A few cases I figured were worth pointing out. Plus I need to practice my citation forms for the final...
1. Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer- Apparently, there are RESTRICTIONS on Executive power. Who knew?
2. Justice v. State- Even in Indiana, Justice prevails!!! (Best.Case.Name.Ever.)
3. Lavender v. Kurn- "Plaintiff's theory is that Haney was struck by the curled end of a mail hook that extended from a mail car; defendant contended that plaintiff's theory was practically a physical impossibility and that in fact Haney was probably murdered by one of the hoboes shown to frequent the area at night. Hence, death by hook or by crook?" Simply stunning...
At some point, I'll make a longer post about Cordas v. Peerless Transportation Co.; someone just has to remind me.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Why I Can't Respect New Jersey
The case: Yan v. Ford Motor Company. A 65-year old man was riding in a van on the Garden State Parkway, when his spare tire assembly fell off the back of the van and rolled to a stop next to the divider. He got out of the car (this was at about 1130pm and it was raining), and ran across the Parkway, picked up the assembly, and was running back when he got hit by a car and killed. His estate proceeded to sue everyone they could think of (the driver of the car that hit him, the auto maker, the manufacturer of the assembly, the last mechanic they had visited, Neil Patrick Harris, Bruce Springsteen, and God), in an attempt to collect from somebody on the grounds that their negligence had caused the man's death.
The New Jersey Court of Appeals said that nobody could be held liable (except the other driver, who settled), as the action of running across the Parkway was "an activity which cannot be described as anything short of extraordinarily dangerous, if not suicidal." Since he was 65, the court reasoned, he should have known better Now this makes sense to me; don't be stupid, don't run across the highway, especially if you're not exactly Usain Bolt. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court REVERSED the decision on the grounds that this man running across the Parkway to get a spare tire was completely foreseeable to a rational person.
Ok, what the hell? Are people in Jersey like pedestrians on the South Side, so fed up with their dreary existence that they use no caution in running in front of passing cars? And this is judicially codified as reasonable behavior? There are absolutely no words...
May all your hits be crits,
B
The New Jersey Court of Appeals said that nobody could be held liable (except the other driver, who settled), as the action of running across the Parkway was "an activity which cannot be described as anything short of extraordinarily dangerous, if not suicidal." Since he was 65, the court reasoned, he should have known better Now this makes sense to me; don't be stupid, don't run across the highway, especially if you're not exactly Usain Bolt. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court REVERSED the decision on the grounds that this man running across the Parkway to get a spare tire was completely foreseeable to a rational person.
Ok, what the hell? Are people in Jersey like pedestrians on the South Side, so fed up with their dreary existence that they use no caution in running in front of passing cars? And this is judicially codified as reasonable behavior? There are absolutely no words...
May all your hits be crits,
B
Sunday, October 19, 2008
A Visit from the Terps
So, in lieu of our fall tournament (which ran into some scheduling problems), GULC Softball is having a series of scrimmages against other law schools on the weekends. Today, Maryland Law came to town. I was on the B team, which was shorthanded because a lot of our best players had a game in another league.
My final line for the day (between both games, one of which we lost by 2, the other we lost by 15) was:
1-5, RBI, 1PO, 0E
The no errors part was kinda cool, especially cause I managed to hurt myself sliding into 2nd at the end of the first game, and it was hell pushing off it. I also hit my longest drive of the year, which unfortunately was hit almost directly at the LF, who had to take a few steps back to get it. I need to start hitting more on the ground, and on line drives. Oh well.
May all your hits be crits,
B
My final line for the day (between both games, one of which we lost by 2, the other we lost by 15) was:
1-5, RBI, 1PO, 0E
The no errors part was kinda cool, especially cause I managed to hurt myself sliding into 2nd at the end of the first game, and it was hell pushing off it. I also hit my longest drive of the year, which unfortunately was hit almost directly at the LF, who had to take a few steps back to get it. I need to start hitting more on the ground, and on line drives. Oh well.
May all your hits be crits,
B
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Just Another Hoya Softball Practice...
I normally don't like to do the two-a-day posts, but this was just too good to wait on. Normally my slow ass legging out two infield singles in a game is bizzare enough, but my teammates managed to take it to a whole new level. Names will not be used, mostly cause anyone who reads this blog doesn't know these people anyway.
So it's the middle of our usual scrimmage, and my team has runners on 1st and 2nd when a ball gets hit sharply to the third baseman. Mind you, this guy had just informed me that I do dumb stuff all the time. He picks the ball up, but instead of taking it to third himself or throwing it to one of the other bases, he makes a nifty flip to our third base coach, who catches it and stares at the guy dumbfounded. I mean, who did he expect was going to be there? We all figured that this was going to be the highlight of the game, but we were sorely mistaken.
After we finished in the field, out center fielder stayed out there to use the wall in deep center to relieve himself. Now, strangeness is to be expected from the guy who played an entire game while on his cell phone. But as soon as someone points this out, our captain decides that this will not fly, says "I'm gonna kill that fucker" and races out into center field. Now it is over 100 yards from the third base line to the wall in center, but she must have a gear only known to her and Usain Bolt, cause she got there in no time. We were speculating about what exactly she was going there to do. Was she going to berate him? Was she at least going to let him finish? Upon reaching him, she lowered her shoulder and body-checked him mid-leak, then dragged him back towards the dugout. I have never seen anything like this before and probably never will again. Now that, my friends, is a new kind of leadership.
May all your hits be crits (especially after the re-spec),
B
So it's the middle of our usual scrimmage, and my team has runners on 1st and 2nd when a ball gets hit sharply to the third baseman. Mind you, this guy had just informed me that I do dumb stuff all the time. He picks the ball up, but instead of taking it to third himself or throwing it to one of the other bases, he makes a nifty flip to our third base coach, who catches it and stares at the guy dumbfounded. I mean, who did he expect was going to be there? We all figured that this was going to be the highlight of the game, but we were sorely mistaken.
After we finished in the field, out center fielder stayed out there to use the wall in deep center to relieve himself. Now, strangeness is to be expected from the guy who played an entire game while on his cell phone. But as soon as someone points this out, our captain decides that this will not fly, says "I'm gonna kill that fucker" and races out into center field. Now it is over 100 yards from the third base line to the wall in center, but she must have a gear only known to her and Usain Bolt, cause she got there in no time. We were speculating about what exactly she was going there to do. Was she going to berate him? Was she at least going to let him finish? Upon reaching him, she lowered her shoulder and body-checked him mid-leak, then dragged him back towards the dugout. I have never seen anything like this before and probably never will again. Now that, my friends, is a new kind of leadership.
May all your hits be crits (especially after the re-spec),
B
Hoya Slapstick!
So, today's tort cases raise a question of the utmost importance: Can slipping on a banana peel give rise to a lawsuit. In order to answer this, we had to read no fewer than three cases involving people slipping on banana peels. I had no idea there was this large a body of banana peel law. However, in order to round out the assignment, we had to read cases in which people slipped on milk, grapes, and pizza slices. Don't get me wrong: This was extremely enjoyable. I still think there was one of two things missing:
1. Video- Now, if we were shown some sort of dramatic re-enactment of each of these cases, I think that would have added greatly to the experience. I mean, where was the banana in relation to the person? Was it the same color as the floor, rendering it an invisible banana? Was it just a peel, or was there still some banana left? I feel that answering these questions would have greatly enhanced my understanding of the cases. Plus, it would have been an obscene amount of fun...
2. Expert testimony- The cases don't give you much of anything in terms of the facts of the trial. I think that, in these sorts of cases, experts should be brought in. People like the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. If anyone could bring a true body of experience relating to things like slipping on banana peels, it would be them. Plus, watching them question the silent Marx would possibly be the greatest bit of testimony in the history of the judicial process. Oh well, I can dream...
May all your hits be crits,
B
1. Video- Now, if we were shown some sort of dramatic re-enactment of each of these cases, I think that would have added greatly to the experience. I mean, where was the banana in relation to the person? Was it the same color as the floor, rendering it an invisible banana? Was it just a peel, or was there still some banana left? I feel that answering these questions would have greatly enhanced my understanding of the cases. Plus, it would have been an obscene amount of fun...
2. Expert testimony- The cases don't give you much of anything in terms of the facts of the trial. I think that, in these sorts of cases, experts should be brought in. People like the Marx Brothers or the Three Stooges. If anyone could bring a true body of experience relating to things like slipping on banana peels, it would be them. Plus, watching them question the silent Marx would possibly be the greatest bit of testimony in the history of the judicial process. Oh well, I can dream...
May all your hits be crits,
B
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
There and Back Again...
Mornin all. I know that I've been a bit delinquent in updating this thing, but that's kinda how its gonna go. In this case, I had a Civil Procedure midterm last week, as well as having a memo due. As a certain C. Kaback would have put it "I wouldn't recommend it..."
My trip to Chicago this weekend was pretty fantastic. I've decided to follow the Elliot Goodman procedure for my future visits this year: come in without telling ANYONE (except the person with whom I'm staying). This worked phenomenally this weekend; watching people do double-takes when they realized that someone that they didn't expect was staring them right in the face. However, there is an exception to this rule. If you are known for enjoying a significant amount of a certain aromatic herb, your capacity for surprise at unexpected things appears to be slightly dulled. I'm looking at Misters Mendel and Thor specifically here...
I accrued a lot of things this weekend. Not only did I get intangible benefits, like the experience of my first breakfast at Valois (I know, it took me more than 4 years), I also picked up a lot of very tangible things. Now, I live a very simple life here in DC; Marie has taken to calling my room "The Law Cave" because there is absolutely nothing there. Law school has made me realize how little I actually need to go through life. However, some creature comforts are never a problem, and I managed to accrue extra bedsheets, two pillows, a toaster, my guitar, and an enormous homemade honey cake. As the honey cake is pretty much all I have in terms of food until about 4pm today, I'm getting pretty psyched about it.
More tomorrow, when I get back into the substance of law school.
May all your hits be crits,
B
EDIT: "The Black Plurality" and "Grim Trigger" (both of which I've heard in the last two days) would be amazing names for punk bands, fantasy football teams, or new alts).
My trip to Chicago this weekend was pretty fantastic. I've decided to follow the Elliot Goodman procedure for my future visits this year: come in without telling ANYONE (except the person with whom I'm staying). This worked phenomenally this weekend; watching people do double-takes when they realized that someone that they didn't expect was staring them right in the face. However, there is an exception to this rule. If you are known for enjoying a significant amount of a certain aromatic herb, your capacity for surprise at unexpected things appears to be slightly dulled. I'm looking at Misters Mendel and Thor specifically here...
I accrued a lot of things this weekend. Not only did I get intangible benefits, like the experience of my first breakfast at Valois (I know, it took me more than 4 years), I also picked up a lot of very tangible things. Now, I live a very simple life here in DC; Marie has taken to calling my room "The Law Cave" because there is absolutely nothing there. Law school has made me realize how little I actually need to go through life. However, some creature comforts are never a problem, and I managed to accrue extra bedsheets, two pillows, a toaster, my guitar, and an enormous homemade honey cake. As the honey cake is pretty much all I have in terms of food until about 4pm today, I'm getting pretty psyched about it.
More tomorrow, when I get back into the substance of law school.
May all your hits be crits,
B
EDIT: "The Black Plurality" and "Grim Trigger" (both of which I've heard in the last two days) would be amazing names for punk bands, fantasy football teams, or new alts).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)