The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens

Dudley, Stephens, and Brooks are able-bodied seamen. Richard Parker is a 17 yr old crew member and youngest of the group. Their ship is lost at sea and they are w/o food for days. All they've had to eat are 2 lb tins of turnips and a turtle that floated by. They are 1000 miles away from land. On the 18th day, Dudley suggested to Stephens and Brooks that they kill Parker. Parker, sickly at the time from drinking sea water, was not consulted. Brooks refused. Dudley killed the boy and all three men ate him. They were rescued 4 days later.

1) The defendants had a difficult choice to make. How will that affect whether they are liable? And should they be punished?

2) Given that Parker is an illiterate youth and does not have a family, whereas Dudley and Stephens are highly religious men with a family -- is this background information relevant?

Orientation 2/2

good grief
i was there from 4:00-9:45 PM
i was exhausted by the time i got home around 11:00

another day of long speeches
this time in Westminister Hall
which is a church attached to the school
(Edgar Allen Poe is buried in the backyard!)
anyhow, that room was sooooo cold
i was literally freezing in there for 2.5 hours
and they served us ice-cream too...
what were they thinking?!?!

then pizza was served for dinner
more mingling and a student organization fair
signed up my name at the Intellectual Property booth
as well as the Asian/Pacific American Law Association booth
(i had to... come-on!)

then an hour about the honor code and ethics
from this day on,
we have to report to the dean any crime committed
such as speeding tickets, DUIs, etc
this question was asked on the application
and was stated as, not including "minor traffic violations"
well, most people thought speeding tickets are minor
but apparently they're not
so those people all have to go see the dean
i'm just glad the one speeding ticket i got was dismissed
whew!

and then came the sample class
i read the case, but didn't brief it
therefore i wasn't totally prepared
and so i kept praying...
don't call on me...please don't call on me..
(the funny prof from last nite was right--
if you weren't religious before
you're a devout believer now in law school!)
luckily i wasn't called on
but it scared me enough to make sure i'm prepared from now on

first day begins tomorrow
so it's back to those 21 pages of torts for me

Orientation 1/2

the commute from columbia itself only took 25-30 min
(i hope it will still be good when i leave at 5:00!)
it wasn't until baltimore that traffic got crazy
it took me 15 min to circle a block!

finally parked the car
thank goodness the garage is close to the bldg
it's literally right across the street

walked 2 blocks to find the parking office to get my parking permit
(which could have been done online if their system was working properly)
another 2 blocks to get my ID
(horrendous mugshot that will stay w/me for 4 years)
then downstairs to the bookstore
(one book i needed was out-of-stock...great)
don't know why all this couldn't be done in the actual orientation...
such a waste of time

finally it's time for orientation, which was 4 hours of:
-touring the library
-setting up lexis/westlaw accounts
-intros w/peer advisors
-dinner and mingling
-dean's speech (with references ranging from shakespeare to elle woods)
-and a sample class on how to brief a case

in a nutshell, orientation was a lot of inspirational speeches and info packets
the students were diverse (incoming class age ranged from 20-56!)
the sample class prof was hilarious (must sign up for his classes!)
and there will be a LOT of reading and being called on in class
now i better brief my 3rd case before the next sample class tonite

last weekend

one more weekend
and summer is officially over
i don't know what i've done all summer
but it just flew by!

my two-day orientation begins on monday
and it sounds like they will be two jam-packed sessions

i've started reading the first assignment for torts (pages 1-21 )
except i got up to page 6 and my mind started wandering...
this is really dry stuff
so apparently...i only like to read stuff that's...easy to read
i mean, i had to reread some of the pages twice
just to make sure i understood it
and now i pretty much forgot what i read and will have to start all over
hopefully...the material will get better
b/c there's going to be a LOT of reading...

i don't know
i'm excited, but nervous
what are the chances that law school will be a breeze?
maybe i'll breeze through the classes like i did for my masters?
or is that just wishful thinking?
hopefully i can do the bulk of my reading during the weekends
i think i'd need a lot of sleep during the weekdays

anyhoo
last weekend so i shall enjoy it!

starving chunk

chunky is starving...starving...
but chunky can't eat
no, she can't...

not yet...not until tomorrow...
tomorrow
chunky shall feast
chunky is still deciding...
maybe todai?
maybe pf chang?
mouth watering...

chunky not looking forward to this evening
not good at all...
cherry flavored draino
beautiful, just beautiful...

chunky will think of mongolian beef instead...
garlic snap peas...
the perfect, best white rice ever...
oh so good udon noodles...