Getting into the swing of things

So far so good. It's been almost two full weeks now since the substantive classes started, and I still am managing to keep up with the reading and the assignments for the most part. I've managed to over-schedule myself just a little bit by getting elected as Blue Pod Representative for the Student Bar association, and joining the official blogging crew for the school, but I feel like this is all part of enriching the law school experience, which means I can rationalize the extra time spent at school on non-class activities.

The key now is finding a balance that allows me to keep up with the reading on an ongoing basis, and also allows for some social outlets, too. WalkFast has lost a member, so there is also some extra stress related to finding a drummer for the band, but that's a relatively minor concern at this point. The bigger struggle will be finding a balance between my personal need for some time alone and the need to engage fully in all the various commitments I've made.

Still, we are in the exciting part of law school, the discovery and exploration phase. I expect a lot of folks will start to get burned out and demotivated as the term goes on, but I hope to counteract this tendency by keeping myself busy and providing myself with alternative outlets. This is a very stimulating environment, intellectually and socially, so for me the key is to get engaged without getting overwhelmed. I feel like being a representative on SBA will be a good outlet, but I am even more certain that my outside interests in music and sports will be the key to maintaining my sanity.

This past weekend provided a few solid hours of homework to complete, as well as an awesome rafting trip on the lower McKenzie. I feel like I'm already working hard to maintain the balance between school and the rest of my life. Clearly law school is a time sink that can take whatever you give it. The key is to give it enough time without letting yourself be consumed. Outside interests are key, but I feel like engaging in school beyond the classroom is also a partial antidote to the problem of being overly immersed in class.

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.