tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263 2008-12-03T14:28:41Z Movable Type 3.34 tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.8242 2008-12-03T13:41:56Z 2008-12-03T14:28:41Z

Welcome back from Thanksgiving everyone! I hope everyone took full advantage of the one day a year where it's at least a little more permissible to glutton one's self a panoply of sleep-inducing food. Personally, I'm a big fan of...

Ira here. Otherwise, I am getting to know the DC public transportation system--i.e., the Metro, and, as I live in Alexandria for the next ten and a half weeks, the DASH bus system. Here's a little lesson I learned last night: if you decide to go out drinking with co-workers until 7.30pm, perhaps you should check and see if the local bus system runs on a shorter schedule and route and will not pick you up at the Pentagon Metro station (thereby causing you to not get home until 9.40pm). Lesson learned. Best of luck to all 1Ls as they ramp into exams, all other law students who will be doing the same, all potential applicants who may be diligently and frustrating working on their applications, and to everyone else as the winter fast approaches. For me--I cannot wait until December 18th. I'm looking forward to it and that weekend like no other time before. Stay tuned...]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.8169 2008-11-26T15:17:41Z 2008-11-26T21:17:02Z

First year seems like a lightyear away, sometimes. Last year, during Thanksgiving break, I was studying for my upcoming exams and attempting to slave over my outlines. So much has happened since then. Now, having just finished exams, I am...

Ira First year seems like a lightyear away, sometimes. Last year, during Thanksgiving break, I was studying for my upcoming exams and attempting to slave over my outlines. So much has happened since then. Now, having just finished exams, I am attempting to enjoy my Thanksgiving break before I start my co-op at the Justice Department. I left Boston on Monday night, drove 12 hours down the East Coast to North Carolina, picked up my little sister from college, and then another 3 hours to my parents' places. I love driving, but, after doing that trip and being awake for 37 hours, I am happy to not be driving anymore. The quick approaching start to my second co-op is exciting, and I look forward to it. I hope to do some great work and learn a good deal. Plus, I'll be in DC (which is a great city), and I'll be there during the inauguration and the transition. However, while many ring the bells of joy at being out of Boston for the winter, I'm going to miss it. A lot. For a lot of reasons. One in particular. Yet, I'll also miss Boston for a lot of the reasons that people are glad to leave. I like snow. I like winter weather. On the one hand, it's a fantastic reminder of why summer is so great. On the other, what greater impetus does one need to wrap up before a fireplace or in the warmth of your apartment with a cup of coffee or hot chocolate. In other news, since I will now be on co-op and won't be reading for classes all the time, I brought a suitcase full of books. A reading list to catch up on. "Look Homeward Angel," "The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and the "Chomsky-Foucault Debate" start off the adventure. However, I will still be doing law school stuff. I am participating in moot court with a 3L, and we have to write our appellate brief by January 16th. This year, the American Constitution Society's moot court questions revolve around the First Amendment AND issues of national security law. Both are classes I just finished taking, and two subjects near and dear to my heart. Otherwise, I'll make sure to keep you filled in on the goings on at the DOJ and in living and playing in DC. I'm not sure how much playing I'll be doing, but adventures and side-quests always seem to make themselves known at the most opportune times. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.8080 2008-11-20T15:28:46Z 2008-11-20T18:01:33Z

I lied. But not intentionally. Despite my best efforts, I didn't blog last week and am a little late in the current one. I wish I could blame it all on exams, as an all-consuming time-paradox of a juggernaut--mowing over...

Ira I lied. But not intentionally. Despite my best efforts, I didn't blog last week and am a little late in the current one. I wish I could blame it all on exams, as an all-consuming time-paradox of a juggernaut--mowing over everything in its path--but, in all truth, I could have taken time aside and written a short blog. I've certainly done it in the past. However, I made choices and re-prioritized, and decided I could write a mea culpa blog today. Here's how the exams went: classes ended last Friday, November 14th. On Wednesday the 12th, I had a mock trial in my Criminal Trial Practice class. It was a two hour, mostly full trial with opening arguments, direct examinations of witnesses, redirects after cross examinations, putting on other evidence, cross examinations after the other side's directs, and then closing arguments. I was part of a two-man prosecution team, representing the Commonwealth in a mock first-degree murder case. The two defendants were charged with shooting a police officer in the head, and the prosecution's star witness was a "career criminal" and co-conspirator. Tough case, especially given the time constraints. My counterparts, the defense, did a fantastic job. In the end, though, we had a hung jury. On Thursday the 13th, I had to give an oral argument for Appellate Advocacy. We had to turn our appellate briefs in on Tuesday by 5pm, and then give an eight minute oral argument to a panel of three actual Massachusetts Appeals Court justices. I represented the appellee (that is, the side who wants things to stay the way they are) on a First Amendment free speech Constitutional issue. I thought it went fairly well, and the judges gave great feedback on my oral argument. Those were both my finals for those classes. Then this past Monday, I had a three hour in-class exam for First Amendment, followed by a three and a half hour in-class exam in Evidence on Tuesday, and then an eight hour take home exam for National Security Law. I am done, and a little exhausted. And, since I hand-wrote my two in-class exams (speedily writing like a fiend), my hand feels arthritic. But I'm done! And the exams seemed to go well. I hope my grade reflects that feeling. For now I'm going to get my life back together after having shut it out for a couple weeks, actually read through my mail, clean my apartment, spend time with my loved one, and then head home to North Carolina for Thanksgiving. And then, on to Co-op at the Justice Department in DC! More to come... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7877 2008-11-06T21:52:49Z 2008-11-07T05:41:32Z

What a busy, momentous week it has been. This past Saturday I phonebanked for the Obama/Biden Campaign, calling Democratic and undecided voters in New Hampshire. My main goals, of course, were to get out the vote and arrange rides to...

Ira What a busy, momentous week it has been. This past Saturday I phonebanked for the Obama/Biden Campaign, calling Democratic and undecided voters in New Hampshire. My main goals, of course, were to get out the vote and arrange rides to the polls. Classmates of mine spent four days in New Hampshire, which has same-day registration, and helped register 1400 new voters. I'm told Obama won that particular district in New Hampshire by 1500 votes. So, if there was ever any doubt (and there has been plenty), EVERY vote counts. Regarding President-elect Obama, I will be in DC during the inauguration. I have yet to line up housing. This process, as a law student living on loans (with a giant dog -- a 4 year old great dane) who is so far going on an internship away from Boston every three months, has been frustrating. It hasn't gotten any less worrisome as my mind is slowly turning towards other things--like exams. I fear not, however. I'll find housing in DC. And, while I can be assured that it will not in any way be affordable, I am sure I will ultimately bring my dog, work for the Justice Department, and live in DC during the transition to the Obama presidency. Despite the upcoming exams, I will be blogging next week. Forgive me if I am late by a day or two, loyal readers, as I have a mock trial and a mock oral argument in front of three actual Massachusetts Appeals Court judges in the middle of the week next week. After that, only three more exams to go. More to come... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7744 2008-10-29T02:07:59Z 2008-10-29T02:39:24Z

And the world is watching. While Bush will be President until late January, we all know that America (heck, Earth as we know it in a geopolitical sense) will be a very different place on Wednesday, November 5th. Regardless of...

Ira unconstitutional as applied to Georgia's homeless population. In news more particular to this (occasionally) hard-working 2L, I accepted an offer to work for the Public Defenders Service's Trial Division in DC next Summer. Check out their website and all they do here. I am very excited at this prime opportunity and honor to work for such a renowned office, although it puts me away from Boston for yet another co-op. As of this moment, I just finalized my plans for my third co-op before I have even started my second. As Ferris Bueller famously said, "[law school] goes by fast. If you don't stop and take a look around every once a while, you might miss it."]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7653 2008-10-22T03:14:27Z 2008-10-22T03:52:54Z

October 21, 2008. 10.14pm. I just read a news report, two emails, and multiple Facebook status messages that are reacting to the recent weather report predicting snow flurries this evening. While I'm tempted to sit back and await with glee...

Ira October 21, 2008. 10.14pm. I just read a news report, two emails, and multiple Facebook status messages that are reacting to the recent weather report predicting snow flurries this evening. While I'm tempted to sit back and await with glee the onset of winter conditions here in Boston, I have just a bit too much going on. Exams for us upper levels are in just under four weeks. And it feels like we just broke into the syllabus. Plus, this week, I am in the full swing of interviews with government and public interest internships for next summer. I am really excited, but I have six in two days. Two on Thursday, Four on Friday. The ones on Thursday I plan on fitting in between classes. Friday, however, will likely just be an exhausting day. These should be my last interviews for a while, so I'll let you know how they go. If I'm able to secure a job with one of them, perhaps I can finally divulge with whom I have been interviewing all this time. I am excited to discuss it, and talk in-depth about how the interviews go (and have gone). Until then, I won't share too much and prejudice myself--lest some curious potential employer does a Google search on me and finds this blog. Also, elections are coming up in 2 weeks. I sent in my absentee ballot to North Carolina, but I cannot wait until Election Day. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7590 2008-10-17T20:02:09Z 2008-10-19T01:54:39Z

I may have written a blog about this last year, but, if I did, it bears repeating: Everything is intertwined. But, Ira, you'll say, that is about as obvious as a parrot with Tourette's at a pet store. Okay, maybe...

Ira I may have written a blog about this last year, but, if I did, it bears repeating: Everything is intertwined. But, Ira, you'll say, that is about as obvious as a parrot with Tourette's at a pet store. Okay, maybe that's a bad comparison. Anyway, we all know everything is connected. Six degrees of separation for us all, maybe more so for Kevin Bacon. One thing leads to another, and all that. But, when you hone the interconnectedness of life down to one specific area, like, say, the law, it becomes amazingly apparent. I'm taking First Amendment law right now, in which we spend the majority of our time discussing the freedom of speech and expression. Or, on occasion, the (not quite) freedom of speech. Nonetheless, the First Amendment has popped up in nearly every other class I've been taking. Point-in-case, in Appellate Advocacy I will have to write an appellate brief and give an oral argument to a Court of Appeals panel on a case involving hacking into government databases and computer systems. There are strong constitutional questions in this case, specifically, whether the First Amendment protects the hackers in using the information they acquired (or how they acquired it). Moreover, issues involving the First Amendment show up all over the coursework in my class, Balancing Liberty and Security in Post-9/11 America. Right now in the First Amendment class, we're just finishing obscenity, pornography, and sexually explicit speech. The way the Supreme Court has differentiated all three of those categories is interesting, if not, at times, befuddling. More to come... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7462 2008-10-07T23:03:15Z 2008-10-10T03:55:15Z

Sometimes, it's doing a lot of work that is only tangentially related to your studies. And the fun you're trying to have in the meantime. For much of last week, and nearly all of the weekend, I worked on two...

Ira Professor Deborah Ramirez, I am leading up a small team of students who are compiling and collaborating research done in the U.S. and U.K. The project focuses on building partnerships between law enforcement agencies and Muslim, Arab, Sikh, and South Asian communities to combat terrorism, extremism, and hate crimes. Great project, great work. And, a main goal of getting the proposal done and beautiful was because of a meeting this week during where we intended (and did) present it. A French Investigative Judge, Philippe Coirre, was attending meetings and doing research in the Boston area, and he asked to meet specifically with Professor Ramirez about this research we have been working on. The meeting went rather well, I thought. Judge Coirre seemed very receptive to Professor Ramirez's thoughts and vision, and the purpose behind building these law enforcement-community bridges. He asked me to email him an electronic version of the proposal so he could discuss it with the French Minister of Justice. He likes the partnership ideas and thinks it is something the French government should look into implementing. I'm sorry? Let me, make sure I've got this right. You want to give this specific proposal, which, while a fantastic achievement of collaboration and brought together from many, many people's thoughts and hard work, I spearheaded, to what is arguably the equivalent to our Attorney General? Incredible. I had only one response: Definitely. Sometimes, I really love law school. Oh, and the second thing that occupied much of my time: Revamping an article I wrote for the ILSA Quarterly--an independent international law periodical. My article on victim participation in trials at the International Criminal Court should be published a little later this fall. Happy New Year to several of you! Happy long weekend to the rest.]]> tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7373 2008-10-01T01:34:44Z 2008-10-01T13:42:55Z

Apologies up front, but this blog is going to be on the shorter side. Extreme side of shorter side. If this in any way upsets you, loyal reader, you have my full permission to curse my name and immediately quit...

Ira Apologies up front, but this blog is going to be on the shorter side. Extreme side of shorter side. If this in any way upsets you, loyal reader, you have my full permission to curse my name and immediately quit reading until next week. By next week, unless the powers that be are merely finding things for me to do, I may have a spare moment or two to write a longer, more thoughtful blog. As of now I have some reading and writing to do. No arithmetic. Not today (in fact, I was a fake expert witness in fake trial today. A medical examiner, I refused to do math on the stand. Flat out refused). Anyway, if you've read this far into my rambling blog, take comfort in the following quotation from the movie, "They Might Be Giants." "Of course, [Don Quixote] carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be...Well, all the best minds used to think the world was flat. But, what if it isn't? It might be round. And bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes." This quotation brings me comfort, folks. And, honestly, it helps me study the law. Go ahead, wikipedia the movie. You'll be surprised to know that it is, after all, related to the band of the same name. More to come... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7302 2008-09-24T19:44:53Z 2008-09-24T22:05:44Z

I was just listening to the sweet tremble and wailings of Bono and The Edge while completing loan deferment forms and reading for my National Security Law class, and I had an arresting line of thoughts. First, I find the...

Ira I was just listening to the sweet tremble and wailings of Bono and The Edge while completing loan deferment forms and reading for my National Security Law class, and I had an arresting line of thoughts. First, I find the haunting lyrics and steady, unpredictable music of U2 terrifyingly soul stirring. We all have our preferences and reactions; this is one of mine. While the main purpose of listening to music through insulated earbuds is to drown out the chatter and errant noise of law school and law school people so I can read about the pros and cons of the amended FISA Act on national security and civil liberties, I also listen to get into a rhythm. A calmed, lulled, melodic mode of studying. The Zone. So, when I'm reading and Bono starts in on the four minutes and thirty seven seconds of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," or Axel Rose slowly pounds the piano keys in "November Rain" I get distracted. Those sort of songs roll around my brain memories of times and peoples ago and stop me from actually paying attention to the words on the page. Dispatch's "The General" too. Generally I can ignore the bulk of the lyrics for what I'm working on. A friend and classmate listens to soundtracks, like "Last of the Mohicans" and "Braveheart." Great instrumental, lyric-less pieces that subtly backdrop his thought process like we all assume a soundtrack in our own lives really would. But, for some reason, a few certain songs distract me. Maybe that's a patterned story of law school. Maybe we're all so intensely busy with meetings, readings, meetings, learning and meetings that we're ripe and ready for distraction. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7258 2008-09-17T17:07:59Z 2008-09-19T21:05:04Z

Last Friday I went through a mock-interview with a Public Defender. That is, a fake interview where a Public Defender interviewed me as if I was really applying for a job with her agency. It went well. The main difference...

Ira Last Friday I went through a mock-interview with a Public Defender. That is, a fake interview where a Public Defender interviewed me as if I was really applying for a job with her agency. It went well. The main difference I noticed was the number and weight of ethical questions asked, as opposed to questions I was asked during the mock-interview with a firm. The Public Defender asked questions like, "how do you feel about representing someone who is accused of sexually assaulting another person?" Or, "could you cross-examine a victim of domestic violence on the stand, who has visible bruises on his/her face, when your client is the one charged with brutally beating him/her?" Good questions, which I think are crucial to ask someone applying to be or professing their desire to be a criminal defense advocate--especially a Public Defender. When I worked for a Public Defender's Office in North Carolina, I definitely worked with a lot of great attorneys who confronted these sort of questions every day. In this same vein, it turns out all the practice interviewing will be helpful. I have an interview in the next couple weeks. Wish me luck! More to come... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7193 2008-09-10T05:46:02Z 2008-09-10T13:55:28Z

Classes are going well and extracurricular student activities are increasingly becoming more...well, active. As I go about my days at the law school, to and from class, to and from meetings, to and from the gym, I am starting to...

Ira Classes are going well and extracurricular student activities are increasingly becoming more...well, active. As I go about my days at the law school, to and from class, to and from meetings, to and from the gym, I am starting to get back in the swing of being in law school. Now, I realize that I am now entering my third week of resuming classes, but it is all still a twilight zone feeling like I don't belong. Or maybe I'm going to wake up one morning and it will all have been some anxious dream and I will still be on co-op. None of this is to say that I don't want to be in class or would rather be on co-op. Far from it. I enjoy classes and being uber-busy with student activities, interviewing for summer-time employment that could lead to post-grad jobs. As a classmate and dear friend said, I'm "just sick in the head that way." Simply, I think I am adjusting to what upper level NUSL students (perhaps all law students everywhere) experience: a sort of Resumption Vertigo. We bounce around for three years between full-time classes and full-time work, with a week or two of vacation in between if we're lucky. So, when we're on co-op we're getting over the exhaustion and marathon that was exams. When we're back in classes we're getting over the feeling of being out of (and done with) school. It's all a little surreal. I wonder if it gets easier, if you get used to the bounding back and forth, later. Do my 3L friends suffer the pain of Resumption Vertigo less? For that matter, this condition--if real--is multiplied for people at Northeastern. Unlike most law schools we don't just get the opportunity to work during two summers. No, we shift back and forth twice more. And, like many of my friends NOW on co-op, they stayed in class after Spring exams--going to school for almost twelve months straight before leaving to work. I can only imagine the disbelief they're feeling, now that exams are over and they were finally let loose. Perhaps it's all part of the regimen in the end. Perhaps NUSL has patterned it this way so we're always kept on our toes, always thinking on our feet, as a lawyer standing in court and immediately handed a file on a client about which she knows nothing about. Or a junior associate at a firm handed a case and told to churn out a memo by the end of the day. Or, ultimately, just a better worker and a better person in a world where so much is unpredictable and shifting. Or maybe I'm just sick in the head. More to come... tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7145 2008-09-04T01:48:11Z 2008-09-04T17:55:36Z

Oh, Johnny Cochran, Esq. How your clever wordplay is sorely missed in the trial courts of California. For me, the second week of law school has been very much about litigation. About trying and winning cases in front of a...

Ira Oh, Johnny Cochran, Esq. How your clever wordplay is sorely missed in the trial courts of California. For me, the second week of law school has been very much about litigation. About trying and winning cases in front of a jury. In Criminal Trial Practice we gave opening arguments on Tuesday. It was a great experience, both in the preparation of the opening and the actual delivery. My classmates gave great feedback, and I look forward to our other exercises to come. In Evidence, everything we discuss is related to what one could bring in to a case to persuade a jury (or judge) to decide in your favor. It all reminds me of how much I am interested in working in litigation after I graduate (specifically criminal defense), and glad that I have three co-op opportunities left in which I could work towards this goal. Perhaps, as a 3L, I will be lucky enough to work for a public defender or specialized litigation firm, or another agency and get an actual caseload through which I will gain even more experience. My friends who are more interested in the prosecutorial side of criminal law and the plaintiff side of civil litigation share similar thoughts with me. I know some who are eager to work in a busy district attorney's office and learn the tools of the trade there. As a divergent side note, I'm also witness to all the changes that typically accompany the traditional start of a school year. Meeting new students, electing new student leaders and officers in groups, and, as relevant here, taking on new bloggers. Yesterday I met those who will be blogging this year, and the 1Ls seemed especially eager to describe their experiences in law school during the first two weeks for those out there thinking of applying or applying now. The powers that be tell me they'll be online and setup in a couple weeks-ish, and by that time they'll have great stories to tell about how their first month as first year law students. Until then, I know Leon and Laurinda and I will be here doing our best to relate the upper level experience. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7111 2008-08-27T18:47:16Z 2008-08-27T23:57:56Z

It's back to classes here at NUSL. Even the new 1Ls had their first classes today. So far, I've had Balancing Liberty and Security in post 9/11 America, Criminal Trial Practice, and First Amendment Law. Later, I have Evidence and...

Ira It's back to classes here at NUSL. Even the new 1Ls had their first classes today. So far, I've had Balancing Liberty and Security in post 9/11 America, Criminal Trial Practice, and First Amendment Law. Later, I have Evidence and Appellate Advocacy. It's great to be back at school and starting classes, if even I wasn't completely ready to give up my summer. All of my classes are in a newly renovated building, Dockser, directly behind the law school proper. Though, like many of the buildings at Northeastern, the two are all connected on the ground floor. You could, if one was so inclined, spend all day inside the law school complex without ever going outside. As it was much more likely for that to happen during first year, I'm going to make a point of my second year to see the sun and feel the wind. New extracurricular things are starting up, too, but slowly. We had the Student Activities Fair last night, where student organizations recruited first years (mostly) to be a part of their groups. As half of the upper-level students are always gone, first years at Northeastern are really the life blood of student organizations. For the moment, I'm heading up two student groups, the International Law Society and recently created Criminal Law Society, but am excited for 1Ls to come in and take leadership positions. It will free up my schedule and, I hope, take both groups in great directions as we explore those areas of the law and student interests. For now, I'm going to return to filling out my security clearance forms for the Dep't of Justice co-op I've taken for the Winter. As extensive and intrusive as the questions are, it is somewhat fun to try to recall exactly where I've lived and what I've done for the past decade. tag:blogs.targetx.com,2008:/neuslaw/Ira//263.7078 2008-08-20T19:25:28Z 2008-08-20T19:46:25Z

I made it back to Boston safely and soundly (well...mostly sound), and am gearing up for the start of classes. Next Monday the new class of 1Ls begin their orientation and I'll be there bright and early to welcome, provide...

Ira I made it back to Boston safely and soundly (well...mostly sound), and am gearing up for the start of classes. Next Monday the new class of 1Ls begin their orientation and I'll be there bright and early to welcome, provide directions, and help myself to the breakfast the university is providing. Sounds like a pretty sweet gig. Even though I have to be there around 7.30am. I mean...I'm usually awake at that time, but that doesn't translate to actually wanting to be somewhere other than puttering around with a cup of coffee. I accepted an offer for the upcoming Winter internship with the Dept. of Justice Civil Rights Division/Special Litigation Section. The Special Litigation Section investigates patterned violations of institutionalized persons' federal civil rights--whether those people are prisoners, elderly, juveniles, or mentally ill--and brings a federal suit against the state or local agency running the show if they don't clean up their act to federal standards. The stark bonuses to having an internship so early is getting a jump in my search for housing, being able to focus on classes and Fall Recruitment (interviews and such) without looking for a co-op added on top, and being in DC during the transition from the Bush Administration to whoever we next collectively elect to be president. If any of you reading will be starting at NUSL next Monday, I look forward to seeing you there!