Link to other blogs/sites

If you want a link here to your blog or website, post a comment with the title and URL. I will add you to the list of links on the left side.

Productive Dreaming

I spent the entire night going over my Choice of Law Reading in my dreams. I recalled the facts of the cases I read recently, thought about implications of Erie and whether Van Dusen decision makes sense. I wish all of my dreams where as productive as last night's. I came to the conclusion that Van Dusen and Ferens does make sense under the current constitutional interpretation and the best way to reduce forum shopping is to modify the federal jurisdiction statute to not allow plaintiffs file lawsuits in an inconvenient forum. i.e. "Federal court shall have jusridiction unless another more convenient federal court also has jurisdiction."

The only downside is that I am very sleepy today and probably won't be able to pay attention in class ...

Club Review

Every Saturday, there is a latin music night at Guy's Hollerin. This place is attached to Holiday Inn hotel, I think this is normally where they serve breakfast to their guests. It works as a sports bar during the day, and on Saturday it becomes a latin dancing mecca of Ann Arbor.

First, I was shocked to find out that they have a dress code. When I came into the door in my white tennis shoes, all eager to pay the $7 cover charge to get in, I was shot down. It turns out that the only things they don't allow are tennis shoes and baseball caps. Who would ever think that a sports bar would have such a strict dress code? But the guy at the door told me "It makes all the difference in the clientele." I always carry a pair of black dancing shoes, so I went to my car and changed. Interestingly, when I came back I saw people in swimming shorts going through, without any shoes or top. Go figure, tennis shoes - not ok, barefoot - come on in.

Anyway, this was the only hurdle that night. Other than that, it is a relatively nice place. Drinks are reasonable (4.25 for mixed drinks and draft beer), dance floor is relatively big, lots of space to sit around, music was good. The DJ put about 3-4 songs of the same type (Salsa, Mernegue, Bachata, Cumbia) in a row and then switched to the next type. People were nice and friendly, there were about twice as many guys then girls, but for some reason most guys just sat around the bar and watched. A lot of Mexican guys. It got crowded after midnight and people started leaving around 1.

Why apply to Law Review

Heidi Bond recently wrote about the reasons for applying to Law Review Here is my opinion:

1. Law Review expands your future career choices. Just like going to a more prestigeous law school gives you more options after graduation, being on a prestigeous journal gives you more options. It is hard to measure the exact edge it gives you.

I don't think Law Review played a significant factor in my OCI interview. Some interviews didn't even notice that line on my resume. Some wanted to talk about my note. At the end of the day, it seems like I got a similar number of callback and got similar offers to those students who are not on LR. So I don't know if it made any difference.

2. You will be able to eat in the library. If you run for the ed board, you might even get your own office in the library.

3. The ability to publish your own note, even years after you graduate, is priceless.

4. Law Professors respect you and sometimes are nice to you. One professor recently called me one of the best students he's ever had :)

4. Most improtantly - it trains us to do meaningless and tedious work, which is what most lawyers do . . .

5. You are a member of an exclusive club. You become friends with other people on LR. Just another social network.

Yes, I know, there are two #4. LR does not improve your math skills.

Here is an excerpt from an actual case:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In February and March, 1996, the time at which this action arose, plaintiff was a prisoner/patient and defendant was employed as a nurse at the Huron Valley Medical Center [HVC]. Plaintiff claims that during that time defendant engaged in repeated acts of sexual harrassment. These acts began with instances of defendant grabbing plaintiff's genitals. Subsequently, defendant wrongfully administered Thorazine to plaintiff and sexually assaulted him through an act of fellatio. . . . The court, having heard plaintiff's testimony and reviewing the exhibits submitted by him [I wonder what he exhibited?], finds that his testimony is credible and he has established that the acts complainted of took place. The court further finds that the conduct of the defendant violated rights of plaintiff protected under the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution [Ah, the framers of the constitution were smart enough to include a "no-blowjob" clause] in that they involved the imposition of force without a legitimate penological basis and constituted deliberate indifference to plaintiff's medical needs. . . . I conclude that plaintiff is entitled to judgment in the amount of Twenty Five Thousand dollars, plus reasonable costs.