Sunday, September 26, 2010

California Dreaming

All the leaves are brown
And the sky is gray
I've been for a walk
On a winter's day

I'd be safe and warm
If I was in L.A.
California dreamin'
On such a winter's day

Stopped into a church
I passed along the way
Oh, I got down on my knees
And I pretend to pray

You know the preacher likes the cold
He knows I'm gonna stay
California dreamin'
On such a winter's day

All the leaves are brown
And the sky is gray
I've been for a walk
On a winter's day

If I didn’t tell her
I could leave today
California dreamin'
On such a winter's day

(California dreamin')
On such a winter's day
(California dreamin')
On such a winter's day

Monday, September 20, 2010

The Ethical Quandry

is the name of a blog from Hinshaw & Culberson, LLP which, among other things, discusses an proposed ammendement in California's ethical rules for attorneys as compared to the Model Rules. . .See link below.

http://blog.hinshawlaw.com/theethicalquandary/

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Illinois Bar Exam Google Group - New!

New!  Please join the Illinois Bar Exam Google Group.  Files related to Illinois specific essays can be posted and shared. (See sidebar under Illinois Google Group to subscribe.)

Moreover, is there anyone out there who would like to become part of a study group (or be a study partner) in a quest to pass the Illinois Bar exam?  If so, join the group and please shoot me an email at: kstudylaw@gmail.com.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Big Brother is Watching

This is the title of an article in Time magazine, published 9/13/2010.  And, the issue being litigated makes a great exam question for the California bar examiners (or any other bar or law school exam.)

What is the issue?  Do police have the right, without a warrant, to place a GPS tracking device on the bottom of your car while your car is parked on the driveway of your home?  The 9th circuit concluded that "this doesn't violate your 4th amend. right because, without a gate or no-trespassing sign, you do not have any reasonable expectation of privacy in your own driveway."

This holding, in turn, caused me to explore GPS tracking devices that you can install on your telephone to track the location of your children (if you have them) or, perhaps, to determine the location of your "cheating" spouse.  It begs the question, "Do I really want to have the GPS device on my cell phone enabled?"

The dissent in the aforementioned holding, Chief Judge Alex Kozinksi, "pointed out that by this logic, only wealthy people who protect their property with electric gates and security booths have a zone of privacy around their homes. . .[and that] the government is free to use [the GPS device] to track people without getting a warrant."

Given the twist in Cal Bar's July 2010 bar exam concerning pedestrian checkpoints, it might be a good idea to watch the outcome of this case which is expected to go up to the Supreme Court given that a recent case in another appellate court (D.C.) ruled opposite the holding in the 9th circuit.

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Ilinois Bar Exam Material

Like many, I have been balancing contract work for law firms and trying to make ends meet.  Thus, I am doing the IL Bar Exam "on the cheap."

I will be downloading all the MEE essay material from the NCBE Web site (see sidebar to my blog under Illinois Bar exam.)  The remaining MEE material I will need to acquire directly from NCBE (e.g. National Conference of Bar Examiners.)  I use the actual bar exam material to develop a series of rule statements and essay templates.

I will also download all the MPT material from the same site and using it to study ala my tips found in recent posts.

As it concerns the Illinois Essay Exams (IEE's), I have copied almost ten years of recent exam material, sans model answers and will be outlining these essays.  Illinois does not publish their questions or answers, however, Bar Bri does have an Illinois specific book on these essays.  Feel free to contact me directly at: kstudylaw@gmail.com concerning this material. 

Funny that the IEE for Feb. 2010 was modeled after the SF Giants and their errant million dollar baseball.  Here's where recent case law was really relevant!

To find bar exam material "on the cheap," check craig's list, amazon.com, e-bay and the like.  Since I understand that IL changed the IEE's in 2007, with less emphasis on Civ Pro, the later editions of Bar Bri material are probably better given this.

I'm still gathering some of my submissions for the IL Bar examiners as well as scraping the $ together to register for the exam.

And, I am less hopeful that I'll have ExamSoft to rely on.  I'll probably hand-write my practice answers to the exam because Illinois, unlike California, seems to do things the old fashioned way.  (How unfortunate!)