Still In The Top 20%

I have to get up way too early tomorrow and should be sleeping right now. But I'm happy to report that I have remained in the top 20% of my class. I wasn't sure I would, but I got the old "welcome to Law Review" email today, which is reserved for the top 20%-ers. Of course, I suppose I should be more embarrassed than pleased, as if I had made any significant progress on my comment by the end of the year, they wouldn't have bothered to send me that email!

Ready, Set, Organize

I'm 2 days into my internship at the DA's office. Not that I've really done anything yet, but I'm just loving being there and watching/reading/seeing all the stuff that goes on and what actually happens in the real world. I do not care for all the theoretical crap they teach us in law school because I lean towards the practical. I want to know how to really do stuff.

I spent yesterday kind of shadowing the deputy DA I'm working with. Most of the day was spent in court, waiting for one thing after another. I guess it could best be described as boring but interesting. I mean, it wasn't like anything exciting happened, but again, I liked seeing how things really work.

I must say, everyone I have met, both people in the office and in court, have been so nice to me! The hard part is I'm meeting so many people and I have no way to remember all their names. I'm just hoping some of them start to sink in eventually. At least I know all the DAs in our office.

I spent about 5 hours today reading over past gang injunctions, local and from other jurisdictions in the state. Very interesting. I am truly a dork because I'm excited that I now have the go ahead to reorganize all the prior injunctions. When I saw the files the other day, I couldn't believe the mess they were in, but I didn't know if it was my place to do anything about it. Well, apparently it is. I know it is kind of a yucky job (which explains why no one else has done it), but I know I'm good at that kind of thing, so I will be very relieved when I have it all set up the way I think it should be. And of course, once I do, everyone else will love it too. Dorky, dorky me.

In other slightly important news, the final grades were posted today. Since I took the Bus. Org. final soooooo long ago, I had no idea what to expect, as I cannot remember anything about the test, much less what bits of wisdom I may have managed to type out under pressure. I ended up with a high B in that class, so I'm thrilled. I certainly didn't expect that going in.

I guess I'm most amazed at my Con. Law grade. Seriously, I thought if I were to fail any class, it would be that one. It was just too close to Political Science (the only C I got during my undergraduate classes) for me. In my thinking, people believe one way or another. You're not going to change them. So, it isn't worth talking about unless you just like to debate, which I do not. Anyway, I did try to be engaged in the class once a month, like I mentioned, when I knew I'd be on call, but other than that, I didn't do anything for that class. I'm anxious to see my actual exams and read any comments written on them.

Next week when I register for summer school I should get my revised ranking. Since I'll now be "bumped up" and included with the 4th years/graduating students, I assume my number will be lower. Again, I can't say I'm concerned. I'm getting great experience, and know I'm doing fine, so why stress over something that ultimately won't matter?

Grades Are Online

All grades, except Purvis' Con Law and Bus Org are online. I don't quite understand how we can have taken the Bus Org exam at the end of MARCH and he has to turn in those grades LATE. I have some choice words to say about that, but better not to post them here.

Anyway, I only had 2 new grades posted yesterday (Crim Pro and Con Law). I received the same grade in both classes (a B score) which surprised me. I guess I knew I'd get a B in Crim Pro, as I got a B in Crim Law last semester, but I had gotten a C on Con Law's midterm, and I've made no secret of how much I despise that class. I just have a hard time putting much effort into something I hate. I only read for the class once a month, when I knew I would be called on. I didn't think I really know what was going on in that class. I DID put together an excellent binder of notes and outlines to use on the final, since it was open note/book. Perhaps that did more good than I knew!

My overall GPA is down one point from last year (before Bus. Org. is added into the equation). Not that I really care. At this point, I know I'll graduate, I was offered every internship I applied for, and I have no doubt I will get a job I want after graduation, so I'm not really driven to be a show off in school. Plus, oh yeah, I do have a family and stuff that I actually care more about, so there's that....

Supposedly those grades will be online later today. Not that I can check until probably after 6pm anyway. Oh yeah, and moot court stuff still isn't online. I suppose it doesn't matter now because since I'm working this week, I don't have time to do any research for it until the weekend. So much for getting a big head start on that!

She's Home! : )

It's been a long day, but she made it. She left Boston about 11am and was supposed to go through Denver and Las Vegas before arriving here. I was tracking her flights online and started getting worried when I saw her flight out of Denver left late, giving her only 5 minutes to make her connection in LV. I figured we were going to have to find another flight for her, and she called from the plane a couple minutes later, saying they were going back to the gate because there was some problem with the plane. They kept them on the plane for awhile while determining if it could be fixed or not. In the meantime, we found that there were a couple direct flights from Denver, so we were hoping she could get on one of those since she missed the last connecting flight from LV to Fresno.

She called us again once they made everyone get off the plane. Luckily she inherited my "forcer" gene and she insisted they put her on the first direct flight to Fresno, which put her here only about an hour and a half late. (Not bad considering at one point we thought we may be driving to LV to pick her up tonight.)

It just feels to good to see her, hug her, and have her home for awhile. But it's been a long day and I'm going to bed!

Finally! My Daughter Comes Home Tomorrow!

I'm so excited! I can't wait to see her. This will have been the longest time I've ever gone without seeing her (4.5 months). It will just be so good to have her here for 3 months. I know I'm going to be so busy with school and at the DA's office, but I will make time for doing things with her too.

I went downtown to meet the deputy DA will be interning with yesterday. The unit I'll be working in isn't in the main building, but shares a building with a host of people from many different agencies. It took him an hour and a half to give me the tour, introduce me to everyone, and walk me over to the regular DA office to get my badge and stuff finalized.

I'm starting on Tuesday and will work full time next week to get a better idea of what goes on there before shifting to part time the following week when summer school starts. They are pretty laid back there and were so nice, telling me how appreciative they were to have me, yet stress they did not want me coming in early, staying late, or working on weekends, and my supervising DA told me specifically that "family and faith- that all comes first" so that I shouldn't stress about taking time for those things. Very cool.

It appears what one of the main things I will be working on is gang injunctions, which are public nuisance causes of action. Should be interesting since that is a civil action in a department that is criminal. I think I'll be learning a lot!

For those keeping track of my cleaning/packing regimen, I have now done everything with the exception of the master bedroom closet. I'll probably work on that tomorrow morning, but if not, I will have time to do it next week in the evenings. It's looking so much better around here and I have gotten rid of SO much stuff. Makes me feel much better.

And in a final note, it is of no surprise to me that I have no new grades posted yet. Since the deadline is Tuesday, I expect the professors to wait until then to turn them in. And likewise, the moot court packet is not online either yet. Big surprise.

I Feel Very Sorry for YOU

Yes, it's bad enough that I have to use my break in between the spring semester and summer school to go through my entire house and clean and pack it, but YOU, well, you are actually reading about me doing that! lol Never mind my twisted sense of humor.

Anyway, not that anyone but me cares, but I've now gone through every room and closet in the house (that is my responsibility) except the master bedroom and closet. I do have a huge closet (not as big as my old one, mind you. I still have dreams about that closet. Very fond dreams...) but I did take a study break early on in studying for finals and went through TONS of clothes and shoes. I am so bad. I'm sure I got rid of more shoes that many people even own. I was too embarrassed to count them. And there were even more clothes. But that was only the stuff in plastic bins on the shelves and didn't include any hanging things. Ugh. This is what I get for being a packrat.

I have a bunch of appointments tomorrow, including meeting with the deputy DA I will be interning for starting next week, and meeting with the law student who is doing the US Attorney's internship that I'll do in the fall, this year. I want to get the inside scoop on both jobs, so hoping tomorrow will be productive that way.

Today I finished a 7 year long Bible study. I highly recommend Bible Study Fellowship to everyone! It's not just for people that go to one particular church, or already know a lot, so whatever your background, you are welcomed there. They have groups all over the world, so you can do a search and find the closest one to you if you are interested. I'm going to miss it and all the wonderful people I met there. Unemotional me actually cried when I said goodbye to the leader today. (I've also served on the administrative team as treasurer for the last 4 years.) I sincerely hope that I can rejoin in 2 years and attend the women's evening class. Just great stuff!

Grades Next Week

The professors are required to have all of their grades turned in by May 29, so I'm guessing they should all be online perhaps the following day (next Wednesday). I have continued to check and see if the Moot Court packet is online, but it is still not. Very annoying. Of course, not that I really have a whole lot of time right now to do much with it.

The 2 hour season finale of 24 is on tonight. I've been a devoted fan and not missed an episode since I started watching it (3.5 years ago??). It just has been dragging the last half of this season though. Hubby swears he is done with it after this season, but I'm not making that decision yet. I love to see Jack kick ass as much as the next person, but some of these story lines are getting kind of stupid.

Well, I'm just taking a break from cleaning out the kitchen and I've got plenty more waiting for me, so I should be on my way.....

NAMI Walk Description

Last Saturday I participated for the 3rd year in the NAMI walk at Woodpark. I wrote a letter to the editor about it, which was published in today's paper. Check it out!

I'm Tired- I Need to Go Back to School!

I've been out of classes for a week and a half. Honestly, I wish I was back in class. We're going to sell our house and move, so in preparation for that, we are going through the whole house and packing up everything that we don't need on a frequent basis and moving it into storage. This is the hard part because there is such much sorting to do. Things are either put into the trash, put into my yard sale pile (which I'll get rid of in August at my big sale), boxed and labeled and put into storage, or organized and kept here.

I've been working at it for the last week and have now gone through all the closets and my office. I'm doing the kitchen and pantry on Monday and Tuesday, and the master bedroom and bathroom Wednesday through Friday. Hubby did his office and the garage, my daughter did her room last year before leaving for MIT, and my son is doing his room.

The plan is that once everything is stored, decluttered and cleaned, we can list the place for sale. Once it sells, since what is here will be things we know we want (having already sorted through everything), it won't be so hard to pack and move. We anticipate it taking awhile to sell because of the price, but that is why we are planning to list it now, rather than after I graduate. It will probably make the next year kind of tricky, making sure it is always kept clean and ready to show, but it will be better in the long run.

I start my internship with the DA on the 29th, so I really only have next week to get this done. The week after that, I start summer school classes. I will probably only work 12 hours a week during summer school, but with the classes, the research and writing I'll be doing for both Moot Court and my internship, I doubt I'll have much free time.

Speaking of internships, I'm still just so excited my trial. Laying in bed last night, just thinking about doing a real trial, my heart starting racing. I don't know what's wrong with me! When I was younger, I wanted things that were predictable and easily attainable. Now it seems like I'm much rather be pushed by being somewhat afraid......like it is more of a challenge. So the fear doesn't scare me. I think it just pushes me to try harder. Whatever...I must be a freak.

This is just surreal

I knew that my internship at the US Attorney's office would mean I'd be doing court appearances, but it seemed like it was more likely that doing actual trials were not as common in the misdemeanor unit. I was thrilled to be asked to do this one in September, but I thought that he'd probably have me doing support functions. Maybe not running for coffee, but more of the research and assistance type stuff. So this morning I got an email from him saying that I should plan on doing the opening statement for the trial in front of the jury and that he will do the closing. It feels like a cross between a huge vote of confidence and staring at a train barrelling down the tracks at me! Ack....giving an opening statement in a trial in federal court! I'm feeling excited and scared, but that is the best way to feel. I've got 4 months to prepare, which will hopefully eradicate the scariness factor.

Nothing like jumping right into something......

Just When I Think...

that next year is going to be the best ever, it gets even better! I got an email from my Criminal Trial professor asking me if I was interested in trying a case with him once I start working in the US Attorney's office in the fall. A particular case is not going to plead out, so he told me a few of the details and asked if I wanted to work on it with him. Ok, I am soooo honored and thrilled that I can't even describe it! Our trial date is September 18. How cool is that! My first real trial!

Criminal Misdemeanor Unit

I realized that I never put the description of my fall internship on here. From their website:

Criminal Misdemeanor Unit: These Law Clerk positions are available for third-year law students. Duties include prosecuting misdemeanor offenses for the federal government in the United States Magistrate Court. The student is responsible for his or her own caseload, from initial appearances through trial and probation violations. Law students will gain valuable experience appearing in court, making and responding to motions, preparing for trial, and acting as trial counsel for bench and jury trials.

Guess you can see why I'm so excited about it!

Jumping Through Hoops*

For my internship with the US Attorney's office, I needed to have my fingerprints done. I could either do it at the federal courthouse downtown (if I could coordinate it with the guy in the marshall's office there), or at one of the local police departments. Since I haven't been able to catch the guy downtown, I went to pick up the cards this morning, and then headed over to the police headquarters that is next to school. Of course, when I get out there, I was informed that they will only fingerprint you if you live or work in their city, which I do not (and then, only Monday and Wednesday, 2-4pm). I was out of luck all the way around.

While I was over there, I stopped by school to check out my ranking in Property, since that was the only class of mine posted. I'm 16th in the class, which I guess is the top third. Not spectacular, but better than a kick in the pants (sorry, one of my favorite sayings).

Anyway, the policeman at the station was nice enough to give me a list of places in the area that could do my fingerprints, with addresses and times. I had 45 minutes to make it back downtown to the county sheriff to get it done there. I did have to park a couple blocks away, but luckily there was no line and I made it in plenty of time. I have never done that before and it's pretty cool how they do it on the machine with no ink.

So, after that, I headed back to the courthouse to turn it all in. Now, I just have to do a drug test and I'll be ready for that internship. Of course, before that, I have summer school and another internship to worry about!

*Just to be clear, I am more than happy to jump through ANY hoop for this internship. I am SOOOOO excited about it!

Property Grades are Online

Hurray for our property professor who always grades our exams so quickly! Those grades are online now. I ended up getting a grade that was equal to the average of my 2 midterms in there, so I'm happy with that. It seems to prove that is the grade I deserved.

Also set to be posted today were grades for : Crim Pro (Cronin), PR, Jurisprudence, Crim Trial, Evidence (Whitlock) and Remedies (Mallery). Crim Trial isn't posted yet, so I'm assuming these are still in the process of being put online.

BTW, I predicted a score between 75 and 80 for this test and I was spot on....I got a 78!

Finished with Second Year of Law School.....

....and now I'm considered a 4th year student. No, I didn't get to skip a year. My school's program is based on a 4 year schedule, however, it does offer an accelerated 3 year program you can choose after completing and passing the first year.

I received an email from school yesterday telling us that only 48 slots were available for moot court this summer, and priority went to 4th year students. Since I'm planning on graduating next May, I emailed and asked if 3rd year students who were on the 3 year plan got the same priority. The answer- yes, because we are considered 4th year students. So there you have it. I feel like I've accomplished so much in the last day.....like completing 2 years of law school! lol

I have no idea how I did on last night's Con Law exam. I think I did ok on the 2 regular "issue spotting" questions, but I know I really sucked on the policy question. Thankfully it was worth the least amount (not sure, but maybe 20-25% of the total test points). All I can think is that surely I must have gotten at least 20 of 40 points on each of the regular questions and 5 of 20 on the policy one. That's all I needed to pass. I cannot imagine sitting through that class for another year, so hopefully I did enough.

Apparently some grades could be posted as early as today. I've been checking like a freak and nothing yet, at least not for any of my classes. I'm also check the first assignments for summer school and the info packet for moot court, and that isn't there yet either. I've already got all my books for summer school, so would love to get a head start on things if I had the chance.

I will have to do a reflective post on the second year later, but in general I can say that I did like it much more than the first year. For now, it is just time to relax!

Constitutional Law

Tomorrow evening is my last final exam for my second year of law school. I have absolutely no interest in the subject, as it strikes me as just another variation of political science, which has always been my least favorite subject. I did manage to get a 70 on the midterm, along with both participation points, so I only need a 45 on the final to pass the class.

As much as it pains me to study for this class, I have done so. But I've spent more time preparing my notes for the exam, since it is open note. I have a huge binder in which I have all my class notes, briefs for all cases important enough to be listed on the professor's final class outline, and some extra notes, all indexed and organized to easily find anything quickly.

I'm going to pamper myself on Friday as my reward for finishing the second year by getting my hair done in the morning and then getting a pedicure in the afternoon! Can't wait! I then have the NAMI walk I'm doing Saturday morning (hopefully it won't be too hot!). I'll have 2 weeks "off" before I start my internship at the DA's office, but I have tons I need to get done in those 2 weeks. I don't think I will get a real vacation until for another 16 months or so (after I take the bar exam).

Only One Final Left

I had a brief scare before the Crim Pro final last night. When I went to start Exam Soft, it said I needed to take a qualifying exam. I kept trying to get to the exam and it wouldn't let me. I finally went to go see the lady in charge of these things and this is the same thing that happened to another student before Tuesday's final. It required completely downloading the program again, and then having her manually approve me downloading the exam. It finished and I got into the exam exactly at 6:30!

I was afraid if I had had to write it would have been so messy and hard to read. I'm glad it didn't come to that. Of course, now I have the same problem the other student did in that since I downloaded a later exam before this happened, it doesn't show up on my exam list, yet won't let me re-download it. So I will have to have the administrator help me get my last exam fixed on the computer too. What a pain!

I always wondered what the deal was when people were having these last minute problems. I know that sometimes people forget to actually download the exams, but I never do that. In fact, I always open the program after downloading one to make sure it shows up! I didn't add any new software to my computer or anything either. Obviously, there is some kind of bug or flaw in that software. At least I got to school early enough to catch it and get it taken care of before it caused me a problem during the exam time.

The exam itself wasn't too bad. I always check my word count though and I'm concerned because while I had over 1700 words for question 1, and over 1500 for question 3, I only had 1150 for question 2. Since they were all weighted the same, I feel like there must have been something there I didn't see and address. So, because of that I'm guessing my score won't be that great...maybe in the 70-75 range? It doesn't matter really, as long as I got above 55.

Con Law is on Wednesday. I'm going to organize my materials today and attend the review session tomorrow. That should highlight what else I need to do. I may even take the day off on Sunday since I'll have Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to study. Depends on how I feel after the review session. We'll see....

Background Check #2

In addition to studying for my finals the last few days, I have been filling out my packet of information for the background check for my internship with the U.S. Attorney's office. I'm getting that sent out to Sacramento today. All I need to do is get my fingerprints done. The check is supposed to take 6-8 weeks to complete, so I am very glad I got this offer now so I will be ready to go when school starts in August.

The Property exam really wiped me out, more than I realized on Tuesday night. I was SO tired all day yesterday! I still think I did well on it, but probably not as good as I would have liked. CrimPro tonight seems like it will be much easier in comparison. I just need to remember to cram as many facts and as much analysis in there as I can because that is what the professor likes. (I tend to be brief and to the point, which I think hurt me on the December exam in his class.)

Anyway, after tonight's exam I only have Con Law, which isn't until next Wednesday night. Since I despise that class and will have 6 days to study, I'm anticipating having a hard time motivating myself to do much for it. I have done a lot of prep work already. I mostly need to do some indexing, and then read through all the notes I'm bringing to the test to make sure I understand them and will know where to find them.

I guess this is it for now. Need to study a little more for Crim.

Feeling Pretty Good

I just got home after taking the Property final exam. I honestly feel pretty good about it. It compares to how I felt after taking the Contract midterm my first semester (and I got over an 80 on that!) I am predicting something between a 75 and 80 for my score. Not a doubt in my mind that I passed the class. Maybe I have more confidence than I should have, but I absolutely love walking into a test, looking at it, and thinking, "yeah, I know that, I know that, I know that...." and not ever coming to something I don't know how to address. That's how I felt tonight. I'm sure I left stuff out, but it certainly wasn't the big stuff.

Now on to Criminal Procedure. The volume of material isn't nearly as great as it was for Property, so I'm hoping the next 2 days (in addition to the studying I did last week) will be enough. It will have to be!

I'm Related to Royalty

My Swedish cousin, Angelica, celebrated her 5th birthday in style. Doesn't she make a sweet little princess? Such a doll!

Anyway, I've been studying Property like crazy. I know it is bad when I start dreaming about it like I did last night. I can't remember exactly what my dream was about, but I was trying to figure some property problem out.

I am relieved to hear that I'm not the only one who is more than a little freaked out by this exam. But the good thing is I only need a 39 on the final to pass the class, and I've never gotten a score that low on anything!

I actually think once I get to school and start the test I'll be fine. I just hate the waiting and wondering (what will be on it). I guess I should get to the studying. Good luck everyone!