law nerding-it

9th circuitry - So Cal!

2009-05-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

Like other fans of article iii and legal mongers, I wanted to find out more on who President Obama would pick to fill Justice Souter's shoes -- or rather the void on the bench when you look up and don't see his goofy ears? I did some research, just so I can pick a favorite early in the race and then have a chance to demonstrate some intense article III groupieness. With the list provided by BLT, in hand -- I googled the credentials of these amazing legal practioners and judges. And...after much clicking and clacking. I've decided to go with Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw.

Underneath their robes did a wonderful interview with her back in 2004 and I fell in favor of her candidness and impecable tastes-- beside her notable qualifications as a 9th Circuit judge and feeder to many SCOTUS clerkships, I've identified my reasons to think that she is worthy of raising to Justice-dom. I've highlighted some of the quotations below. For full interview, click here.

Reason #1: she's a regular SoCal gal
[responding to question about whether she could see herself hanging up the robes and returning to regular life]
"I’m already a “regular gal”; I’m just also a federal appellate judge.. "
see e.g. annecdote she provided to A3G: I once broke my ankle because I foolishly thought I could do a step-class with weights and keep up with the Cal-Tech undergraduates. I haven’t been back to that class.

Reason #2: she is a judicial diva

On a related note, do you consider yourself to be a judicial diva?
Yes.

'nuff said!

Reason #3: Legally blonde!
"I actually empathize a bit with Reese Witherspoon’s character in “Legally Blonde”-- during my first semester at UCLA, no one invited me to be in their study group!"

Reason #4: Fashion philosophy
"I love finding new designers and trying out new styles"
Though judges wear robes, it does not mean that they cannot wear fabulous outfits underneath their robes or outside the courtroom. I'm a big fan of better fashion sense in the legal world, overall!

Reason #5: 9th Circuit Court in Pasadena!
Pasadena is the home of lovely venues like the Pasadena Civic Auditorium (where the now long-running Fox Show American Idol further winnows out the "Going to Hollywood"-ers before America gets to vote), the Rose Bowl (great for rocket launching) and Cal Tech University (great for seeking out other nerds). I am quite ashamed to admit I did not know about the best show in town for a law nerd is the 9th Circuit.

I'm on a flight to LA later today, will be seeing my lovely relatives who coincidentally live in the same town as Judge Wardlaw. hm, I may be an article iii groupie, but I am certaintly not a stalker!

See Also Update: Her open letter on Ms. JD part of their first women series.

goodbye Justice David Souter

2009-04-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

today i took my last exam of 1L year - civil procedure. our professor for this course was an Alito clerk, that we all fondly called Dave. Dave was a visiting professor, who me and fellow law nerds adored for his genuine efforts to care for his students. I sound sarcastic here, but I'm not...that was seriously a law professor that spent time with students, interested in what we had to say and patient in explaining difficult topics like the Erie Doctrine. We were striken to say goodbye to such a fabulous prof, but when we said goodbye to civil procedure when that 3 hour exam was over -- celebrations abounded! We were free!

But the legal world was not about to let me go into my summer (one month of pure legal-free joy in a foreign country) without another heartbreak, another goodbye to Dave. A series of tweets (see e.g. here) informed me that news around town is reporting that Justice Souter is about to retire. Earlier this semester, I was a tad anxious...

"justice souter...why have you not hired any clerks for OT 09 yet? need more members of the elect to crush on!4:21 PM Apr 9th from web"

ok, time to pack for my vacay -- I'll be within the jurisidiction of the 9th circuit tomorrow!

photo from npr.

Article iii groupie Action

2009-04-30T06:11:00.000-07:00

Finals time is the best and worst time to start blogging. You procrastinate by reading loads of random articles that tickle your fancy, but you don't want to waste precious study time to write them up in a blog no one reads as of yet? With one more exam to go, I've succumb to the pressures to share:

* Dahlia Litwick on Supreme Court shennanigans over voting rights act:
"It's too bad you cannot watch oral argument from this morning live on C-SPAN , because when the court opts to act like a Super-Congress—albeit a smarter, better looking Super-Congress with less hair—we really should be allowed to watch."
Say oyez to CSPAN for SCOTUS?

* Nino responds to Fordham Law Prof's valiant quest for cute grandchildren pictures on Above the Law. Oh, silliness!

* My own excursions into internet information digging has revealed that you can find out the birthdays of particular members of the Elect, if they happen to be members of law school faculty -- as many of them turn out to be. Happy searching! I found out that my favourite prof (the Souter Clerk) is a Pieces, oops February 15, actually makes him an Aquarius.

* Stanford Celebrity Prof Larry Lessig (tried to link to his blog but it's down) is on twitter. I must be a little slow on this twitter action 10,939 of my fellow legal-ites are already following him. Aside from his fabulousness in his leadership on the Creative Commons movement and, he is also mentor to another member of the Elect that I have a huge crush on, excuse me, admire fondly for his surpassing intelligence and insight.

Law Nerd-ing it!

2009-04-24T06:49:00.000-07:00

twitter + gchat status updates and emails to my fellow law-ly friends cannot contain all my law nerdiness. so i've decided to start a blog -- before i scare off all my friends with my extreme nerdiness.

i'm a huge fan of legal blogs and musings (read: ATL, scotusblog, amDaily) and love following (erm stalking?) particular members of the Elect.

so here we go, first post to come soon!