Sitting in Law School with $3.36 in my account...
I'm hiding out in the Law Library. Fearful of leaving because I have next to nothing in my account. According to the corporate myth I am to be paid around 1300-1400 dollars today, which will easily tide me over for the next two weeks. I found out as well that I am only to pay around $150 for my two subjects.
I am deciding whether I want to undertake Legal Philosophy on top of Criminal and Constitutional Law or whether I want to stick with just the two.
If I can earn 1/3 of what I'm earning now for the next semester I really will be able to earn us enough money to qualify for a quality of living that exceeds (I dare say) the majority of students. However I will be forced to undertake the subject 'Lawyers Ethics and Society' in the summer.
As for the subject content of the Constitutional course , I have discovered that it takes a predictably federalist stance in giving control back to states and local authorities. Not really all the surprising since the High Court and the Parliament have combined to remove a lot of control from the states over the past 11 years - an imported legacy of Thatcherism (or what we call Howardism).
It is ironic that the Iron Lady, an apparant champion of Friedman's libertarianism ended up rationalising the state to the point of abolishing local councils. Howard has done a similar thing, even going as far as promising that he would intervene in Tasmania's Health system - a definite attempt to destabilise the groundswell of support for Labor in key marginal seats.
The Constitutional course also attempts to examine the legitimacy of using the constitution to import international treaties. Something that the nexdt few years will see Rudd trying to do more and more.
As for Criminal Law, the course runs over the basics of mens rea , actus reus, habeas corpus and the offences to the person from assault through to murder. The course uses the appellate case method to cover some quite tricky appeals and counter claims to what appear to be straightforward cases.
Though, having done Torts A and Contracts A I know there is no such thing as a totally straightforward case in the Supreme or High courts. Criminal Law A establishes the framework for defending these cases as well with some fairly nuggetty cases on defences of insanity, which has gone from a fairly amorphous concept to even more of one.
If I don't get my money until tomorrow - then Nae and I will both starve and then where will we be?
I am starting to go a little barmy. I am also starting to really regret splashing out 11 dollars on the economist. As good a magazine as that is I can't believe some people buy one every week.
I was just reading a blog: jeremyblachman.blogspot.com
And: jeremyblachman.typepad.com
Very interesting stuff - the guy is, however, much cleverer and more motivated than I am and that makes me nervous. He is obviously a perceptive thinker and one with an eye for detail. I feel that I go through life vicariously living through these genius shins.
Saw Nick again today - that guy really is a good guy. I like him alot, he attempts to play the self-loathing narcissist but he manages to transcend that at times and he really has been a good friend to me through my hapless first semester and subsequent repose.
Law School is scary - I'd forgotten how much I am unsure about my place here. I mean, what am I to say to people here when I meet them? I always come up with a witty, charming thing to say AFTER I run into them, but even if I do manage to say anything at all, people look somewhat bored as if they've seen it all before. There are some suspiciously well dressed people about the place and everyone seems entirely confident of what they want to do. I guess being a law student myself I shouldn't express this vulnerability, I guess as well that being a graduate from the 10th best humanities faculty in the world should allow me to feel strong intellectually. Spiritually however, it is very hard not to feel oppressed.
I need to stop obsessively looking at my account now.
I am deciding whether I want to undertake Legal Philosophy on top of Criminal and Constitutional Law or whether I want to stick with just the two.
If I can earn 1/3 of what I'm earning now for the next semester I really will be able to earn us enough money to qualify for a quality of living that exceeds (I dare say) the majority of students. However I will be forced to undertake the subject 'Lawyers Ethics and Society' in the summer.
As for the subject content of the Constitutional course , I have discovered that it takes a predictably federalist stance in giving control back to states and local authorities. Not really all the surprising since the High Court and the Parliament have combined to remove a lot of control from the states over the past 11 years - an imported legacy of Thatcherism (or what we call Howardism).
It is ironic that the Iron Lady, an apparant champion of Friedman's libertarianism ended up rationalising the state to the point of abolishing local councils. Howard has done a similar thing, even going as far as promising that he would intervene in Tasmania's Health system - a definite attempt to destabilise the groundswell of support for Labor in key marginal seats.
The Constitutional course also attempts to examine the legitimacy of using the constitution to import international treaties. Something that the nexdt few years will see Rudd trying to do more and more.
As for Criminal Law, the course runs over the basics of mens rea , actus reus, habeas corpus and the offences to the person from assault through to murder. The course uses the appellate case method to cover some quite tricky appeals and counter claims to what appear to be straightforward cases.
Though, having done Torts A and Contracts A I know there is no such thing as a totally straightforward case in the Supreme or High courts. Criminal Law A establishes the framework for defending these cases as well with some fairly nuggetty cases on defences of insanity, which has gone from a fairly amorphous concept to even more of one.
If I don't get my money until tomorrow - then Nae and I will both starve and then where will we be?
I am starting to go a little barmy. I am also starting to really regret splashing out 11 dollars on the economist. As good a magazine as that is I can't believe some people buy one every week.
I was just reading a blog: jeremyblachman.blogspot.com
And: jeremyblachman.typepad.com
Very interesting stuff - the guy is, however, much cleverer and more motivated than I am and that makes me nervous. He is obviously a perceptive thinker and one with an eye for detail. I feel that I go through life vicariously living through these genius shins.
Saw Nick again today - that guy really is a good guy. I like him alot, he attempts to play the self-loathing narcissist but he manages to transcend that at times and he really has been a good friend to me through my hapless first semester and subsequent repose.
Law School is scary - I'd forgotten how much I am unsure about my place here. I mean, what am I to say to people here when I meet them? I always come up with a witty, charming thing to say AFTER I run into them, but even if I do manage to say anything at all, people look somewhat bored as if they've seen it all before. There are some suspiciously well dressed people about the place and everyone seems entirely confident of what they want to do. I guess being a law student myself I shouldn't express this vulnerability, I guess as well that being a graduate from the 10th best humanities faculty in the world should allow me to feel strong intellectually. Spiritually however, it is very hard not to feel oppressed.
I need to stop obsessively looking at my account now.