People typically go into the Law because of the prestige, financial reward, intellectual stimulation, and the ability to make a positive change in society.

I went to Law School because I wanted to understand the Law, and to understand the Rule of Law that controls so many aspects of American life. What I found in Law School is that all you do is read. You read thousands of cases, which are the published decisions of Judges.

In general, these Judges are some of the most arrogant and conceited people on the planet. Their opinions, which could be given with a simple yes or no, often go on and on, sometimes with convoluted logic and twisted reasoning. From all their verbiage, you are supposed to glean a pattern and pretend it constitutes a set of legal rules. Click the URL below, "Bad Reasons to Study Law" by Adam Liptak, for further light and knowledge. http://www.las.uiuc.edu/students/careeraids/pre_law/legal_profession/bad_reasons.html

For an example of convoluted logic and twisted reasoning, see Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973), as a case in point. Here the Supreme Court determined, "… the right of the woman to choose to have an abortion before viability and to obtain it without undue interference from the state..."

I’m O.K. with that. I personally consider abortion reprehensible, but it is none of my business if my neighbor decides to have an abortion. So, I guess I’m Pro-Choice.

My gripe is the way the Court decided the case, because their logic is complete nonsense. The Court held that a woman's right to an abortion fell within the right to privacy protected by the Fourteenth Amendment. Fine. But the word privacy does not even appear in the United States Constitution.

Consider the following: Internet advertising agencies sneer at your privacy while tracking your site visits with digital IDs known as "cookies" deposited on your hard drive, and that does not violate any privacy law. So, any company that buys access to your information from these databases can access your personal information as soon as you visit their web site or even view their banner ad on a web site you trust! Even if you don't want them to, they'll instantly know who you are, what you like, and where you go online.

Your Employer can spy on you; Your employer can listen to your phone calls at work; people you don’t even know can take photographs of you with out your knowledge or consent; Law enforcement officials can look at your e-mail; and based in part on the lessened expectation of privacy in a car, law enforcement officers are permitted to conduct a warrantless search of a car if the officer has probable cause.

There is an Expanded Computer Assisted Passenger Screening Program at our Airports
to spy on and profile all travellers by the people who screwed up Enron and your credit reports. See http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wpdyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A5185-2002Jan31&notFound=true for further details.

The Washington DC video surveillance system is turning the national mall into a George Orwell 1984  style New World Order, or total government control. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU!

The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators has a scheme to turn your driver's license into a national ID card.

California Governor Grey Davis vetoed three workplace privacy bills, sabotaging financial privacy and proposing a Cal-Patriot Act so bad that his own counsel said it was illegal.

Currently, there are no comprehensive laws regarding medical records privacy.

Your privacy rights are assaulted and violated every day in America and mostly without any intervention from the Law. But according to the Row V. Wade logic, if a woman wants to murder her baby, well by golly she can, because that’s a fundamental right to privacy.

I now understand that the Common Law, are legal principles, rights and remedies that are based on Anglo-American custom and prior court decisions, as opposed to statutory law (though statutes are imbued with common law principles).

All judge-made law is necessarily retrospective. Whenever a court makes a decision which settles a previously unsettled principle, or which reverses previous cases, the person who is the subject of the case in question is affected by the newly-enunciated law. This is despite the fact that her or his acts or omissions are always committed before the decision is handed down.

If a previous line of authority is overturned by a court then only one of the following conclusions can be correct: either the court is interpreting the existing law (which means that the cases overturned must have been wrongly decided), or the court is making new law. The first conclusion (from the interpretative argument) is at its most tenuous when the line of authority, which is overturned, is long and well established. There is no doubt that courts retain their residual law-making power.

A great place to begin for you to learn more about Law Study can be found at:

http://www.lexisone.com/legalresearch/legalguide/law_student_center/law_student_center.htm

I took all of my first and second year Law School courses at the University of LaVerne

College of Law, in LaVerne, California. http://law.ulv.edu/links/links.html.

In order to better accommodate my work and travel schedule, I found it convenient to finish my Legal Education at the American College of Law in Anaheim, California. It took me 10 years and $60,000 to complete the Law Degree and to get a bar ticket.

I once read that "…compared to the bar examination, law school seems like just a bunch of quizzes..." See California Bar Primer http://www.twise.com/barexam/ for a fantastic account of what the Bar Exam is all about, by Travis A. Wise, Esq.

During the ten years it took me to finish Law School, I worked full time, and raised 5 kids. My eldest daughter is now a Senior Property Claims Adjuster for Safeco Insurance Company. My eldest son is an Attorney, practicing Securities Law, my youngest daughter is a School Psychologist, number two son recently received his MD and currently is an orthopaedic surgery resident at the University of Utah, and my youngest son is a graduate of Cal State Fullerton and is currently a Marketing Rep.

At most, one-tenth of what I learn in law school was learned from my professors. So I did not spend a lot of time getting to know them.  I was there to learn what these people had to offer. (Which wasn’t much). Some did pass along the secrets of the Temple, and I did not even know it until years later.  The law professor who influenced me most taught Criminal Procedure, which I will never practice.  My least effective professor taught Remedies Law yet he has had a profound impact on my teaching, as I learned a great deal about bad technique from him.  Subject matter does not count for all that much in this part of the learning process.  See URL below: LETTER TO A YOUNG LAW STUDENT *http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/profiles/glesnerfines/letter.htm by Corinne Cooper, Professor of Law, University of Missouri—Kansas City School of Law. 

My first year coursework introduced me to the fundamentals of the American legal system. There was instruction focused on analysis of appellate cases - the traditional source of the common lawyer's understanding of the law.

Contracts
This yearlong course examined the legal theories and principles relating to parties to agreements and their resultant obligations or benefits. Covered topics included: Formation, Conditions, and Remedies of Contracts; Bargained for Consideration; Third Party Contracts (including Assignments and Delegations); Statute of Frauds; Parole Evidence; Impossibility of Performance and Frustration of Purpose. http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/contracts/

Torts
This yearlong course explored the study of legal liability relating to intentional acts and violation of duties imposed by law. Additionally, legal wrongs committed by a private person upon the person or properties of another independent of a contractual relationship are covered in detail in this course. Topics included: Intentional Torts, Negligence, Strict Liability, Product Liability, Nuisance, Defamation, Invasion of Privacy, and Misrepresentation. http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/web/torts/index.html

Criminal Law
This one semester class examined the state's ability to punish individuals for wrongs committed. Homicide, Theft (including Robbery and Burglary), Assault, Rape, Kidnapping, Arson -- as well as Attempts, Conspiracies, and Solicitation to commit the same are covered in depth. The state of mind required to commit a crime, including Justifications and Excuses, was thoroughly covered. This class is often a favorite course for most first year students. http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/web/crimlaw/index.html

Legal Writing & Bibliography
This course was designed to teach us the ability to spot legal issues in factual situations and form legal arguments and theories. Additionally, students demonstrate factual analysis and reasoning to buttress their arguments and conclusions. http://stu.findlaw.com/student/

Civil Procedure
This yearlong course gave us access to the U.S. court system as its focus. Proper Jurisdiction and Venue (including Long Arm Statutes and Minimum Contacts) were covered in detail. Other topics included: Pleadings, Joiner of Parties and Claims, Class Actions, Discovery, Summary Judgment, Directed Verdict, Res Judicata, Collateral Estoppel, and the Appeal Process. http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/web/civpro/index.html

Real Property
The law governing all aspects of Real Property and the Creation of Rights was the focus of this yearlong course. Additional topics included Ownership Rights (including Present Estates), Co-tenancy, Future Interests, and the Relations between Landlord and Tenant. Real Property Contracts, Statute of Fraud Problems, Real Property Mortgages, Conveyancing and Adverse Possession were also discussed. In this course, the much-vilified Rule Against Perpetuties (R.A.P.) was discussed ad nauseam! http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/web/prop/index.html

Constitutional Law
This yearlong course examined the organization and framework of the federal government, the distribution of political and governmental authorities and functions, and the fundamental principles that regulate the relationship between the government and its citizens. Specific topics included the Source of Judicial Review, the Powers of the Legislative and Executive branches, and the exiguous Authority Reserved for the States. My favorite section was Due Process, Equal Protection, and First Amendment Freedoms. http://kylewood.com/firstamendment/week1.htm http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/web/conlaw/index.html

Evidence
This yearlong course covered the substance of - and means by which - alleged matters of fact are proved or disproved in court. Central topics included the Requirements for the Introduction and Impeachment of Evidence, Relevancy, Character Evidence, Expert Testimony, Privileges and Hearsay. The course also covered the Requirement of Original documents and the Roles of Judge and Juries in the evaluation of evidence. http://members.tripod.com/~gadbuddhaa/

http://lawschool.lexis.com/emanuel/web/evid/index.html

Legal Analysis & Writing
This course covered the practical basis of "how to" write the kind of documents that make up a lawyer's traditional practice: a Client Advice Letter, an Office (Research) Memorandum, and a Memorandum of Law in Support Of - or in Opposition To - a dispositive motion, for example, a Motion for Summary Judgment. The course also included an Oral Argument. http://stu.findlaw.com/student/publications.html

Legal Research
This course focused on research skills and techniques, including use of an online library. I was assigned various research projects that were completed under the tutelage of my instructor. http://www.lectlaw.com/study.html

Corporations
This yearlong course covered the area of law relating to artificial persons or legal entities, consisting of members acting with a common purpose. Particular emphasis was placed on the Formation of the Corporate Unit, the Sale of Shares (including Federal Securities Law), the Operation and Management of the Corporation, and the law covering Dividends, Repurchases and Redemptions. http://members.tripod.com/~legalpad/outlines.htm

Professional Responsibility
The law relating to the ethical standards that govern attorneys and judges was the focus of this course. It covered the ABA Rules of Professional Conduct, the Model Rules, and the ABA Code of Judicial Ethics. And contrary to popular belief, Ethics and Lawyer used in the same sentence is not an oxymoron. http://www.ilrg.com/students.html

Community Property
This course covered the law of Community Property and the Division of Marital Assets in California. Specific topics included: the Characterization of Property as Separate or Community, Creditors' Rights, Third Party Transfers, and the Resolving of Disputes upon the Termination of a Relationship or the Death of a Party. http://people.qualcomm.com/rmartin/outlines.html

Criminal Procedure
This was far and away my favorite course. We focused on the law governing the rights of the accused. The topics of Arrest, Search, Seizure, Confessions and Self-incrimination, Police Lineups, Guilty Pleas, Double Jeopardy, Right to Counsel and a Fair Trial were covered in detail. My Professor was a retired Criminal Defense Attorney, and his stories were great. http://www.law.nyu.edu/mirskyc/criminalprocedure/crimpro.html

The long-simmering corruption scandal at the Los Angeles Police Department has caused the U.S. Department of Justice, to gain sweeping oversight and monitoring powers over the 9,300-member force. For years officers have been planting evidence to frame innocent people and then lying in court to gain convictions. Persons were wrongly prosecuted, and in several cases shot, through police misconduct. Los Angeles Police Department officers have also been involved in large scale criminal activities that include murder, bank robbery, street muggings, drug dealing, torture, false arrests, witness intimidation and the framing and imprisoning of innocent youths. My little brother is a Cop with LAPD, and he is one of the most corrupt people that I know, so I was very interested in learning all I could about Criminal Procedure. During the course, I also found out how and why O.J. got off Scot Free. Does evidence planting and then lying about in Court ring a bell?

UNIFORM COMMERCIAL CODE
In this class I studied UCC I: Article 2 of the Uniform Commercial Code dealing with transactions in goods, or contracts for the sale of goods. The principles of personal property law, the rights and duties of the buyer and seller; passage of title; risk of loss; warranty obligations; reproduction; breach; excuse; sellers remedies; buyers remedies. http://www.fullertonlaw.com/chapt12a.htm

AGENCY & PARTNERSHIP
A study of the agency relationship where one person acts for or represents another by authority, either in the relationship of principal and agent, master and servant, or employer and employee; and the partnership relationship where two or more persons agree to carry on, as co owners, a business for profit. http://www.gilbertlaw.com/bookstore/summaries.asp

Wills & Trusts
The Wills and Trusts course covered the law of Estates and Trusts as applied in California and gave a general overview of how it applies in the rest of the country. Issues dealing with the Validity and Revocation of Wills was examined, particularly as they may affect the Distribution of Assets of an Estate. Additionally, the laws of Express Trusts (including Creation and Administration), Charitable Trusts, and Consecutive Trusts were covered. Wills: http://www.megalaw.com/top/probate.php3 Trusts: http://vls.law.vill.edu/compass/guide/trusts.htm

Remedies
This yearlong course reviewed both Legal and Equitable Remedies, focusing on the Underlying Liability Theories that give rise to the Remedy and the Remedy it. Special attention was given to Contract and Tort Remedies. We were exposed to the types of problems that we may encounter in law practice, with particular emphasis on ones that cross a variety of disciplines. http://www.west.net/~smith/remedie.htm

Federal Taxation
This course examined the fundamental concepts underlying the federal income tax system, with emphasis on its history and current operation. Major topics explored included determination of gross income and deductions, timing issues, and disposition of property, with emphasis on taxation of the individual. I gained an understanding of the research tools used by lawyers in analyzing taxation issues. http://nersp.nerdc.ufl.edu/~acadian/babytax/slidetoc.html

In this course I studied the medical, social, financial and legal issues related to aging. As our elders age, their health, legal, and personal needs change. At that point, they and their families will need legal and health care advice to adjust their lives. Law & Aging introduced the class to advance directives, wills, guardianships, patients' rights in healthcare decision making, entitlement programs, managed care and long-term care insurance, viatical settlements, living facilities for the elderly, financial planning, social security, elder abuse, and resources for the elder law team. http://www.law.stetson.edu/excellence/elderlaw/

APPELLATE ADVOCACY
In this semester long class we learned the law and procedure relating to appeals and the appeals practice with a practical approach based on real-life situations. http://www.lawprepare.com/FFOL/Performance/Performance.html

• If you last the entire eight weeks, and Sally Struthers personally signs your diploma.
• The Admission test, found on back of a matchbook, requires you to draw Marcia Clark's briefs.
• Professors always accept the 5th Amendment as an excuse for not turning in your homework.

The word jurisprudence derives from the Latin term juris prudentia, which means "the study, knowledge, or science of law." In the United States jurisprudence commonly means the philosophy of law. Legal philosophy has many aspects, but four of them are the most common. The first and the most prevalent form of jurisprudence seek to analyze, explain, classify, and criticize entire bodies of law. Law school textbooks and legal encyclopedias represent this type of scholarship. The second type of jurisprudence compares and contrasts law with other fields of knowledge such as literature, economics, religion, and the social sciences. The third type of jurisprudence seeks to reveal the historical, moral, and cultural basis of a particular legal concept. The fourth body of jurisprudence focuses on finding the answer to such abstract questions as what is law? How do judges (properly) decide cases?

Apart from different types of jurisprudence, different schools of jurisprudence exist. Formalism, or conceptualism, treats law like math or science. Formalists believe that a judge identifies the relevant legal principles, applies them to the facts of a case, and logically deduces a rule that will govern the outcome of the dispute. In contrast, proponents of legal realism believe that most cases before courts present hard questions that judges must resolve by balancing the interests of the parties and ultimately drawing an arbitrary line on one side of the dispute. This line, realists maintain, is drawn according to the political, economic, and psychological inclinations of the judge. Some legal realists even believe that a judge is able to shape the outcome of the case based on personal biases.

Apart from the realist-formalist dichotomy, there is the classic debate over the appropriate sources of law between positivist and natural law schools of thought. Positivists argue that there is no connection between law and morality and the only sources of law are rules that have been expressly enacted by a governmental entity or court of law.  Naturalists, or proponents of natural law, insist that the rules enacted by government are not the only sources of law. They argue that moral philosophy; religion, human reason and individual conscience are also integrating parts of the law.

There are no bright lines between different schools of jurisprudence. The legal philosophy of a particular legal scholar may consist of a combination of strains from many schools of legal thought. Some scholars think that it is more appropriate to think about jurisprudence as a continuum. http://www.law.cornell.edu/

In his essay THE MEANING OF "RULE OF LAW," Ten Principles Governing Law and Law-Making, Barnabas D. Johnson states that Rule of Law" is very different from "rule by laws". Likewise, "government under law" differs from "government by laws". Is "law" anything the sovereign says it is? Is the "law-maker" merely whoever has a monopoly of coercive power? Is law (as Mao said) whatever comes out of the barrel of a gun? Or is law, properly understood, itself governed by basic norms of law-making? http://www.jurlandia.am/rol.htm

My initial attraction to finishing Law School was when I realized that it was a genuine field of study, that it had an "internal logic." I can locate the precise time when I read in my first year of law school Lon Fuller’s, The Law in Quest of Itself, (Beacon Press, 1940). The book opened up for me a wholly new world. It introduced matters that were deeper and more intellectually stimulating than anything I had previously encountered in my college courses. I began to see that law is an artificial, invented system that tries to hook into the real world like mathematics. Yet, unlike mathematics, it affects people’s lives directly. Is there anything that has a greater personal impact on individual lives than a court’s decision awarding custody of a child to one parent and not to the other, or a verdict of guilty or innocent in a capital punishment case? Indeed, I ask, " How can anyone resist studying the law?"