Sunday, April 30, 2006

Legal News: the Bible and Georgia Public Schools

Georgia might be the first state to offer Bible classes in its public schools. Last week, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed a bill into law that allows Georgia public school districts to offer elective courses on the Bible. Some thoughts on this:

I haven't had the opportunity to read the legislation, but it sounds as though what the legislature and governor are trying to do is shore up local school districts in the state, some of whom already have Bible classes incorporated into the curriculum. The practical effect of the law will be, first and foremost, to have a uniform curriculum for all elective Bible courses in the state; the legislation gives the state Education Department until next February to draw up the curricular guidelines. Local school districts would then have the option of whether to offer the courses.

Two other reasons stand out for why the state legislature would pass legislation for Bible courses. One possibility is that they are trying to appeal to the conservative base of the Republican Party in an election year. The other is legal, and strategically sound. Getting the state involved in the Bible controversy will allow the state to use its legal resources to defend the practice once the inevitable challenge comes from the ACLU or Americans United for Separation of Church and State. Otherwise, the anti-religion groups would be free to attack local school districts piecemeal, leaving each of them unable to engage in a protracted legal battle or to fight an injunction.

Overall, it makes sense to get the state involved, because there are many legal and constitutional pitfalls with a Bible class, and they are easier to navigate when there is a single, statewide standard for what should be taught, context, etc.

Many people would object to any amount of Scripture being taught in the public schools, claiming that this violates the separation of church and state. But there are two things to keep in mind here. One, this is an elective course that local school districts have the option of offering to their students. Two, the law stipulates that the courses must be taught "in an objective and nondevotional manner with no attempt made to indoctrinate students." Source: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,192582,00.html

Critics might say such a goal is impossible. But the Bible has value not just to Christians, but in the context of a history or social studies class as well. As long as it is taught in this way, as a work of history, literature, and in the context of its influence on American law and government, a class on the Bible could have educational value for Georgia high school students. If there is enough demand for a Bible class, I would like to see opponents wait and see how the law is implemented before making up their minds.

Friday, April 28, 2006

On Staying Cool

The title of this post refers to the advice we received in our Property class today to "stay cool" for the upcoming exam. Our professor told us to look at the example of Justice Alito during his confirmation hearings-his wife sobbed, but he didn't flinch. By referring to us, I'm not sure if he meant Alito or his wife, given the strain we are all under right now.

Today was our last day of class for the first year of law school. It is difficult to look at it with a sense of context right now, because I am right in the thick of studying for my final exams, which begin Monday. But whether or not we realize it, what we have done so far, just getting through the first year of law school, is a huge accomplishment. It has been a long 9 months since I have moved to Columbus, and it has not been an easy experience by any stretch. But I have made it and survived, and have proved to myself that I will not be retreating up I-71 anytime soon.

That being said, there are lessons I have learned from this past year. There are some things I have done right, but other areas where I could use some improvement. The rest of this week, in a three-part series of blog posts, I will talk about what I need to do to stick with my goals for 2006 in three key areas: spiritual, professional, and social. Tonight, I will discuss my professional goals and how I am working towards those goals for this year, and how I can improve.

My professional goals, generally speaking, for 2006 have been to do my best with respect to law school grades, line up strong plans for summer, become more active in politics and networking, use my time productively, and create and maintain a blog, as a resource for fellow Christian law students (and general interest for all readers).

Generally speaking, this is the most successful of the three areas in which I set goals for this year. I am proud to say that one of my goals for the year has already been accomplished-you are reading it right now. I will be participating in the Blackstone Legal Fellowship this summer, so I definitely accomplished what I wanted there. I have had some real and definite successes so far in 2006.

However, there are areas where I need to improve for the remaining 7 months of the year:

1) Grades: my law school grades have been solid so far, but to improve and do even better, in the fall I need to focus on spreading out my workload through the semester. The mistake I made during the first year was to concentrate most, or all, of my outlining during the last couple weeks of class. This has created a very stressful situation, as I am rushing to finish my course outlines before the exam in order to preserve a meaningful amount (2-3 days) of study time before each test. In the fall, I resolve to do a better job of having a quota of outlining to complete every 2-3 weeks. This will make the end of the semester (Appellate Advocacy included) much less stressful.

This, along with other changes I plan to make, will help make me a more effective law student, which ultimately has a spiritual component as well, insofar as what I do as a law student and lawyer reflects my love of the Lord and my willingness to serve Him through my labor.

2) Networking: in general, I plan to attend as many Mentoring Program and other networking and Republican Party events as my schedule will allow. Not much to say here.

3) Time management: probably the most critical skill I need to develop in my life, short of prayer and spiritual disciplines. When I get back from my internship this summer, I will need to take inventory of all my time commitments, and make a comprehensive schedule covering everything from exercising at RPAC to time to cook dinner to reading for Business Associations (one of our second-year courses). I will more fully develop this idea later. This topic is closely related to grades, since I need to do better at managing my workload throughout the semester.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

On Rising Above

Tonight, it is time to reflect on the events of the past month, to look at where I have been, and where I am headed.

As I write this, I am in the last stage of the first year of law school. In two weeks, I will be taking my exams in Property, Constitutional Law, and Legislation, and I will be competing for a spot on one of the law journals for next year. After that, I will have a few weeks off before I head out to Arizona for the first stage of the Blackstone Fellowship, and then beyond that, a fall semester packed with everything except time to rest. The rest of 2006 is going to be extremely busy, and will probably go by fast.

On the surface, this should be one of the best times of my life-I am getting to live out the plans I had made for myself. But recently, especially in the last month or so, I have let myself become consumed with the stress I am under. This has been brought on by a combination of things: a lack of enough sleep, not making it to exercise on a regular basis, but most importantly, I have lacked a regular prayer and devotion time. My communication with Headquarters has, for the most part, been severed by the Enemy's distractions.

Ultimately there is only one way out-finding a way to rise above the situation by growing and meeting my spiritual and student-related challenges.

About a month ago, I wrote about how my problem is that I am focused too much on living to please other people, instead of pleasing God. But what I still need to figure out is what it means to live a life that is pleasing to God. Right now, I think the best way to do this is to rise above the situation by handling adversity. This doesn't mean not making mistakes. But it does mean not curling up in the fetal position and whimpering about how things used to be in high school, when life was simpler and the sun was shining. It means to get tough-to be a good man, not merely a nice guy.

Law school, for me, goes far beyond getting an education. It is a time when I am being put on trial, being tested by the Lord to see what kind of man I am to become. My job is to let it be a crucible, not an incinerator.

Last night, I watched "The Ten Commandments" (the original version, with Charlton Heston), and I am reminded of his journey through the desert. At this point, Moses could not be in a worse situation. He was the prince of Egypt, yet he had lost everything, been stripped of his title, given a day's worth of bread and water, and left to crawl through the desert. Yet as the narrator explains, this was his great time of trial, where he was formed and sharpened for God's great work that lay ahead. It made me think of where I am right now-not that my experience is as difficult as his, but the struggles I face are God's way of preparing me for His purpose in a grand design I cannot see, a part I will play beyond the horizon.

Here's what I am going to start doing to rise to the challenges I face:

1) Restore my communion with God. My goals for this year included praying twice a day, and having a devotion and Bible reading at least daily. There is still plenty of time to get back on track with this, and make it happen. My prayer times lately have been short and ineffective, a "help me in this interview, Lord" or "bless John/Mary, Lord". My time with God has to go beyond this to be effective.

2) Get more sleep. Since I have a huge workload in between now and finals, the temptation is to stay up late and work until I am just short of falling asleep at my desk. This does no good for me or for getting me to the prize.

3) Exercise. Not only to lose weight, but to concentrate better, study more effectively, sleep better, and in general have a better quality of life. When I am at my best, I am at my best for God.

4) Trust God more. My tendency is to wring my hands over every future, hypothetical situation that might pose a threat to the regime I have constructed around myself. Will I find a job after I graduate? Will I get married? Will I have enough money to pay my bills? This is a spiritual shortcoming on my part, that has to be confronted through prayer, faith, and facing the facts.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is that I will get through this. The flames of the fire I face burn hot, but when I emerge from the chaos in my schedule and the turmoil of spiritual and emotional growth, I will be a more effective Christian than in the past. Through the strength of the Holy Spirit, I will be a more powerful person than ever before.

I will be more confident. I will have a deeper and more abiding faith not only in my salvation, but my earthly deliverance from sin and fear. I will have not only the knowledge from being an attorney, but the armor of God equipped for the great adventure that is yet to come.

Scheduling, pt. 2

I managed to rework my schedule for next year. It wasn't because of the classes or professors, but because I needed to work out time conflicts with the Legislation Clinic. So as of Thursday night, here is my new schedule for 2006-2007.

Fall 2006
Appellate Advocacy (Beazley)
Evidence (Imwinkelreid)
The First Amendment (Goldberger)
Business Associations (Oesterle)
Federal Courts (Caust-Ellenbogen)

Winter 2007
Legislation Clinic (Huefner)
Sem: Evidence and Trial Practice (Sargus)
Civil Procedure II (Greenbaum)
Advanced Constitutional Law (Laughlin)

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Scheduling

Yesterday, I got to schedule my classes for the first time as a law student. A few observations on the whole thing, now that it is behind us for the most part.

Here is my schedule for next year, subject to change:

Autumn 2006
Appellate Advocacy (Beazley)
First Amendment (Goldberger)
Business Associations (Oesterle)
The Federal Courts (Caust-Ellenbogen)
Administrative Law (Shane)

Winter 2007
Legislation Clinic (Huefner)
Evidence (Krivoshey)
Civil Procedure II (Greenbaum)
Advanced Constitutional Law (Laughlin)

Scheduling my classes in college was fun. I went to The University of Akron, and we had online registration there, just like we do at Ohio State. There were several things that made it different from the chaotic stress-fest it is in law school. First of all, there was no limit on the number of credits I could take. I would load up on as many as I could manage within the limits of my time and mental health.

Second, beyond the required classes for my major, and for the Honors Program, I could take what I found interesting. This meant a heavy dose of political science and history, including classes on the Civil War, linguistics, and philosophy. The requirements for my major weren't that bad, since I had tested out of some things in high school. So it was a fantastic opportunity for me to get the most out of college, and study the subjects I wanted.

Judging from yesterday's experience, law school is completely different.

There is very little, if any, time to take classes just because they sound interesting. Everyone who is in law school is preparing for a particular kind of law or job. So if you want to be a prosecutor or defense attorney, you need to get into the classes on criminal procedure, white collar crime, whatever is available. Personally, I am going to become a litigator and want to work in constitutional law, so I took as many procedural and constitutional law-related courses as I could.

Advice to future law students-plan out your schedule before registration. I can't say how it works at all law schools, but ours was like a cyber version of the Oklahoma Land Rush. I sat in the computer lab at 7:59, sweating because the computers and people make the room temperature about 100 degrees. There is no time to look up classes once the online registration window opens-just enter in the numbers as fast as you can.

I kept track of how fast the classes filled up. One that I tried to get was full in 7 minutes. Another was full at 8:05. Things have changed since undergrad. Now, instead of getting into and out of classes without a problem, the people who don't get in get stuck on a "wait list" and have to hope that people in the class drop or cancel. So it's a lot different than undergrad-much more competitive for a small number of classes, and ultimately no one gets everything that they want.

Also, there are some classes that are even more competitive than normal. These include the seminars, practica, and clinics. For these, everyone gets a "first choice request" to try and get the class they want. I used mine to get into the Legislation Clinic, because it only takes 12 people a semester, and is tough to get into.

Bottom line....another situation where stress boils over with a lot of people, but you just have to manage. Another situation where I have to rise above the anxiety and depression that are so easy to embrace right now.