Reality Bites (Legal Elements)

This week in legal elements, we're doing a crash course in common law, statutes and judicial interpretation. I was all set to post about Scalia's strange dissent in Lawrence v. Texas, but I will have to post my critique at some other time.

Reality has instead intruded into my legal education in a rather unexpected way. Last night I was en route to an immediate care facility with my best friend, and on the way we had a very minor fender bender accident. We stopped to exchange information with the other driver, who apparently did not speak English. He was provided all of our vital information for insurance, license, etc - but refused to produce his license or share his own information.

Since there was little else we could do, we decided to go on our way and let the insurance company deal with the situation.

The other driver had a different idea. Rather than let us go on our way, he elected to try to physically detain us. As we tried to drive away, he grabbed the car door, and then crawled into the moving vehicle, assaulting my friend who was screaming at him to get off her while attempting to drive. He sat on her, grabbed at her keys (breaking the key to the car), and in the process threw a burning cigarette into the car, while also causing a laceration to my friend's hand. She stopped the car, but the man refused to get out of the car even then, so we were forced to call 911 for police assistance.

From our perspective, this was basically an attempt at a carjacking - but according to the responding officers, his conduct was not heinous enough to justify taking him into custody. We were told that his conduct did not rise to the level of assault - that he could be charged with "harassment", but that this would also be unlikely to stick in court.

I still feel there is a pretty sound cause of action, and that it would be in the interests of justice to pursue remedies against the other driver. Hopefully the insurance company can assist, but it certainly is a reality check that even vicious, violent and objectively heinous acts may be excused or condoned by the State simply failing to prosecute.

Even if the criminal nature of his actions can't be adjudicated, I'm hopeful that a civil remedy will present itself through the insurance process. It strikes me as wrong that someone could act so violently with no actual repercussions.

It was difficult and required a great deal of restraint on my part to refrain from harming this violent individual. I feel that I would have been well within the realm of self defense even if I had punched him out cold - but as I am trying to pursue a career in the law, I felt that it would be best to let the authorities handle the situation. Still, if faced with a similar situation in the future, I might not act with such restraint. There really is a time and place for self defense, and I may be more willing to act with force to protect myself and the safety of my friends in the future.

I'm also tempted to use this as a test case for my torts class, to see what remedies might be available. Hoping to at least salvage some educational value from the experience.

AEP week 2

The first week of the Summer Institute at L&C was mostly fun, with lots of introductions, networking, and just a little bit of reading and writing. The second week has started out a little more serious, with a visit from Prof. Steverson, who brought her Socratic skills from Harvard to our AEP classroom. I can tell that this is going to be a challenging academic experience, but it also seems like there is a great deal of potential for fun at the same time.

Last Friday Walkfast had a show at the Rock Bottom, and this was well attended by other 1L students looking to relax and build their networks. We brought together some students from the AEP with others from the 1L class, and everybody had a great time. It's been a good opportunity to practice my own networking skills, and I expect that will be true of my entire career in law school and beyond.

I didn't really appreciate or understand the value of networking very well until I came to Portland. I tended to be a loner and not very social, and only found limited opportunities to expand my circle of friends and acquaintances. Since my first fateful visit to the NWSCC, I have slowly come to realize not only the awesome power of building a social and professional network, but the great fun that comes with meeting new people.

I doubt that anyone is really "ready" for all the challenges of law school, but I do feel that the past five years have been a period of self reflection, personal growth and consciousness expanding that will provide a better foundation for success in law school, and in life. Thanks for being part of it.

AEP

Today is the second day of the Academic Enhancement Program at Lewis and Clark. This is a program designed to provide extra guidance, support and direction for incoming students as they transition into the study of law. Our first day consisted of introductions among ourselves, followed by an informal lunch with local alums, and our first homework from the law school.

This morning, we backtracked to address the issue of diversity and the nature of the challenges that we will be facing as 1L students. Have to admit, changing to part time is tempting, but I know myself too well - if I give myself too much slack, I'll be sure to find a way to hang myself.

Still, it's worthy of some thought. I'll also be pondering the possibility of overseas exchange as well, possibly to China. Anything that is interesting and differentiates me from the herd, right?