Warming Back Up

It took a little bit of work to get back in study mode after the break. But it helps to have new subjects to study.

First is Property Law. In the first three classes, we discussed such various topics as the ownership of a fox pelt, a hunted whale, a record home run baseball, a famous name, a famous singer’s voice, and a TV star’s persona. Well, the actual issues are more subtle than that, but not interesting enough to take time explaining.

Next is Constitutional Law, which is much more along the lines of what I expected to do in law school. My professor is teaching it from the perspective of the social and political pressures that influence the Supreme Court, which is an interesting approach. We’ve had readings besides court cases, which is a nice change.

My third doctrinal class for the semester is Contracts Law. My professor began class by debating with our TA whether they had a contract last semester when she asked him to promote the t-shirts she was selling for bar review (and if they did have a contract, whether he had broken it). He then allowed us to negotiate the syllabus and had us submit our own contractual version as a proposal for the class syllabus.

Ultimately the professor rejected all of our submissions and used his own; though a classmate pointed out that the students are in a significantly disadvantaged position for negotiating, so it’s doubtful whether certain provisions of the syllabus contract would be enforceable. Not to mention one provision we’ve found is, if not illegal, certainly not enforceable under any circumstances. I’m guessing we’ll find more issues in the syllabus throughout the semester.

The professor went further by specifically breaching the syllabus contract during our third class. When a student called him on it, we had a long discussion regarding the necessary remedy (which dovetailed perfectly with the topic for the day).  It was a great object lesson.

The topics this semester are less dramatic than last semester’s, but there’s potential for some interesting ideas. (Mostly I’m just glad Criminal Law is over.)

Outside of school, my week was marked with one very cold (for Williamsburg) day (somewhere around 14 degrees). The temperature then jumped up to 70 degrees a day or two later, which makes me feel like spring is here…in the first half of January. The trees are bare, but the illusion is enhanced by green lawns and numerous chirping birds. My classmates from warm climates might disagree, but I’m still hoping for a little bit of snow.