Dr. Hoenikker used to say that any scientist who couldn’t explain to an eight-year-old what he was doing was a charlatan.
–Kurt Vonnegut, Cat’s Cradle
The work presumes a standard of education corresponding to a university matriculation examination, and, despite the shortness of the book, a fair amount of patience and force of will on the part of the reader.
–Albert Einstein, Relativity: The Special and the General Theory
In recent years, a lot of newly-minted JDs have blogged the process of preparing for the bar exam. I intend to follow through on this trend, blogging not only about the process of preparation but about the law I’m reviewing at the time.
As you are (and I am) about to find out, preparing for and taking the bar exam is a very serious undertaking. You might want to know why I’m bothering to write up these blog entries while I’m doing it. The reason is that I really enjoy explaining things, and that I thought that explaining the law I’m reviewing to a general audience (educated, intelligent people without any legal training) would be an excellent way for me to review what I’m doing and fix it in my mind as I prepare for the test. I also hope that these entries will be useful to other people, whether they are prospective examinees, law students, or curious civilians. In particular, I hope that you will find them useful, or at least interesting, or at the very least an efficient way to avoid productive work for a few hours.
At first, I’m going to blog about background topics that my bar review course won’t cover specifically, but that are important to understanding what’s going on. In my law school experience, I found that this was one of the harder things to pick up, as they weren’t explicitly taught, but left for students to discover on their own.
Later, I’ll blog about the particular substantitve topics we’re reviewing at the time, as well as my experiences while studying for the bar.
June 6th, 2008
My friend Joe told me about this event, and I emailed Prof. Goldman and got on the mailing list for future meetings. Alas, I won’t be able to make it because I have an evening class, but if you have a blog, write about law, and are in the Bay Area, you should definitely check this event out. Prof. Goldman’s announcement follows, after the jump:
High Tech Law Institute at Santa Clara Law School and Six Apart are pleased to announce Bay Area Blawgers 2.0, the second gathering of legal bloggers in the Bay Area. See a recap of the first gathering. This time, we’ll spend an hour in a structured discussion starting around 6:15 (see some possible discussion topics). We’ll spend the rest of the time schmoozing/chit-chatting.
When: November 5, 6-8 pm.
Where: San Francisco office of Fenwick & West, 555 California Street, 12th Floor, San Francisco, CA. Directions.
Who: Everyone is welcome, but this event principally will cater to active legal bloggers. People who have indicated they plan to attend: Tsan Abrahamson, Harry Boadwee, Brian Crossman, Robert Eisenbach, David Friedman, Sujatha Ganesan, Cathy Gellis, Eric Goldman, Joe Gratz, Beth Grimm, Chris Hoofnagle, Kimberly Kralowec, Matthew Lasar, David Levine, Tom Levis, Ethan Leib, Susan Nevelow Mart, Cathy Moran, Amy Morganstern, Deborah Neville, Dana Nguyen, Bruce Nye, Kevin O’Keefe, Jay Parkhill, Bertrand Pautrot, Aaron Perzanowski, Benjamin Reyes, Colin Samuels, Jason Schultz, Peter Smith, Tim Stanley, John Steele, Stacy Stern, Victoria Stodden, Gene Takagi, Chris Vail, Colette Vogele, Fred von Lohmann, Julia Wei and Cicely Wilson.
Cost: Admission is free, but parking is not!
CLE: This event qualifies for 1 hour of general CLE credit. Santa Clara University School of Law is a State Bar of California approved MCLE provider.
RSVPs: RSVP are ESSENTIAL for this event because of security procedures at 555 California Street. RSVP to Eric Goldman (egoldman@gmail.com ).
October 31st, 2007
I’ve always liked seeing media depictions of things I’m involved with, partly because I find it interesting to see how others view groups I know from the inside and partly because of plain narcissism. Since I’ve started law school, I’ve been viewing legal fiction in a new light. From Phoenix Wright to Atticus Finch, it’s fascinating to see how the profession I’m learning shows up in the media.
With Halloween around the corner, I think it’s just the time to link to Supernatural Law, featuring Wolff and Byrd, Counselors of the Macabre. The author, Batton Lash, was inspired by the old buildings on Court Street in his native Brooklyn, and decided to start doing a strip about a small law firm that helped clients with supernatural problems: monsters, ghosts, that sort of thing. After runs in the Brooklyn Paper and the National Law Journal, it’s now appearing in comic books and online.
The art has a classic, mid-20th century feel to it, which meshes well with the storytelling and occasional pun. Check it out; I’ve been quite pleased.
October 30th, 2007
Here is a simple civil procedure tip for all you law students out there who are confused about the proper forms for service of process.
Right:
(Or you could just send it to them through the mail under Rule 4(d), which is much easier and cheaper for all concerned. But don’t do this–)
Wrong:
I found this on the sidewalk south of Market while I was walking back from a trip to Costco. Here’s the same picture, from a wider angle, which suggests that the legal colloquialism for a form of service that is unlikely to reach the defendant on time or at all–”sewer service”–might be uniquely appropriate here.
I am not certain whether Darrel A. appeared, or indeed to which court he was being summoned, why, or by whom.
September 25th, 2007
When I started law school, I found the law library a little bewildering–I had no idea what all these books were, which ones I would use when, or even what they all looked like. In order to help out future 1Ls (and curious civilians) who find themselves in a similar position, I’ve prepared this photographic field guide to the law library. For each series of books, I’ve included the title, a photograph, a brief description including circumstances in which you might want to use it, and the Bluebook (18th edition) citation rule to use.
American Law Reports (ALR)
ALR is a series of articles on the approaches different courts have taken to a legal issue. The current series is ALR 6th. There’s also ALR Federal, focusing on federal law; it’s in its second series. Great for getting a broad, multi-jurisdictional perspective on a legal issue.
Cite per: R16.6.6, p. 145.
Corpus Juris Secundum (CJS)
American Jurisprudence (AmJur)
CJS and AmJur are legal encyclopedias. They present overviews of the law, organized by topic, with references to controlling authority. A good place to start if you want to learn exactly what the law is on a certain point, and to get ideas for further research.
Cite per: R15.8(a), p. 135.
West’s Annotated California Codes
Deering’s California Codes Annotated
These contain the text of the current California statutes, information about their legislative history, and headnotes and references for decisions interpreting or relying on the statutes. Start here if you know what statute is applicable and want to see what courts have said about it.
Cite per: R12, p. 101 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 201.
West’s California Digest
A “digest” is a compilation of headnotes from past decisions, organized by subject. Occasionally the digest publisher will close a digest and publish notes from later decisions in a new series. The current edition is the second, bound in green. Use this to find decisions of California courts on a particular point.
California Reports (Cal.)
This is the official reporter for decisions of the California Supreme Court. Recent decisions appear on “advance sheets,” which are paper-bound books with the same pagination and numbering as the permanent volume will eventually have. The current series is Cal. 4th.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 200.
California Appellate Reports (Cal. App.)
This is the official reporter for decisions of the California Courts of Appeal. Advance sheets for this reporter appear in the same volumes as those of the California Reports. Current series is Cal. App. 4th.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 200.
West’s California Reporter (Cal. Rptr.)
This is the unofficial reporter for all California courts, including West’s headnotes for the cases. Be sure you don’t confuse this with California Reports. Also, note the text near the bottom of the spine, which tells you which volume or volumes of the official reporter correspond to this one. Current series is Cal. Rptr. 3d.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 200.
California Jurisprudence (Cal Jur)
Witkin
More legal encyclopedias, these focusing on California law. Cal Jur collects everything in one series of books, but Witkin has several, including Summary of California Law, California Criminal Law, and California Procedure. Use these like AmJur or CJS if you’re looking for California law.
Cite per: R15, p. 129.
Shepard’s Citations
Shepard’s lets you see what treatment your authorities have received since they were released. There are versions for federal and state decisions, ALR, statutes, model codes, and other sources. Tutorials on Shepardizing are available here and here (PDF).
United States Code Annotated (U.S.C.A.)
United States Code Service (U.S.C.S.)
These are annotated versions of federal statutes and the Constitution, with West (USCA) or Lexis (USCS) headnotes from decisions relying on or interpreting the law. Start here if you want to investigate a federal statute or constitutional provision.
Cite per: R12.3, p. 104.
West’s Federal Practice Digest
Another series of digests, this time for federal decisions. The fourth is the current series. Start here if you want to know what federal courts have decided on a given point of law.
United States Reports (U.S.)
Supreme Court Reporter (S.Ct.)
Lawyer’s Edition (L.Ed.)
These reporters collect the opinions of the Supreme Court. U.S. is the official reporter, S.Ct. is West’s, L.Ed. is Lexis’s.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 193.
Federal Reporter (F.)
The Federal Reporter collects the opinions of the federal Courts of Appeals (the circuit courts). The current series is F.3d.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 193.
Federal Supplement (F. Supp.)
The Federal Supplement collects the opinions of the Federal trial courts (the district courts). The current series is F. Supp. 2d. Be careful not to get this and the Federal Reporter mixed up.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 195.
Federal Rules Decisions (F.R.D.)
Another series of district court reports, these focusing on cases interpreting the federal rules of procedure and evidence.
Cite per: R10, p. 79 et seq.; Table T.1, p. 195.
General Digest
Decennial Digest
These are the broadest digests in the West system, containing headnotes for all reported federal and state cases, nationwide. The General Digest contains headnotes from cases reported after the last Decennial Digest was released. The Decennial Digest used to be released every ten years, as its name suggests. However, it was starting to get unwieldy, and so West started publishing it in two parts, five years apart. There’s also the Century Digest, which has headnotes for cases reported before the Decennial Digests began. West has a chart explaining the structure of the digest system here (PDF).
Words and Phrases
Something of a cross between a law dictionary and a digest. Words and Phrases collects headnotes and references for decisions that interpret words and phrases in a legal context. A good place to start if you want to know exactly what a piece of language means.
March 13th, 2007
