Moot (Maybe)

I had my first experience with moot court this week. My Torts professor arranged for a local lawyer to come argue a case before a handful of “judges” (law professors or similar) in W&M’s courtroom. It gave him an opportunity to practice an appellate case he’s working on, and it gave my class a taste of a real courtroom case. Our guest argued the plaintiff’s side and my professor argued the defendant’s.

It was interesting to listen to. Shortly into the lawyer’s arguments, the judges interrupted with questions. The end result, rather than a TV lawyer type speech, was a four on one conversation with the judges pushing as hard as they could (in a respectful, dignified way) against the lawyer’s rationale. Of course, my professor received the same treatment. It’s kind of odd to hear the judges suddenly switch their arguments to the other side. And it gave my brain a good workout in trying to keep up.

It was a good illustration of the unknown, grey areas in the law. In fact, there is very seldom a black-and-white “right” answer in law school. The answer is usually maybe. Or probably. Or “we think this is what it means.” Or, “we’re not sure and it would be really nice if the Supreme Court would clarify this for us.” My Torts professor has told us repeatedly, “If you came to law school looking for answers, you might as well head right back out the door.”

And it actually makes sense to have all that fuzzy grey area. If there is a black and white answer, you don’t need a lawyer. As another professor mentioned early in the semester, no one hires a lawyer to tell them what the speed limit is.

Maybe that’s why law school feels so different from other academic endeavors. It’s not about learning facts and knowing answers. The lawyer’s harvest is greater when there are more grey areas.

Switching gears away from the law school front, we had a Relief Society activity on Saturday where I tried to live up to my name and quilt a few stitches on a ward service project quilt (I was pretty slow – I prefer tying quilts to the stitching part).

I’ve also taken to watching Studio C (on YouTube). The comedy is a little over the top sometimes, but it feels good to laugh and it’s nice to watch something lighthearted after reading casebooks (especially the criminal law one).

Outside, a bunch of leaves have now fallen off the trees. There are so many still on the branches that it’s hardly made a dent, but there are certainly rake-able quantities. Leaf blowers are showing up on campus. The trees are generally still green, but perhaps a little less vibrant than before.

So I guess fall has arrived. Maybe.

Geese on the lake closest to my apartment.

My new cutting board (etched glass from yesterday's RS activity).