Spring Semesters

As classmates return to class I want to point out that law school spring semester has a few differences than the fall semester (this is especially important for 1Ls)

1. You may be in a second part of a class (Torts, Civ Pro, Property, Contracts, Constitutional Law, etc.).  This means that you will continue to learn about the same topic, BUT will not review all that was learned in the fall semester..
     -DO NOT waste time on exams reciting details form concepts you learned and covered in the fall.     -DO mention concepts on the exam, but don't go into details
     -DO remember concepts, just because Torts 1 is don't forget it
    -DO keep those notes handy, but you don't need to review them for exams.
2. I suggest that you get two binders (about 1 1/2" wide) one for each semester
     -Put material from Property 1 in the first binder and then keep it out on a bookshelf in the Spring
     -Put material from Property 2 in second binder and keep that with you for studying
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3. Flashcards from Civ. Pro. 1 can be stored, but keep them handy in case you need to review a concept.
    -Flashcards should also be stored and saved so that you can use them for review at Bar time
     -Consider premade flashcards that you can add notes to (great to add state specific items

***Something link Critical Pass Flahscards can help with both classes and MBE bar prep***
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4. At some point during the semester, you will realize the weather is nice and you want to study outside or read outside.  DO IT!  Don't confine yourself to only studying inside, unless you are allergic to the outdoors, being outside is important.  You get Vitamin D from the sun, and more importantly it helps you relax and destress.  Research has show that blood pressure can drop just from being outside and looking at nature.
5. If it is your first semester, have an idea of what your GPA is and then figure out what the absolute worst you can do on all your exams is without dropping to a 2.0 or lower.  It sounds counter-intuitive, but knowing how bad you can perform and stay in law school actually helps.  I realized that I could get an F on one exam, and other than the headache of trying to retake the class I would still be able to stay in law school, and more realistically that I could get a D in Torts (my hardest class) and still be fine if I got a B in Legal Writing and Research (which was my strongest).
6. If it is your last semester, realize that you can't fail a class that is required to graduate or that you need the credits to reach your minimum required credits to graduate.  HOWEVER, you don't need to knock it out of the park either.  You need to pass your classes to graduate, but they will not drop you out of law school if you somehow end up getting a D in every single one of your classes your last semester.  Please try and pass, but realize it doesn't have to be a wow knock it out of the park grade.

Consider getting Amazing Prime for Students, because you can get supplies (like index cards or flashcards above) and prep material with free 2 day shopping.  Also, you will benefit from the video and music access during bar prep time.

Why do they wait to tell you this?

Filling out the application to take the bar, usually you don't hear about it until your last year in law school.  However, being an evening student with a full-time job this advice would have been nice to know.  Thankfully, I had classmates that were a class ahead of me and gave me some of this advice.  I read this article in Student Lawyer, and thought it was funny that this advice is given so rarely.
http://www.americanbar.org/publications/student_lawyer/2014-15/december/ready_set_go.html
If you are in law school, or if you are considering going to law school save this article and look at it now, and again after you complete your first year of law school.

Key take aways:
-make a list of every place you have ever lived
-make a list of every job you have ever had
-look at the application often so you know what you will have to answer
-submit it sooner rather than later, once you are within the allowable window

Buy stock in index cards

Flash cards are key to law school success, even if you do an outline, make flashcards.  They will help with Bar Prep after you graduate, and they are easy to take with you as you.
White ones are the best
White Index Cards
Colored Index cards are good for things like the Model Penal Code, quoting the Constitution, or straight definitions
Glow Colored Index Cards
Rainbow Colored Index Cards

Index cards really are golden and very helpful.  If I knew how many I would go through I would have bought stock in an index card company before I started law school.

reading and briefing cases - tip I wish I knew my first year

When reading and briefing cases I wish someone had told me the benefits of color coding my notes and what I highlight.
I suggest using the green for the plaintiff/state/group that initiated the suit, orange for the defendant/accused/one being sued.  I also use pink to highlight the issue/question that the case decides and the rule or take away.  Blue can be used for noting the cases that are cited in the case you are reading or dissent if it is important.  I use yellow to highlight anything important that is not one of the above (such as another rule that I may want to remember or use the wording for it in an essay).  Purple is what I use to note what my professor feels is important in the case (either staring my previous notes or adding to them).

Notes for briefing the case can be color coded the same. My favorite pens to use for this are
Pentel Wow
Staedtler Maxum
PaperMate

Yes, there are extra colors in the above mentioned packs, but that is OK, you can use them to for other notes or if you want to note definitions or material from other sources.
A great free legal dictionary is Nolo's Free Dictionary of Law Terms and Legal Definitions

Don't forget highlighters if you are highlighting or book briefing (I am in my last year of law school and was one that never felt confident with book briefing, but I know people who can do it).
Ticonderoga
PaperMate
Sharpie

I wish I would have been given these hints earlier, I am hoping by sharing it may help others as they go through law school.

Michael H. v. Gerald D. afterwards

Michael H. v. Gerald D., 491 U.S. 110 (1989)
I have now read this case twice, once in Family Law and once in Constitutional Law.  Justia has the opinion that can be read here for free.  https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/491/110/

The case amazes me, mainly because there is DNA genetic evidence that the husband is not the girl's biological father.  In each class discussion the question of what would be different if this had been a divorced mother whose daughter had visitation to her dad compared to what happened here?
In 1989 maybe the definition of family was different than it is now, but divorce and shared custody was occurring at this time.

In any case, the aftermath is what usually interests me.
While I think I found the mother and who the husband and daughter are, it is not appropriate to post their photos or information here.  At the time this happened the girl was a child and her privacy should be respected.
However, what impresses me was that Michael kept fighting to see his daughter, and the court continued to rule against him. (http://articles.latimes.com/1992-06-21/magazine/tm-1114_1_supreme-court)

Johnson v. California = strict scrutiny - after remand

In Constitutional Law you may read a case about the California prison system and an unwritten policy that upon entering a new facility prisoners were racially segregated for up to 60 days while backgrounds were checked.  California claimed it was to try and reduce racially based gangs from fighting. This would seem like a compelling state interest based on the historic background with California Prisons and gang violence (http://www.businessinsider.com/most-dangerous-prison-gangs-in-the-us-2014-2).

However the Supreme Court determined that no matter what when there is racial classifications the strict scrutiny test must be used.
Supreme Court opinion can be found https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/541/428/
and the definition of strict scrutiny you can visit http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/strict_scrutiny

What happened after Johnson v. California was reserved and remanded was slightly harder to find out.  On page 294 of the following article Racial Desegregation in Prisons from The Prison Journal it is stated that on remand the matter was settled through mediation and the California Prison System policy would change.

City of Ladue v. Horn, 720 S.W.2d 745 (Missouri, 1986) - what started it?

If you have been in Family Law you probably read this case about a zoning ordinance that defined what a family is and said that Horn and the man she was living with (but not married to) did not fit this definition.  Well, if you are like me you probably wondered what would have started this case.
Did a neighbor complain?
Did the police just do a random spot check?
Was this a family that was always getting in trouble and the neighbors wanted them out of the area?
Who paid the legal fees to take it this far?
Looking at the date you would hope it wasn't a racial discrimination, issue.  Looking at the area and the what research was going on at a nearby university at the time you would think this area would be a little more liberal and welcoming of diverse families.  Nope!
What is believed to be the cause follows below.
Joan Kelly Horn's white daughter was dating a St. Louis Football player, who was black.  He would come and spend time at the family's home and a neighbor was upset that in an affluent white neighborhood a black man was playing in the yard with Jones and Horn's children.  Both Jones and Horn worked at the university and knew several lawyers with the ACLU, and it was the ACLU who paid the legal costs.
Please see attached link and read pages 197-199 for the full background on the story.
If the link does not work you can find the information in the book Not Just Roommates: Cohabitation After the Sexual Revolution by Elizabeth H. Peck.  I found it on Google Books.

Sadly, as of the Spring of 2014 this ordinance is still on the books and Jones and Horns with their children living in the house would still be violating it. Please see the link below and read page 65 to see what the City of Ladue defines as a family.
http://www.cityofladue-mo.gov/uploads/Ordinances/Ordinance1175.pdf 


On a happier note Joan Kelly Horn was elected to The House of Representatives