Article 3 cases are decided on the circumstances of the case: "Article 3 cases are decided on the circumstances of the case."

This will only be a brief entry, mostly to show willing. I have asked, pithily (and procrastinatingly) whether it would be acceptable to post a blog consisting essentially of "essays, Royal Wedding, Harry Potter, Thanksgiving, essays." Hopefully this will be a little better than that, but I can't guarantee it'll be by much.

So:

- I am still writing my essays. CCL is still ahead, although I have hit a bit of a roadblock in my breakdown of Soering; hence the title. Last night I had a dream that Sherlock Holmes laughed at it and then threw it away, so I must be doing something right.

- I am going to AZ for Thanksgiving on Saturday and am unprepared. Argh argh etc..

- I went out to the Arch St Tavern on Saturday to listen to a band doing 90 covers, and had fun, and danced, and played with a fluffy hat.

- Two of the International girls made dinner for the group (with the addition of an amazing Russian salad from our local representative) on Sunday, and I went along, and had fun, and played with dominoes.

- Lynn, my Dad's girlfriend who I generally call my stepmother just to make things easier, appeared on the AZ Music Cafe- a weekly show on KKNT Radio (whatever that may be)- playing some of her own pieces, and was generally fantastic. And my Dad also got a look in with a song about aliens. As you do. Well done to them both, anyways.

- I have started reading the Complete Sherlock Holmes as a distraction, which, it turns out, is aiding and abetting in my sleep-deprived nightmares.

- I am going to see HP 7.1 on Thursday at midnight, and am all ready to complain about inconsistencies etc.

- I watched Atonement for the first time, and yes, I prefer the book.

- I am still writing these bloody essays.

- As may or may not be apparent, I haven't had much sleep.

JJ out.

"Constitutional limitations on the state's power to extradite," and other topics which only lawyers find interesting...

In terms of real life, this week has been a quiet one. The general consensus on campus appears to be that, with the addition of a few dorms and a shower block, the library actually wouldn't make that bad of a home- that, and that "How is your paper?" "Ick." constitutes a full and fulfilling conversation. My own papers are currently in what I like to call the intangible stage- that is, I have a lot of information, and a very strict structure, and now I simply have to go through the process of somehow welding the two together. Rants expected in the near future.
In terms of my online life, though, I've been a little more involved- have managed to talk and be exceptionally silly with several of my friends from back home, which has helped a lot with the homesickness- although not so much the whole avoiding procrastination thing. I personally think that the one outwieghs the other- I went through a period of very severe homesickness and general stress, and anything which can alleviate that is to my mind a good thing! The homesickness issue is an interesting one- this appears to be the part of the semester when everyone starts noticing the cultural differences more, and looking forward to the plain familiarity of home. I do wonder whether part of it is a reaction to the fact that by now we are quite integrated into our surroundings, and have become pretty much used to the USA way of life- although of course the sheer proximity of Christmas is probably also playing a role! Generally, though, I think that we are all pretty happy out here, and definitely would not say that we regret coming- the collective homesickness if anything has helped to tighten ties in the international group, and I would say that we all act as support for each other. Which is nice.
Speaking of the group, and being nice- this Friday we should hopefully be leaving campus, if only for a little while, and heading out to a Huskies basketball game. Which means, of course, a mass exodus to Wiki to find out what on earth the rules are- and, for that matter, which team we are... But it should be fun- and we do love cheering along!

As to law- well, after today's lecture on the ADA and employment discrimination I am now seriously considering sitting in on the Employment Law lectures next year, if only to confirm to myself that the Brits do it much more logically- apparently you can only discriminate against someone with a disability if they suffer from a limitation of a 'major life activity.' And don't even get me started on section c and the whole 'regarded as' issue. Grumble, growl.

Morris Men and Madness

I have been told that it would be much easier on everyone involved were I to post 1 short entry a week rather than a monthly wall of rambling text. In fact, my dearest darling Dad went further, to the point of providing me with a template for the ultimate concise and effortless blog entry. As such, in order to to prove myself a dutiful daughter (and comply with my student advisor's advice that I develop more structure in my day-to-day activities), I have decided to give it a go and see how it works out.

So:

In the past week I:

- Returned safely from NYC, where I had spent the weekend at the annual International Law Convention at Fordham Law School, and of course, engaged
in sightseeing and general touristy-ness. NY is definitely something else, and the experience should by all accounts be on everyone's to do list. As great a time as I had, though, I don't know that I could ever live there permanently- though I can cope with (and work!) the subway and the grid system, it is simply too big, too busy- too consumerist.
It did give me an excellent opportunity to play with reflections and other fun photographic whatnots though, so I guess I can't be too hard on it- this time ...



- In direct contrast, I also took a solo trip to Amherst, MA, from Wednesday until Friday. In a bizarre situation my 'Sidmouth friend' Martin had been invited with his rapper team to compete and do other high-class dance team stuff in and around Boston, and part of their tour involved a few nights staying with a wonderful folky family in Amherst.



Suffice it to say that I has a wonderful visit, drank probably one too many pints (sorry, Sallyport), took far too many pictures, sang, danced (while avoiding chairs and holding a beer), climbed a mountain, and had far, far, too much fun with the side's decapitated rubber hand. Facebook is now flooded with pictures and videos, and I think it will be some time before I stop telling people that I have been invited to dance with the 'Ladies in Green,' an Amherst cotswold and border side whose name I cannot for the life of me remember.

- I also dressed up as Alice in Wonderland (the Burton version, obviously), went to the SBA Halloween party, gave out sweets to children trick-or-treating, and enjoyed it for the most part, although the party had to end after one poor lad reportedly broke his leg (although I think the truth is that he twisted his knee), and jumping up and down every three minutes to grab the sweet bowl is exhausting- especially when the teenagers don't even say thank you.

- Finally, I got into a debate about original intent theory in class when I said that to my mind it was the weakest out of a number of constitutional arguments in a certain case. This was in complete opposition to the American students, all of whom were aided by the knowledge that- bizarrely- it was one of the arguments most likely to be accepted by today's Supreme Court. I found this very odd when compared with the UK system, where Parliamentary intent is only considered as a last resort, and then only in the context of the interpretation of one particular stautory provision. Bizarre. After all, the Framers were only men- clever men, yes, but not infallible.

And that's a rather long summing up. Hopefully, this time next week will produce something rather more concise- as yet I have no plans!

A very folked-up
JJ

Research, research, research

Well, autumn is finally- and forcefully- underway, and my thoughts at least are turning towards pumpkin soup, apple pie, bonfires, and pretty much every other autumnal stereotype you care to name. The weather has, in the space of a heartbeat, swung from the muggy humidity of last week's storms to a crisp coolness which has finally realised my investments in wooly hats, thick scarves, and UConn Law 'stash' (read hoodies). There appears to be something very individual about an East Coast autumn- little things, like the smell of apples and the predominance of scarecrows and various squashes on peoples' front lawns are prompting half-remembered memories from my early Virginian childhood. At any rate, I love this time of year and am excitedly looking forward to Hallowe'en, pumpkin shopping, and, if I'm lucky, turnip stew.
In the meantime, I am being kept busy by research for my two seminar classes. (Legal History has allowed me to waive my final paper in lieu of my editing responsibilities, which are now beginning to come in thick and fast.) Mental Health Law is currently a little ahead, and I already have a rough outline for my comparison of the insanity defence in England and the USA, although I still have a great number of journals and cases still to read, as well as some serious dissection of my first year Criminal Law notes. Comparative Constitutional is lagging behind by a small measure, as technically I still have two potential topics up in the air, but, professor willing, it is looking increasingly more likely that I will be working on the 'Soering Effect' on extradition treaties- provided, that is, that I can find one or more systems to compare to! Failing that, I will be doing something about the direct enforcement of constitutions in foreign territories, something which, if I'm truthful, has far more legal substance than Soering, but which is harder to research, has an even larger connection with international political issues, and generally is, well, less interesting than Soering. I am conducting some basic research just to make sure that I do have a paper topic to fall back on, but I am hoping that my current proposal will be accepted.
In other news, I and the other Internationals went to the SBA's annual Fall Ball last Saturday, and by all accounts it was a pretty amazing evening, especially as all us Int'l girls got to wear our collection of oh-so-pretty dresses, and play with curling irons, hair spray, and heels. I went for the 5 year old vampire look with a little white dress (which I must admit I am in love with) and dark purple nails, dark eyeshadow, and, well, dark everything. As you do.
On the Exeter side of the pond, meanwhile, while I was dancing like a loon in downtown Hartford the Folk Soc committee were busy preparing for the 'Activities Fair,' or, as it is actually known, the Freshers' Squash. Suffice to say that they signed up a fair few new members, who I am eagerly waiting to add to the mailing lists, and that I still stand by my overtired FB post that they are indeed the best committee ever. Yesterday I finally got to see them all again, even if only for 10 minutes, and now everything just seems far less scary. Now all I have to do is deal with my ever present fear that the new members will somehow push me out of my friendship group- a fear which actually is self-perpetuating, as it has lead to me becoming a rather needy Skype contact...

JJ

The problems with a limited government

After almost a month of classes, I have come to the conclusion that life would be so much easier for us exchange students if the Americans would simply do away with their federal system and replace it with one central government- and a statement of positive rights. No more "well, there's not much uniformity amongst the states," "there's simply no basis in our constitution for a Soering-type case," "that would exceed the federal government's powers," or "as the dissent states, the only way this scenario can really be considered to fall within this Amendment is if the words are tortured beyond recognition." I understand, of course, that all of this is simply the inevitable consequence of studying in one of world's most famous federations, and, despite my turn as devil's advocate in class today, I do believe that the US system on the whole balances power very well, but nonetheless the OCD, traditionalist student in me has begun to cry out for rules- any rules! Not so much in Comparative Constitutional or American Legal History, which are clearly theoretical, seminar-based classes, but in Mental Health and Family Law I find it very hard that most classes are spent in discussion, with very little writing down of hard facts.
It's a different way to learn, I know, and I do enjoy it (particularly CCL, which I led for the first time today, and loved), but I am finding the lack of hard legal rules in the two classes which I feel really need them, well, kinda disturbing. I haven't yet looked up a Family past exam paper, but I am getting worried- the JD students had some fun sharing horror stories with us this morning. And yes, of course I realise that due to the division of powers, the only way I could get lists of rules upon rules is if I were to study on Connecticut law, which would happen (for good reason) only after taking the Bar. But, as Siobhan said, I do wonder how the Americans cope coming into the English system.

If nothing else, at least nationalism would lead to standardised TV programing. The TV in my apartment is finally up and running (I want to carry on from this by grumbling and growling about my landlords, but I will be mature...), and I must have spent a good 30 minutes trying to work out which random collection of letters and numbers represented which channel. I can now find CBS, Discovery, CNN, and the BBC, and I got to watch the latest trashy episode of my favourite trashy show this evening, but I have a feeling the TV saga may continue...

Patriotism, Intellectualism, and Beer

Here's an odd fact. For the past 5 years or so I have explained to anyone who's interested that America is 'a completely different culture.' This was the basis of my Study Abroad application- America might be a close cousin to England, but in many ways the culture is very very distinct, and it's the similarities between the countries that makes this distinction all the more obvious. And yet, knowing this, and indeed often celebrating it, now that I'm in the USA proper I still find it very strange. There are little things- spellings, phrasing, the expectation of class participation- and then there are the big ones. Like the serious politicisation of almost every area of public life, and the up-front, confrontational attitudes. In particular what has struck me are the high levels of patriotism and ethno-centric attitudes. Pub joke stereotypes, I know, but nonetheless very real, and very prevalent. I am studying in a North Eastern University, in one of the most liberal states in the country, and yet not a class has gone by in which my liberal haunches have been raised. Perhaps the most obvious example of this was a professor's claim that the UK's 'shut up and listen' school policy results in English children being indoctrinated in English propaganda, and that it was to be hoped that the future would bring about a switch to the American system. (This rising out of the fact that basic history lessons don't cover the US Revolution in great detail.) Later, in my constitutional class (fast turning into a favourite, even though I will admit that I struggle with the material), many of my classmates- despite having argued again the imposition of constitutions moments earlier- seemed shocked by the idea that the collectivist Japanese culture doesn't value freedom of speech as much as American society does, or that not everyone might consider the freedom to contract without interference an absolute right. I do know that in all these situations it would have been perfectly acceptable (and probably not even notable) for me to argue against the trend, and that doing so might even have added to the class discussion- but, being a good little student, I stayed mum, and at most shook my head a little.
These observations are not meant to be critical or negative in any way- I can write equally damning reports on English attitudes towards the rest of the world- but they are a reflection of what a very different country I am now studying in. I cannot really imagine an entire English class arguing that Japanese collectivism is wrong, and I certainly cannot conceive of a professor ever putting his views on other systems so bluntly- but this does not mean that the approach here is somehow stupid or wrong. It is, however, something that I will have to adjust to, and fast if I want to get good class participation grades.

On a less negative note, one of the aspects of the American (or at least post-grad) culture which I am particularly appreciating is the fact that intellectualism isn't stigmatised in the same way it is at home. As opposed to Exeter, when I go into class here I am prepared and ready for a full class discussion, raising very difficult points and encompassing very different views, and I know that my contributions to this discussion will be admired (well, I can hope) and expanded upon, rather than ignored, agreed with, or instantly struck down. Here, it seems, students are not only taught to criticise the law, but taught to actually consider why they are critical of, and what the consequences might be. Of course, to some extent I find this very frustrating (my current over-used example is that at least in England when anti-incest legislation is enacted no one complains), particularly as in some cases it seems that theory wins out over legal analysis. (In Mental Health Law today we were discussing why it's OK to forcible hospitalise a suicidal depressive but not a cancer victim, and I raised- as a point of law- the positive and negative acts doctrine. Only one person actually used a legal argument to render my point invalid- the others simply questioned the morality of such a doctrine.) However, being able to discuss and theorise, I feel, well, alive again. My passion for International and Constitutional Law has been re-ignited, and as for my passion for writing essays, well- I've chosen my paper topics for 2 of my 3 seminar classes, and am seriously considering asking my Family Law lecturer if I can submit a paper instead of an exam. And, as certain people may have fallen asleep to, I've chosen (at least for now) my comparative dissertation topic for next year. How does the rule of lex loci and the protection of same-sex marriage in Europe and the USA sound? I can certainly rant on it convincingly.

As a third point, the beer here is pretty terrible, and cider pretty much unheard of. It's looking like Corona all the way- well, Corona, and serious amounts of coffee.

JJ

My lawyer can beat up your lawyer

This may yet be the fastest blog entry known to man, as, according to the giant computer lab clock, I have 5 minutes before I'm due to go and stake out the main loan desk upstairs. I've been hunting down a particular book by Elyn Saks for the past week (according to Amazon my copy was shipped a fortnight ago, but that's becoming less and less reassuring), and have repeatedly been foiled by other people wanting to make use of the library course reserve system. The class is now less than 20 hours away, and I'll admit I'm getting a little tetchy. If I don't manage to get the book, well...
Suffice to say that I'm enjoying classes, and coping (well, mostly) with the reading, and that I'm beginning to make friends- although, to my personal shame, after ranting so much about International inclusion for the past two years at Exeter, I have found myself spending much of my social time with, you guessed it, the other Internationals. I don't know that I can justify my actions there, but then again I'm no so sure that I want, or really need, to. This weekend we (along with Hurricane Earl) went up to Cape Cod and Rhode Island, and had a really wonderful time- running in the rain, watching the sun set over the sea, eating sushi...

But I digress. To keep things brief, so far I:

- Have volunteered to co-edit a book on the Post-Charter Legislation of the American Colonies

- Have been elected secretary of the CT Alliance of International Lawyers

- Have ridden a bike down the hill in Elizabeth Park

- Have co-hosted a veritable Chinese banquet

- Have explained pretty much every detail of the English legal and political systems

- Have read. And read. And read.

- Have questioned my own beliefs to the point that everything seems absurd

- Have learned an entirely new form of legal dissection

- Have read more cases than ever before

- Have enjoyed reading said cases

- Have fallen asleep on my Legal History book

- Have cried for everything I've left behind

- Have drunk a lot of coffee and spent a lot of money

- Have smiled and laughed more than I have for a while.

OK, the book should be back now. Wish me luck.

JJ