University of Alberta Faculty of Law Blog

Narnia at NYU

CS Lewis would be rolling over in his grave if he found out that these dope-heads at NYU were calling their drug den Narnia.

Recession got you down?

Law students: Are you worried about your career prospects? Are you wondering whether to take another tax course instead of humanistic rights law, or whether to take judgment enforcement instead of another jurisprudence class? Fear not - it seems you can take any of those courses, as long as you take a course in belly-dancing.

Slow Justice

I know the wheels of justice are slow, but who knew justice in Italy was this slow. The case has taken over 10 years to hear and decide, and now apparently the appeal may take another 10 years. The litigant is 102 years old.

Interview with Justice Scalia in 5 Parts

How Appelaing points to this 5 part interview with Justice Scalia that is hosted at the National Review.

Laptops in Class

With students using laptops in class, it is common for many of them to miss the question being asked. These law students at BYU made this video to make the point clear:

Please Repeat the Question from Amanda Bakale on Vimeo.

Update: Thanks for the comment pointing out that these are NYU law students. The B and N are right next to each other!

CPLED holding you back?

Some of my former students have had issues with their bar courses and modules. Perhaps they should give this lady a call:

Are You A Lawyer? Probably Not. - watch more funny videos

(h/t Above the Law)

Look outside your window

Are you following the debate over bail-out packages and various stimuli? How about the Durban conference? Great.

But look outside your window: do you know how safe your street is? Maclean's will tell you. (At least, they'll tell you how safe your street was in 2007.) Check it out here:

The most dangerous cities in Canada

Zealous Advocacy?

The New York Daily News is reporting that a lawyer for a notorious Guyanese gangster has been charged with conspiring to tamper with a witness. New York City lawyer Robert Simels (famous for representing, among others, Goodfellas' Henry Hill and the NY Jets' Mark Gastineau) was allegedly caught on a wiretap discussing the possibility of eliminating a witness through bribes or violence. As Simels' own lawyer put it, this was "nothing more than a lawful effort to vigorously defend his client."

Best Goalie of All Time

CBC is polling the best goalie of all time.  So far (as you might expect) Brodeur and Roy are leading the pack (in that order).  My posted comment:

Leaving statistics aside, if you consider merely the ability of a goalie mercilessly and invariably to shut down their opponents at the peak of their career, I would have to go with either Tretiak of Hasek (probably the latter).

Anna Nicole Smith trio charged

I once thought of offering the "Anna Nicole Smith" course. After all, she did have a case go all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States.  Then she died of an overdose, and that idea went away. I had been wondering, however, how long it would take to have charges brought related to her death. It now emerges that her attorney boyfriend and two psychiatrists are being charged.

Is blood thicker than a peppercorn?

Apparently not according to the California Court of Appeals for the Fourth District. See here for more coverage. (h/t How Appealing) This is a big relief, otherwise when I went back to teaching contracts, I am not sure how I would explain this to my students. Also, if I ever assigned drafting exercises, would I assign them the bloody contract problem and make them sign in their own blood!

Pocklington Arrested

Fans of the Oilers in the 80s remember Peter Pocklington as the man who traded Wayne Gretzky. I had always wondered where he was these days, as I sometimes drive by his old house (or so I am told that was his old house). It turns out he was living in the US, where he was recently arrested for bankruptcy fraud. I have no idea about the merits of the case, but I will be watching with interest. Given that I have noted in the past the tendency of US prosecutors to be overzealous in their indictments, I am curious to hear some details on where this case will go.

Proposition 8 (Gay Marriage Ban) Oral Arguments

Yesterday, I happened to watch the live webcast of the oral arguments in the gay marriage ban case at the Supreme Court of California. The briefs in the case and information about the case are here.  As Bashman is reporting, most commentators seem to think the Court will uphold the ban.

The real question is what will they do regarding the validity of tose marriages performed during the period when it was legal, because of the Court's declaration, and the time proposition 8 passed.

Dale Carpeneter (at Volokh) has been covering the whole saga from the beginning and has his thoughts on yesterday's arguments.

What impressed me in the oral arguments was the level of preparation by both sides. The arguments ultimately go to the fundamental question of who gets to control the constitution and what role the courts have ultimately in this question. Ken Starr for the intervenors does an amazing job in bascially telling the Court that they have no business, and his mastery of the art of appellate advocacy is evident. The oral arguments can be seen below, but you will have to wait till around minute 12 for them to start:

Update: For some reason the embedding is not working, so you can go here to watch it directly.