Ugh. I saw this horrid sight for the first time in my life, but probably not the last.
It's kinda funny -- last week, a classmate and I were fussing about fuel prices when I speculated, "I'd be that diesel will be up to four dollars per gallon by Labor Day (beginning of September), maybe even Memorial Day (end of May)." Or... tomorrow! This followed a fifty-cent rise in the price of diesel over a two week period. Ugh. :J
Wow... nothing for nearly two months and now two posts in one day! What's next, parity of the dollar with the euro?
I'm Founding President of OutLaw, an organization of students at Elon University School of Law who are interested in legal issues affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. OutLaw is open to all Elon Law students.
On Wendesday of this week, OutLaw hosted its inaugural programming event, the Out Lawyer Forum. Three local attorneys came to the law school and spoke to about two dozen students, faculty, and staff about practicing law as an openly-gay or -lesbian lawyer in Greensboro. Panelists included Ron Johnson (partner in the law firm of Johnson, Peddrick, and McDonald who has practiced in Greensboro since 1974 and is a Board Certified Specialist in estate planning and probate law), Rebecca Perry (who has practiced family law as a solo practitioner in Greensboro since 2002, is a Board Certified Specialist in family law, and is an active member of the State Bars of North Carolina and Texas), and Andrew Spainhour (who worked as a lobbyist's assistant in Washington DC before turning down job offers in New York to become corporate counsel of Replacements Ltd). Law school Dean Leary Davis and his guest, David Campbell, a scholar of the role that diversity plays in leadership, welcomed the panelists and audience as the program began.
All in all, the program was a great success. Read all about it!
http://www.elon.edu/e-web/academics/law/outlaw_forum_3_08.xhtml
:J
Well, it had to happen sooner or later. Everyone has their day in court for one reason or another and yesterday was mine. I emptied my pockets and walked through the metal detector and into the court house. I took the elevator up to the fourth floor and checked with the prosecutor's office to find out where I should go. Down two floors and into the packed criminal court room. A second-year classmate interning with the prosecutor's office saw me come in; her mouth flew open and she grabbed the docket sheet to see where my name was on it. I found a seat and took it quietly, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
I had had enough continuances and it was time to face the fact that I had to spend a day observing criminal court for my criminal law class. The prosecutor's office told me where I should go to see the most action. Luckily and to her relief, my classmate didn't find my name on the docket sheet. There were plenty of others, though! It took about twenty minutes just for docket call--reading all of the names from the list of cases to be heard. Probably one-third to one-half of the cases were continued to another day. Probably a fifth were dismissed and another third were deferred pending payment of restitution or completion of an alternative sentencing program. Several people plead guilty, so I saw the process that follows that. A few people were released after time served in the county jail since arrest and agreeing to pay court costs. It looked as if there would be two or three bench trials that afternoon, but I couldn't stick around that long. My accompanying classmate, Jon, and I left at lunch recess. It was, indeed, an interesting experience and one that excites me for what's to come this summer.
So... this summer. It looks like I'll be interning in the prosecutor's office in the county where my grandparents live during the second half of the summer! It's an unpaid position, but I look forward to soaking up some rich experiences in the courtroom and spending some quality time with my grandparents during my six weeks there. I came to law school with the thought of practicing estate planning; I never imagined that I'd go into criminal law and I'm still not committing myself to anything. However, my IT career put me nearly half-way through the thirty years of State service required to retire with full benefits, so the thought of going back into State service after law school, finishing my thirty years, and walking out the door with pension and health insurance at age 55 is very attractive. I wouldn't be limited to working as a prosecutor, either. Several (but not all) of NC's judicial districts have public defenders. All of NC's public universities have a University Counsel, and tons of attorneys work in the NC Department of Justice, as that department handles litigation for all state agencies. It's quite likely that a return to State service is in my future.
My internship is the second half of the summer. During the first half, I'm going to Europe to take UNCG's culture and conversation course in Madrid for a month and then spend a couple of weeks visiting friends in France and Italy. Of course, I'm looking forward to my trip to Europe, but I also can't wait to return to my internship!
For better or worse, Chris will be working in Maryland all summer. That'll be good because he'll be away from home himself, which might keep his mind off of the fact that I'm away, too. He'll also be able to spend time with and become better acquainted with some of our friends in that area and the area itself, which has always held some appeal for me. His being away could be bad because he might get bored living in a hotel room for months. But, we've survived his previous travels for work and it has real benefits, so we'll get through it this summer, too.
So, there's a nutshell update. There's no rest for the weary, as I have a 15-page Motion for Summary Judgment to crank out this weekend. For those not in the law, summary judgment is a decision about the case based on the facts as presented to the court in pre-trial documents; the facts are undisputed and so clear that a trial is not necessary. (It's the job of the jury in a jury trial or of the judge in a bench trial to decide the facts -- basically, who has the more compelling story or who's telling the truth.) The movant (party making the motion) is asking the court to rule as a matter of law; the only question to be resolved is how the law applies to the facts, which is always the job of the judge. Summary judgment is much quicker and much less expensive than a trial, so is often viewed as a preferred method of resolving cases. Woo-hoo!
So, I'm off to summary judgment land! Don't worry; I won't send a postcard. :J
