long. I guess you gotta give the guy a chance before you yank his privileges away. But seriously, this guy has so much contempt for the court, it is hardly fair to let him hang himself.

This guy is also lucky that the judge is being so nice. Any other judge would probably have slapped him with contempt charges or worse by now. but the ruling about dropping the death penalty for not having access to guantanamo prisoners is big points for this guy, he ought to appreciate how much her neck is stretched out for him.

but then again, his disposition before the court is damaging to his defense. it is going to be difficult for his attorneys to dress him up as a lover-of-america who harbors no ill will toward the west.

Terrorism in the Turkish Capital of Istanbul

no words, only tears and prayers for the deceased and their families.

A cure for Type I diabetes??

Diabetes is potentially 'reversible'

Scientists have injected mice with Type I diabetes with pancreatic cells from normal healthy mice...and it works!

this is great news for my diabetic friends out there.

but for my parents with Type II, which often comes with age, I wonder if such a treatment would be effective?

it seems that if it works for Type I, it should work for Type II. I'm not by any means qualified to make such an assumption, but in my thinking, if the injected pancreatic cells can "jump start" insulin production in a pacrease that cannot normally do not produce insulin (Type I), it ought to do the same for the aging pancreas which just "forgot how" to produce insulin. Sort of a "reminder" treatment.

Indigent defense lawyers in NY getting a raise...

Indigent defense lawyers have been underpaid not only in NY, but also in CA.

this is a welcome development for NY, for defendants, lawyers, and the legal system in general.

for defendants, it means that perhaps there will better representation.

for lawyers, it means actually being able to make their rent, pay their student loans, and perhaps even meet their overhead expenses.

for the legal sytem in general, it means that more lawyers will be willing to work on the indigent defense panel, lessening the case burden on the few that already do, and give them more time to actually work on the client's case instead of showing up unprepared and trying to plea out.

CA is in much the same boat as NY, so it would be welcome news if CA followed suit and raised attorney fees from the measly $25/hour they are presently.

seriously, if law students knew that as criminal lawyers, they would only be paid $25/hour, no one would ever dream of doing crim law. those lawyers that do indigent defense, do it because of their commitment to the law, and because it is often the only way to ensure a steady stream of clients and work.

but if CA raised the rates, more and better crim defense attorneys would take these cases as a supplement to their regular case load. this would be a boon to the system, in which the ultimate goal is justice, and ensure that defendants' rights to competent representation are met.

$75/hour is a fair rate for a defense attorney, and they should get at least that for taking these cases -- most indigent defendants are in the crim law system, where it is most critical to have competent representation.

competent representation is not (in my opinion) showing up to court not having even read the charges and trying to plea bargain to avoid having to do any out of court work on the case.

also in my opinion, there ought to be a state mandated review (maybe a good job for the state bar???) every five years of the hourly rate, and periodic adjustments for cost of living increases.

I'd like to see how things change in NY as a result of this settlement, and see if the system is working better as a result. That way my argument would have stronger 'teeth'.

strikes, fires, and now floods...

Storms' Combination Punch Staggers Parts of Southland

as if we have enough problems, we got a "freak" storm yesterday -- floods, hail, lightening. Its a good thing I left downtown early yesterday.

No problems in "the valley" but the lightening was quite remarkable.

There was a beautiful rainbow over the Burbank hills in the late afternoon.

But, just a few miles south, mother nature had a field day.

I've been blogging in jest about snow in LA -- but you've got to see the pictures -- this is for real!

the attrition begins...

I was so bummed today. One of my first friends in law school withdrew today.

8-{

I guess it is good that she made the decision earlier rather than later. law school is expensive, long, hard, and you need to have "passion" to make it through.

I know her passion lies more with helping families and children, and I hope her all the best in her academic endeavors and future career.

but I will miss her nonetheless.

Finally, the major media is reporting Arfrat is a crook...

CBS's 60 minutes report: Arafat's Billions

Everyone has known that Arfrat has stashed millions (if not billions) of dollars of Palestinian aid money into his personal swiss bank account...but now it is coming out that he transfers $100,000 per month to his wife in Paris.

We've known this for quite some time now...but for some reason the major media outlets have failed to shine a light on his EMBEZZLEMENT.

If Arfrat wasn't pocketing all of the aid money, there wouldn't be all the strife on the street that is blamed on the Israelis. But keeping the people destitute looks good for the news media -- it makes their situation look all that much more dire, and makes it look like it is all the fault of Israel -- when it is NOT.

As I've been saying all along, 99% of the problems between Israel and the Palestinians is economic...and it is clear that the primary cause of the economic disparity is because of EMBEZZLEMENT.

The logic is that you can't get people to blow themselves up if they are doing well economically. So, what does a corrupt despot do? Keep your people poor, keep telling them they are poor because of those other guys over there, and then tell them that if they blow themselves up and kill the other side, things will get better.

Right.

What I want to see happen now is for Europe to get hopping mad about this and demand not only accountability, but release of the funds into a responsible, transparent, and non-corrupt entity that can oversee building an infrastructure of PEACE.

And, quite obviously, this non-corrupt entity must be completely separate from any influence of Arfrat.

But, chances are, he's going to kick the bucket long before anything happens, and then all the Palestinians' money will go straight to Arfrat's wife in Paris. This is a crime and must be prevented.

I wonder if the International Criminal Court can charge him with embezzlement and attach the swiss account before it is too late?

I can only pray that justice prevails somehow, some way.

Sony/BMG merger?

Music-industry mergers from Economist (free subscription)

ah...the music industry woes...decreased sales being the primary problem.

the 26% drop in sales is presumably attributed to file sharing and cd-burning technology.

bunk. the 26% drop in sales is natural because:

1. when the economy goes belly up, people don't have extra money to spend on CDs.
2. the largest market for CD sales is teenagers, who aren't getting extra allowance money during the economic downturn.
3. everyone has gotten hip to the music industry's long-time tactic of putting out CRAP. Who on earth wants to buy a CD that is 11 tracks of CRAP and one track in the top 40?
4. the music industry is charging between $16 and $24 per CD, when the cost of the materials barely goes over $1. The money is definitely not going to the artists, most of whom have CRAP-deals with the Big 5.

Maybe if the price came down to something in the realm of "reasonable" people might be more willing to buy their CRAP. But no one in their right mind will spend that much for CRAP.

Besides, technology is here to stay and the industry needs to adjust to it. Maybe they need to revamp their business model and start looking at what the "Independents" are doing right. They own 25% of the market now, and there is something to be said for it.

With all the new technology, people have more access to Independently produced music, and find it a better alternative than swallowing the CRAP fed to us through the Big 5.

Also, the Independent labels have more musician-friendly contracts, and some of them are self-produced, which keeps any money going directly to the artists and not to some "suit" who is running around suing grandmothers for downloading Elvis songs.

Power to the people! Revolt against the revolting tactics that have been historically used by the music industry to limit people's access to good music, and limit the number of artists that can actually make a living.

Bumper Sticker of the Week...

"STOP REPUBLICAN OFFENDERS.
DON'T RE-ELECT THEM"

absolutely to the point of the day...

Prez Bush and his anti-abortion campaign...fortunately, there is much support in the judiciary to strike down the new ban on so-called "partial birth" abortions.

A NY federal judge has struck down the ban pending constitutional review, as well as a Nebraska judge. SF is soon to follow.

The attempt to label these procedures as "partial birth" abortions, couched in graphic emotion-producing rhetorical descriptions, is designed to create a slippery slope by which the Bush admin. can overturn Roe v. Wade.

It just goes to show how much difference it makes who is sitting in the white house. Forget that Roe v. Wade has been the "law of the land" for 30 years...one guy with too much power and "on a mission from god" can ruin all the constitutional protections that were so hard-won.

For what it is worth, this procedure isn't all that commonly practiced. Most doctors who perform third trimester abortions inject the fetus with a fatal substance in the womb, and the fetus is then passed by the woman as she would a miscarriage or stillborn. Presumably, these types of procedures would be exempted from the ban. But only if the ban is worded very narrowly (and I'm not sure that it is).

But simply because a particular medical procedure seems abhorrant to certain religious types, it does not give them the right to impose their religious beliefs on women and doctors in making medical decisions.

Being steadfast in one's religious beliefs does not qualify one as a doctor (nor does sitting in the white house dressing in a white smock and stethescope).

If you don't like abortion, DON'T HAVE ONE.

Simple as that.

When Can Drivers Be Halted? Justices Take Up Issue Anew

I'll write my comments later when I have time.

Zoinky?

a very important work has crept into my vocabulary, via my fiancee and Scooby Doo.
so in case it shows up in my postings, one should have a definition to work with. example sentences are phrases often heard flowing from my sweetheart's mouth to further explain.

definition:
ZOINK (verb) = 1. to cause a person to be shocked, dismayed, scared, surprised, annoyed, or discombobulated; 2. to cause a person to shout "zoinks!" as Shaggy and Scooby often do when confronted with a sudden scary situation. "Please don't zoink out my morning by playing NPR at 5:00am." (utilizing the annoying and discombobulating definition.)
a) zoinky (adjective) = shocking, scary, surprising, annoying. "I don't like your zoinky mustang." (utilizing the standard scary definition.)
b) zoinker (noun) = something that zoinks a person or a thing. "That NPR is a real morning zoinker." (utilizing the discombobulating definition.)
c) zoinks (exclamation) = something one shouts when suddenly becoming zoinked. "Zoinks! I can't believe you haven't bought health insurance yet!" (utilizing the shocked, dismayed definition.)
d) zoinking ("ing" verb) = can be used very much like the verb form. usually followed by the word "out" as a verb combination. "There should be a compromise so that you can listen to NPR without zoinking out my morning."

I wonder if webster's wanders the blogosphere?

back from hiatus...

took a break for a couple of days. went to Berkeley. now I'm back.

strange, my last post from monday disappeared. maybe blogger was on hiatus too?

Race for the Cure

I 'raced' for the Cure this morning ... finished my fast walking in 54 minutes.

not bad. I started in the back of the pack, and just kept passing people.

Rule: I do not run. Running is bad for a woman's body.

It was fun, there were thousands of people and the weather was great.

Problem: I have a crim law 'practice exam' tomorrow and haven't done much studying except to read LaFave and Scott.

oh well, it is only practice, so I won't stress out about it.

I won't blog much for the next couple of days...making a trip up north to Berkeley.

Back on Wednesday.

Attorney Is Shot as TV Cameras Roll

Gerald Curry, the probate attorney who was shot outside the LA courthouse, is actually in stable condition right now. Thank god.

MSNBC has the video here.

This is scary stuff. Probate law is supposed to be 'safe', at least in comparison with being a criminal prosecutor.

This was apparently a contentious affair...the attorney was supposed to appear at a hearing in order to get authorization to be paid for his services from the fund. His client (the trustee) had been threatened with death by this man as far back as august. The facts are somewhat sketchy, but from what I can tell, the trust was apparently set up in his name from an accident settlement. For some reason, he needed money from the fund for some medical bills, but for some reason wasn't getting it, which set him on his rampage.

Maybe someone should have paid his medical bills, especially if they were for psych medications.

I have to applaud the Traffic Court Judge/off-duty police officer who tackled Strier (the shooter). This was professional work!

Catching the whole affair on video brings to mind some issues about the journalists though. Its a little disturbing that they would simply stand by and roll tape as the incident happened.

However, since we don't have 'good samaritan' laws that create a duty on citizens (even journalists) to intervene, they can't be criticized for not doing anything. It would have been dangerous and stupid, probably. At least one of the cameramen was pointing out the gunman so that the judge could tackle him.

I suppose in some sense, capturing the act on videotape is about all the journalists can do. They couldn't stop the gunman because he had already shot the attorney before they turned their cameras on him. There was little they could have done without getting shot themselves (the gunman had another gun ready to go in his back pocket).

I'm just so very thankful that the judge was quick on his feet and had police training. Since this happened in front of the courthouse, Curry got immediate medical attention which probably saved his life.

But its a little scary that being an attorney is not such a 'safe' profession after all. I guess there's always the chance you end up with a psycho client or adverse party. Thank god I want to be a tax lawyer. I don't know of any tax lawyers getting shot by clients or adverse parties. And I don't want to know if there are.
ignorance is bliss.