Brown Boy Blog

This post along with the many that are fluttering around my head is long overdue. One of the things that I promised I would do on this blog is give you the reader (note the singular for a reason….) my two cents on the classes I take and law school in general.

First the course: Alright, I don’t know why Administrative law isn’t on the bar and why it isn’t a course everyone is running to take. Perhaps the fact that the reading is quite onerous and tortured. There’s a thought. Nonetheless I think that the material we covered in Administrative law was so painfully interesting (painful here was not used lightly) that you couldn’t help but be interested in the stuff. The fact that almost anything you deal with these days runs through some quasi-adjudicatory forum such as administrative law courts makes me wonder why the masses aren’t clamouring for this class. I’m thrilled to bits I took it. Between the Admin law class and trying to write-on for law review, I almost sold my soul, almost discovered barbituates and a host of poor health practices that I am glad I didn’t turn to. Such was the nature of my Summer. Something I have regrettably come to terms with since skipping summers isn’t really an option but I’m trying to make it so in 2008.

Interesting tid-bits of Admin Law, is: if you’ve got to deal with the FTC ( and if you’re in any kind of business, you always have to deal with the FTC) or if you pay taxes to the IRS ( and if you’re into those schemes those guys on the internet sell, you’re already too far gone) or deal with any kind of regulatory agencys (like the FAA, EPA, FCC and other equally ugly government acronyms) you need administrative law.

What’s sad is that city councils, home owners associations and the like all don’t pay enough heed to the principles of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) because if you make rash ill-thought decisions not based on the record or propose and impose rules without due process, the lords of Admin law will come a-bustin your chops. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

I will say Prof. Darren Bush, did his best to teach this class. Arguably the Punniest professor I’ve had so far. Also the only professor to do a real review of the class that one could actually use instead of the “ask me a question and I’ll answer it” format for class review that pervades academia.

Will warn the masses that he has a curious exam methodology. You get the exam questions a few days before and can even answer the entire thing but you can only bring your answer outline in with you besides any other text etc. Different. Made me sweat for 3days working on the thing. More like 2 days because I didn’t even go past reading the thing on the day I got it. We’ll see it all turned out soon enough.

To summarise: Would I take Admin law if I could do it over again? Yes sir/ma’am.  Should you? You’d be a fool not to.

Ana did a nice bit on why you should use supplemental materials  such as Examples and Explanations, hornbooks etc. While I’ve never used an Emmanuel’s or other commercial briefs I have derived great benefit from the Sum & Substance audio series (particularly for Torts and Civil Procedure) and I found the Law in a Flash -Flashcards to be a good study group exercise. If nothing else they remind you of what needs to be in a good exam answer. 

I’ve been using the Examples & Explanations series for Torts and now for Contracts and I think it’s helped particularly with the fundamentals. What I didn’t expect was assertions of extra-terrestrial life. Yes, you read that correctly. Here’s a quote from the opening remarks on the Objective Test and Common Law views of Offer and Acceptance from Examples & Explanations – Contracts by Brian A. Blum (3rd. ed)

” Mutual assent is the basis of contracts……In some galaxies beyond our solar system, beings have evolved to a point where they can communicate telepathically. Having not yet developed that faculty, we terrestrials can only make our contractual intentions known by communicating them”

Isn’t that just precious?

Guess Mr. Blum watched one too many Star Trek episodes in his time. I would say more but in theory I largely agree with Mr. Blum so I’ll be quiet. Enough blogging for now, I’ve got to go plan my summer trip to Roswell, New Mexico.