Law School Humor

Law school can be pretty funny. In line with the way I approach most endeavors, I came to school hoping not to take it too seriously and to have some fun. So far neither of these goals has been difficult to realize, though with finals coming up I'm actually trying to step up the seriousness. On the other hand, I don't think the fun part will wane. It's about appreciating the little things. For example:

It seems like everyone in school has a cold and with it, the requisite sick noises: sniffles, coughs, and sneezes. As property class was starting yesterday, the noises were synchronized in pitch and rhythm, like a symphony of sneezes. I was thinking this when suddenly I let out a loud, high-pitched sneeze, similar to cymbals crashing. This was the grand finale, and with it class began. I looked up to see my friend looking at me and laughing and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

Today in constitutional law our professor caught himself as he said, "naked power organ" in reference to the Court.

Many times amusements come from learning about Texas law. Today I learned that in Texas, calling someone a "communist" is libel per se. This is the most serious kind of libel and means that malice does not need to be proven.

There's a framed painting in the Atrium of the law school of a bunch of men standing around laughing. They are tan, many silver-haired, a couple wearing newsboy caps, one in sunglasses, and with drinks in hand. I'm guessing they're hot shot alums but when I first visited the law school I actually thought it was a painting of the cast of the Sopranos. I laugh every time I walk past it.

I was thinking of starting a website similar to "Overheard in New York," but instead "Overheard in Law School." Part of the learning process here is to test the law - to see if rules hold up in extreme circumstances. The hypotheticals people come up with are worth recording. In one class, we were talking about whether ignorance should negate the culpable mental element of a crime. One of my friends came up with a hypothetical where a bunch of Swedes are in a room with automatic weapons. "But, you know" he demonstrated, "they're Swedes so they don't know what the guns are." Could the innocent Swedes be brought up on weapons charges?