Monday, May 08, 2006

. . . . .First day of class. . . . . . .

Maybe I’m not supposed to be a lawyer. Maybe latex was my thing. First and foremost I’m a huge fan of the period. I like short choppy sentences. I like throwing little dots between words to create suspense. Granted, grammar has never been my joie de vive, but if I had to pick a favorite symbol it would be the period. I don’t know if I’m ready to give the old girl up just yet.

Take this example from tonight’s LARC reading:

Sanchez v. East Contra Costa Irrigation Company
Supreme Court of California S.F. No. 12387
November 19, 1928

“In this action for damages for the death of plaintiff’s minor son, where it appeared that defendant and irrigation company, maintained a siphon from its canal on one side of a creek to its canal on the other side, that the opening of this siphon in the end of the canal was four feet in diameter and was unguarded, that the defendant company had constructed within a short distance of the siphon several small houses in which employees of the company, including plaintiff, with their families resided, that plaintiff’s son fell into the canal which, at the time of the accident, was filled with about three feet of water, and then evidently slipped into the siphon at the bottom of this three feet of water and his body was recovered from a place some fifteen feet down the siphon, that the water in the canal was muddy and the opening of the siphon could not be seen, and there was no sign of warning to notify passer-bys of the presence of this large siphon, the case involved a situation where defendant had placed upon its property an artificial peril, a concealed danger, without warning to those who were invited by defendant to live close by, and it was liable in damages for the resulting death.”

One period in 215 words is simply unacceptable. Yale Law School requires a 250 word essay; maybe they’d be impressed if it was one sentence long.

Besides that everything else was wonderful. . . . . .Oh. . . .I forgot to mention the whole Prof. CivPro kicking me out for being late thing but that’s neither here nor there.

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