Graduation: The Second Most Anticipated Finale This Year

(I'll give you three guesses on #1.)

Someone in the thread below suggested we provide a forum for 3Ls saying goodbye this week. I had planned on posting something touching and sentimental after commencement, but for now, the commenter suggested we post one thing we'll miss about Boalt and one thing we won't. Given my decidedly mixed feelings on the subject, this seems appropriate. I'll go first.

I will miss: many of the people I encountered over the last three years.

I will not miss: many of the people I encountered over the last three years.

Just kidding, you're all great. Except you. You know who you are.

How to Lose an Offer in Ten Weeks?

With summer associate programs just around the corner (ours starts on Monday I believe), I thought the lucky 2Ls headed in to work this summer might appreciate some tales of advice from us alums.

Alums, lay upon us your horror stories that result in previous summer associates receiving that dreaded "no offer."

2Ls, lay upon us your inquiries and such (e.g., When a partner orders an Arnold Palmer, is it ok to order a Jack and Coke? It isn't.)

And good luck to everyone this summer.

So, it's Kagan

Many speculated that Obama nominate the successor to Justice Stevens tonight. They were right.

It will be current Solicitor General Elena Kagan. Those who feel the Court should have more women, or a greater presence from non-judges will likely be pleased. As will those who (like me) hope this rumor is true - the Court needs diversity here more than anywhere else. On the other hand, those who are concerned about the vitality of Roe v. Wade, or the non-vitality of Citizens United, may be less pleased. Of course, her doctrinal views on hot-button issues are speculative and not likely to emerge any time soon. I'm still trying to figure out Alito, much less Sotomayor or Kagan.

If you care to read more, Tom Goldstein's post at SCOTUSblog gives a particularly insightful rundown of how her nomination is likely to unfold, here. All in all I find this exciting - not exciting by non-law school standards, but hey: we are who we have become.

Ant Eaters in Your Pants

UCI School of Law just announced the numbers for its incoming class and the result is impressive.  A hearty congratulations to Dean O for a successful second admissions cycle.  I guess this is the silver lining to the dark cloud of Boalt losing her as Dean of Students. 

But Still...

When word of the arrest of Faisal Shahzad got out last night, I was tempted to write a post betting that within 12 hours, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) would be on the record calling the administration a bunch of pansies for Mirandizing a US citizen who has committed a crime.  Well, I was right.

Someone from the Right really needs to explain the following contradictions to me:

Government is the problem.  Therefore we can trust it to act as judge, jury, interrogator, and executioner.

Obama was born in a third-world country.  Therefore, the administration must act like one when it comes to crime and punishment.

The administration is turning this country socialist.  Therefore, we must borrow every confession-inducing method described by Alexander Solzhenytsin, make undesirables "disappear," trample on the principle of an independent court system, etc. etc. etc.  

Of course, the political discourse has shifted so far to the right, that when a member of the House thinks that we should ignore 200+ years of constitutional rights that originated from a fight against executive abuses, well no one really bats an eye.  WTF?  Either we're all being sensitized to abuses of power, or deep down we think it's ok when the suspect has a name that's hard to pronounce.

UPDATE:  Upon further reflection, I think it's a mistake on my part to focus on blowhard comments from King and McCain.  The real story here is the successful inter-agency law enforcement efforts.  Here are two posts from the VC on the topic:  a) tracking the identity of Shahzad and b) nabbing him before departure.

UPDATE 2:  You can listen to the ATC tape of Emirates Flight 202 being ordered back to the gate here.   I'm not an expert in the field, but I do enjoy listening to United's channel 9 whenever available.  Listening to this tape, it sounds like 202 is in the middle of taxiing to the runway for take-off.  The ground controller informs him that he will be first in line to take off and hands him off to the tower controller handling takeoffs.  The mental image I have is the plane is just about to reach the end of the runway to get final takeoff clearance.  Instead the tower controller orders a left turn back to the gate.  So how long before take off at that point?  I'd say one minute tops, but more like 30 seconds away from rolling down the runway.  But I think we could have ordered the plane to return if it was still in our territorial airspace.  Plus flight plans from NY to Europe and the Middle East call for flight over Canadian airspace.  Nevertheless, talk about cutting it close.  And imagine the stench in this guy's pants when the plane turned away from the runway and headed back. 

Straight From the Horse's Mouth: Spring 2010

It's time for the biannual professor quotes thread. See threads from previous years here.

If one were to graph my performance with respect to professor quotes since the beginning of law school, it would look a lot like the NASDAQ in late 2008. Sorry about that. What I do have from my classes this semester is posted in the comments.

As always, feel free to contribute, and best of luck on your exams!