This week's Syber Student is Flagondry! Read her info, ask her questions and earn 100 points for each question asked. This week I am also throwing in a mystery bonus prize of extra points (lots of points!). I will be looking for a secret word in your questions.

Here is Flagondry's info - have fun!

What is your major?

I'm in law school, about to finish my second year.

What courses are you currently taking?

Advanced Evidence - with a focus on testimonial privileges.

Constitutional Law II (focus on individual rights and liberties)

Criminal Justice

What are your strengths and weaknesses as a student? (i.e. good at class participation, bad at testing, etc.)

Strengths: I love to participate in class and am generally pretty good about thinking things through before I open my mouth. I'm also a pretty decent writer, which really helps for exams in law school, though not enough if you don't spend enough time studying the material. Which leads me to.....

Weaknesses: I am a MAJOR procrastinator. I mean, as in "saving 25 page paper unti the night before" type procrastinator. I'm usually good about researching in advance, but I totally stress myself out. Also, this semester one of my big weaknesses has been my inability to separate school life from home life. My school work has really suffered as a result.

What is your favorite subject - the one that comes easiest to you?

Anything practitioner-oriented -- Evidence has been my favorite subject, so far.

What is your least favorite subject - the one that you have to work twice as hard at?

Constitutional Law. I love the material, but my brain functions better with hard and fast rules, not so well with the philosophical.

What is your idea of a great teacher?

A teacher who not only has an expert grasp of the material but who understands how to relate to people and, so, can make even the most mundane subject engaging. That combination seems to be a rare find in the academic community. My Property teacher is a perfect example. With anyone else, the class would have been a yawnfest. He was enthusiastic, humorous, had great stories and somehow managed to build this dynamic in class where we all wanted to prove to him that we were really working and understanding. He also wore a clown suit (complete with red nose and big shoes) to class on Halloween. That always helps.

What sort of law do you want to go into?

Do you 100% believe in our judicial system?

Do you like to watch law and order?

Is it realistic? Medical people always say ER is comical so I was wondering what law people think of law and order.

Is law school as hard as most people think it is?

When do you graduate?

What is the hardest thing/project/or whatever that you've had to do so far?

Are most of your professors members of the bar?

I assume with the 3 classes you are taking you are a full-time student?

What University do you attend?

What do you think of parole? Is it Constitional?

What particular case did you find the most fascinating and why?

Private practice? Public defender? Big firm? Small firm?

With almost every class that I have in education, I find that my opinions chane to a degree. How, if at all, have any of your opinions changed since entering this field of study?

How does pro bono (sp?) work work?

When will you take the bar?

What made you decide you wanted to be a lawyer?

How will you handle defending a client you think is guilty?

how old are your kids? (or kid)

how do you balance time with them and schoolwork?

who does the majority of the cleaning in your house?

what kind of student loan bill will you have when you graduate?

do you think it has been worth it so far going to school full time and being a mom??

What sort of law do you want to go into?

I'm still not sure. Right now I'm thinking of either trying for the Securities & Exchange Commission or going into a large plaintiff's firm. But for the first few years out, I have a feeling I'll be taking most anything that will pay off the mondo amount of loans. Eventually I'd like to do child advocacy - either non-profit or pro bono - and maybe be a judge.

Do you 100% believe in our judicial system?

That's a hard one. I love the fact that defendants are protected, but I hate when someone else's screw-up causes a guilty person to go free. Sometimes I love judicial activism (when it works in favor of my politics ), but I'm not so sure that it's a good thing in the long run.

Do you like to watch law and order?

Yes! Too much... It sometimes gets in the way of my schoolwork (but if I try hard enough, I can convince myself that's it's just as helpful as reading cases).

Is it realistic? Medical people always say ER is comical so I was wondering what law people think of law and order.

I haven't spent hardly any time in a courtroom, but I do think that the political side of the DA's office that is sometimes shown is pretty realistic and it's refreshingly realistic that the good guy doesn't always win. According to the two judges who taught me Evidence, though, that whole backpedalling thing that the attorneys do so frequently - where they say something they know they're not supposed to say and then quickly say, "Withdrawn!" in response to the objection - is not very realistic. They said that it's one of the surefire ways to get yourself a) a contempt charge and b) hauled before a disciplinary committee.

Is law school as hard as most people think it is?

Yeah.

The thing that's *not* true - at least in my experience - is that the hard part is the first year. The first year is definitely challenging because the learning curve is very steep. You're learning an entirely new way of thinking and communicating (both in verbal and written form). But the second year is harder, IMO, because it's an extreme juggling act. You're having to look for jobs (which is a REALLY complex process) at the same time that you're trying to handle more advanced courses. If you're not certain that you want to work for a firm, then the job search can last almost the entire school year. And even if you do want to go into a firm, it will suck up so much of your fall semester that before you know it, you're scrambling to get SOMETHING prepared for exams.

When do you graduate?

If all goes well (knock on wood), in May 2006. My program is four years because I go just under full time.

What is the hardest thing/project/or whatever that you've had to do so far?

The stinkin' 25-page-paper. It was on a subject I knew nothing about going in and it's the first time that I've had to put together a written work that incorporated so many sources.

Are most of your professors members of the bar?

I think most, if not all, are. My school seems to prefer to take on people who have a lot of experience in the field, rather than life-long academics. Many of my professors have argued in front of the Supreme Court, so they'd have to have been admitted to the SC Bar. We also have a lot of adjunct faculty teaching evening courses who are actively in practice.

Quote:

I assume with the 3 classes you are taking you are a full-time student?

I am an evening student, so I take less credits than a regular day student. They don't call it part-time, because we take more than half of the number of credit hours.

What University do you attend?

I'm at Georgetown in Washington, DC

Hm. I honestly don't know what I think of it. I think that I have less of a problem with it for non-violent crimes. For violent crimes, it makes me pretty edgy. For sex offenders - I tend to think they should never get out, but that's speaking as a woman and a mom moreso than a law student. As for constitutionality, I can't think of a reason that the Constitution would be implicated. In the reverse scenario (no parole), I suppose their could be a constitutional implication (maybe under the 8th Amendment for "cruel and unusual punishment), but that would be a hefty stretch.

What particular case did you find the most fascinating and why?

It's cliche to say, but Marbury v. Madison is really fascinating. Probably why it's still the first case you read in Constitutional Law. It's amazing to me the way the Supreme Court managed to grant itself such extensive power (of judicial review) while, at the same time, appeasing the politicians and actually giving the appearance of limiting its powers. The ramifications didn't become apparent for awhile, but it's at the root of this whole judicial activism "problem" that everyone gets up in arms about.

Private practice? Public defender? Big firm? Small firm?

Good question. Most likely private practice or government, hopefully with plenty of pro bono thrown in. I'd prefer a small firm, but if I end up in a firm, it'll probably be a larger one to begin with (because they're usually the ones hiring).

With almost every class that I have in education, I find that my opinions chane to a degree. How, if at all, have any of your opinions changed since entering this field of study?

I've noticed that I'm not so quick to have an opinion.

Seriously, I've learned that nothing - including right and wrong - is nearly as black and white as I used to think. I'm learning to take the whole picture into account before coming to a conclusion.

I've also become more of a "baby steps to the elevator" person. Studying law has made me more aware that every, single, tiny facet of a situation contributes to the end result.

How does pro bono (sp?) work work?

It really depends. If you're a solo practitioner, then it works however you'd like it to work.

If you're with a firm, then it depends on their policy. Some firms allow a certain amount of pro bono hours to be counted toward your billable hours and actually set an expected number of pro bono hours for an attorney to take on. So, they pay you as though you were working for a paying client. More and more firms are doing this now, fortunately. The ABA (American Bar Association) has a yearly pro bono challenge and all of the large firms are evaluated at the end of the year, so I think it's become quite competitive to be charitable. Typical lawyers.

The way it generally works within a firm (this is what I've found in my research, anyway) is that the firm will have a Pro Bono Coordinator to whom you submit any project you'd like to work on, and the Coordinator decides if you should. Some firms also are dedicated to certain projects and their attorneys do a lot of their pro bono work on those.

Of course, you can always take on work outside... but most attorneys are trying their damndest to meet billable hours requirements and still maintain a personal life, so it's nice that the firms are stepping up to the plate somewhat.

When will you take the bar?

Probably not until the end of 2006 or the beginning of 2007.

What made you decide you wanted to be a lawyer?

I love to argue.

Really, it seems to be a natural direction for me. I'm very much a logic-oriented person and it just sort of made sense for me to do this. Fortunately, so far I feel like it's really been the right decision.

How will you handle defending a client you think is guilty?

I hope to never be in that situation. I have absolutely no desire to be a public defender or to work in a criminal defense firm. If I do, for some reason, end up there, I suppose I'd have to keep in mind the greater good - standing up for the process. But I'd probably have to go home every night and throw up.

how old are your kids? (or kid)

Just one. He's 3.5.

how do you balance time with them and schoolwork?

I'm in school in the evenings and his dad (we're separated) is a schoolteacher. So I'm home with him during the day, and he hangs out with his dad in the evenings while I'm in class and then spends the night with me. Then, his dad takes him one day on the weekends so that I can study and the other day I have with him.

The only way I can balance it is by either working really late into the night or getting up way too early in the morning. And then, when I'm being mom, I've tried to let go of school and be completely mom. Otherwise, I'm a stress case and it's no fun for either of us.

who does the majority of the cleaning in your house?

I'm the only adult now, so it's all me. But even when I wasn't the only adult, it was still all me. Now I have one less person to clean up after.

what kind of student loan bill will you have when you graduate?

I have almost $40,000 from undergraduate that's being deferred. And I'll have a little over $120,000 from law school. So, by the time I get out, it'll probably be around $170,000-$180,000 total with interest having accrued.

I get hives thinking about it.

do you think it has been worth it so far going to school full time and being a mom??

It has totally been worth it. If I wasn't in school, I'd be working to pay off my undergraduate loans and just to get by. That would probably either mean daycare for ds or that I'd be working overnight and not get to put him to bed. This way, I get to maximize my time with him while he's small, and I get to work toward something that's going to make a better future for the two of us.

It's hard, but it's SO worth it.

Do you think sex offenders can be rehabilitated?

Do you agree with a sex offender registry?

Is it appropriate for juveniles to be tried as an adult?

Do you agree with the death penalty?

Could you defend someone or prosecute someone who could be put to death?

Why a lawyer?

Should possession of Marijuana be decriminalized?

Do you agree with the seal hunt in Canada?

Nix "why a lawyer". I see it's been asked.

do you plan on wearing "Ally McBeal" micromini skirts in open court?

Could you get me out of jury duty?

Do you think less of people who want to get out of jury duty?

Really, though: do you think the American justice system is still as racist as it always was?

Do you support the death penalty?

Under what circumstances would you support the death penalty?

How will you feel about practicing law while John Ashcroft is the Attorney General?

Does the Attorney General have a lot of impact on law in the whole country? Or just in federal cases? (really, I don't know.)

What are the levels of court?

Excuse my ignorance but I used to think there was just 1 supreme court and after watching law and order i think i'm wrong. Is there one per district? city? state? or is there really just one? I feel stupid asking this.

How does one become a judge?

What kind of money do they make?

I thought of another one.

How does bail work? Does the bondsman actually pay the full amount of the set bail price? Do they get ever get the bail money back? Actually just explain the whole thing to me please.

i]Originally posted by gogogirl [/i]
Do you think sex offenders can be rehabilitated?

I think this might be more of a question for a budding criminal psychologist but my layman's answer would be no. I tend to think they can't be fully rehabilitated, though their actions might be curtailed with drugs.

Do you agree with a sex offender registry?

It's not something I'm entirely comfortable with. But it's something I'd be even more uncomfortable not having. And I don't think it infringes upon people's constitutional rights (because there's really no solidly consitutionally grounded right to privacy).

Is it appropriate for juveniles to be tried as an adult?

I don't believe so. But I also don't think that juveniles are dealt with in the most appropriate way. For instance, I don't think it's okay for a 14-year-old murderer to serve seven years and then have his record sealed for the same crime that an 18-year-old would serve 25 years for.

Do you agree with the death penalty?

I am solidly on the fence.

Could you defend someone or prosecute someone who could be put to death?

For prosecuting, it would depend on the crime and whether or not I had enough proof that the person was actually guilty. I'm not sure if I could defend someone. But that goes back to my having no desire to practice criminal defense.

Should possession of Marijuana be decriminalized?

More than decriminalized - it should be made legal and should be taxed.

Do you agree with the seal hunt in Canada?

Poor seals.

Originally posted by MeMeMe
do you plan on wearing "Ally McBeal" micromini skirts in open court?

Only if they come up with a miracle cure for cellulite sometime in the next 2 years.

Could you get me out of jury duty?

I probably couldn't get myself out of jury duty.

Do you think less of people who want to get out of jury duty?

Not really. I do wish that people would want to serve on a jury, though. Everyone I've ever spoken to has said that they didn't want to do it, but it ended up being one of the most amazing, enlightening experiences they've had.

Really, though: do you think the American justice system is still as racist as it always was?

Not on the level it used to be, no. There are black attorneys, black judges (one of the most highly esteemed Supreme Court judges was black), black people are able to serve on juries, etc.

I do think, though, that the system is flawed when it comes to treating defendants of color equally. But I think this has as much to do with the legislative bodies as it does with the judicial system.


How will you feel about practicing law while John Ashcroft is the Attorney General?

I feel as though it's my duty to be a strong, female attorney while the misogynistic freak is still around.

I might have reservations about working for DOJ while he's there, but, then again, it might be a chance to make a difference, even on a small level.

Does the Attorney General have a lot of impact on law in the whole country? Or just in federal cases? (really, I don't know.)

He definitely has an impact in the sense that he's responsible for advising the President on legal matters (so there's the trickle-down effect). He also represents the United States in choice cases, and probably does have a fair bit of impact on regulations coming down from some administrative agencies (which, in this day, function pretty much as laws passed by Congress). Also, as head of the Department of Justice, I'd think he can somewhat steer the course of federal law in the sense that he could direct what cases are litigated. But that's about all I know about his impact....

Originally posted by Tigobitty
What are the levels of court? [/quote]

Each state has its own set of courts to hear matters that are solely within the province of the states and also matters that may be heard on a federal court level. (The types of cases that states may hear - referred to as "subject matter jurisdiction" - is not limited in the same way that the subject matter jurisdiction of federal courts is.) Generally, states have three levels of courts - trial, appellate, and supreme (the final appellate level). Some states only have 2 levels. And some states break their trial level courts into different types of courts - family, juvenile, etc.

Federal courts have 3 levels. The trial courts are the District Courts. The appellate courts are the Circuit Courts (there are 13 circuits in the country). And the highest court is, of course, the Supreme Court.

If the federal courts rule on a federal question (stemming from federal legislation) or a Constitutional matter, then the states must give deference to those opinions (if it's the Supreme Court, then all states have to abide by the decision, otherwise, the states need only recognize the decisions in their judicial circuits or districts). The federal courts generally do not have the power to review state matters except in limited circumstances - either where they've been specifically granted original or appellate jurisdiction by the Constitution in Article III or subsequently by Congress, or where there is diversity of jurisdiction (where all parties are from different states and there is are damages greater than $75,000 at stake).

I think that's about it? Don't feel stupid asking it. It's kind of confusing... I had to rack my brain a little to come up with that answer.


How does one become a judge?

Federal judges are subject to an appointment and approval process by the President and Congress.

State judges are either elected or appointed - it depends on the state.

What kind of money do they make?

I have no idea... but they certainly do dress well.

Yikes. I really don't know. I haven't taken Criminal Law yet. Maybe ask me next spring?