M.S.E.L. Students Blog

I’m sure most of us are familiar with the notion that ignorance of the law is no excuse for violating it.  But could you get in trouble when you are aware of the law and genuinely believe that you are following it?

Yesterday in our Environmental Legal Research and Writing class (did I get that name right?) we discussed such things as ambiguity and legislative intent.  A court may consider the legislature’s purpose in deciding how to interpret a statute, and this interpretation may not be perfectly clear in the wording of the law.  For example: the legislature passes a statute prohibiting doing X or Y while driving.  Their purpose has to do with preventing impairment of one’s driving ability which occurs when one does X or Y, but which can also occur in a similar fashion when one does Z, which is somewhat akin to X and Y but is not expressly forbidden in the statute.

Let’s say the average Joe Schmoe, who is not a lawyer, knows that he may not do X or Y while driving.  But he does Z, which, as far as he knows, is perfectly acceptable.  Is he in violation of the law?  Apparently a court can convict him under the no-doing-X-or-Y statute because the purpose of the law would also rule out Z, which he is guilty of.

Poor guy.  How was he to know that?  He had knowledge of the law, but that wasn’t good enough.  He also had to read the legislators’ minds!  (Of course, the court may also interpret the statute more literally and recognize that the legislature should have done a better job of expressing its wishes if it didn’t want people doing Z.)

And since I brought up the issue of ignorance of the law, here’s one to be aware of next time you travel through Lexington, Tennessee: 
It is illegal to transport an ice cream cone in your pocket. 
( http://www.dumblaws.com/laws/united-states/tennessee/?page=20 ) 
So don’t you do that!  Or at least, don’t get caught! 

(Disclaimer:  Opinions expressed in this blog entry are entirely my own and do not necessarily represent those of Vermont Law School or anyone else, blah blah blah.)

As the blue skies held high above the campus of Vermont Law School, there was a storm brewing within my brain. Monday was the first day of classes and although I have had a positive outlook on my future, my brain was fizzling with information and nervous about the unknown. I wished things were easy and smooth, for I tired to reflect a cool and calm demeanor, however my insides were trembling with anticipation.

 ”What is expected of me,” and “oh, god what have I done to myself,” were resonating within my brain while I tried to interpret Sierra v Morton or the principles of the “non-delegation doctrine.” My brain was literally on information overload and it had felt as if smoke was blowing literally right out of my head. All this new information, new setting and new terminologies were just a lot to compress at one time.  Each night this week, the principles of law drifted in and out of my consciousness as I slept. Welcome to Vermont Law School.

The first week jitters have come to a close, and as I embark on the Labor Day Holiday with the glistening of the sun  I am excited and thrilled for the days to come. Now at least I know what I am up for, and as I have learned in life, half the battle is to at least to know what you are in store for, and then the other half is to just do it. I have heard some of my other students express notions of fear and while I too still have some doubts, I do realize that it is not a matter of life and death, so I will survive.

Peace

Robb Kidd

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt.

Orientation Week- 

A cold chill spread through the valley and it seemed as if the days of summer had ended and nestled within the green mountains I began a new direction in my life. The scene at Vermont Law School showed visions of bright promise of all the cheerful students eager to partake in their next learning adventure.

I for one have been out of school for 13years was not sure of what to expect, but I suppose shortly I will find out. Orientation week, a week of newness and uncertainty and feelings of anxiety and fear were rampant among many of my peers. What classes am I going to take and where am going with this degree. I arrived Monday, not knowing what was going to take place but after the experience of the week at least I know, I am going to walk out with an education.

For those onlookers, who are contemplating attendance or for those students who took up the offer of complimentary beer and wine and can not remember the events, the week was filled with enormous information sessions to help ease with the transition to school. The thing that amazed me was the congeniality of the staff and professors. I have heard numerous horror stories from other law schools that painted a picture of fear. This was not the case, here it is we are, to hear and for them to teach and serve. So, as I am about to embark on my pursuit of this degree, I hope to learn and enjoy the ride.

It’s the week after orientation and the start of classes.  Orientation was great.  VLS does such a nice job.  At times the days seem long and there is lots of information to digest but its all stuff we need to know.  They do a great job of feeding us.  We received lunch every day and the diversity dinner was amazing.

One thing that will take some time getting used to is the weather here.  I wore a jacket the first two days of orientation.  It was 46 degrees in the morning when we left here and would get up to 70 at the most. It was 104 back home in Illinois.  At the end of the week we finally got some heat.  It was 95 on Saturday.  I guess I should take it all in as everyone keeps saying how cold it gets here.

Another good thing about orientation is getting to meet the MSELs I’ll be having classes with.  We are quite a diverse group coming from all over the country.  I think our group is quite friendly and everyone seems to be gelling nicely.  Four of the eight people living in my little area are MSEL’s so it’s great to be able to get help when I need it.

I assumed my entire entry would be all about orientation and getting settled in and for the most part it is, but last Saturday we had quite the storm.  The area around the school looks to have been hit harder than where I am at.  I’m living about 2 miles from the school up route 110.  It rained pretty hard with strong winds and all kinds of lightning.  There were some trees that got knocked down at the school and we had a power line down on the road close to us.

We lost power about 5pm.  After the storm the seven of us in this area grilled outside and sat around on the porch until about midnight.  Most of us had planned on getting a jump on our readings for class but no one really felt like reading by flashlight.  All in all we were without power for 18 hours.  I am concerned about my food in the fridge and half of the people here had just returned from grocery shopping in West Lebanon.  So I’ve been carefully looking over my food.

Today was the first day of classes.  It went pretty well, even environmental law with Professor Firestone.  I just need to keep being prepared and be paying attention.  Tomorrow I only have one class and still have some reading to finish up so I might as well go do that.  I knew I would have lots of reading to do when I got here.  I’m still trying to figure out how to balance school work with the fun things I’d rather be doing.

It’s day two of orientation and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.  I wish I had moved in earlier because now I find myself trying to balance unpacking/setting up/cleaning with the full day of orientation stuffs that VLS has planned for us.  I’m going to take tomorrow off and finish the job once and for all instead of taking the trip to Montpelier.  That way I’ll be ready and set to go this weekend when the homework starts.  Yes, that’s right, homework before class starts.  Don’t laugh, but I had a nightmare that I pulled an Elle Woods and didn’t do the homework for the first day of class.  I’m really looking forward to starting classes, especially after filling out my registration form.  And I was super excited that I got to exempt out of an Ecology class, although I would have enjoyed taking one.   Today we went over how to read a case, and I’m really glad we did.  I had no idea how to go about doing it, but the orientation session really helped. 

And we get three day weekends every week!!!!

On the downside…the weather is already starting to bum me out.  I woke up yesterday and it was 45 degrees outside.  Keep in mind that it was 110 in Atlanta when I left.  I had to pull together my meager wardrobe of wintery clothes and still froze during the introduction speeches.  At least I live right across the street and I plan on doing a mad dash to get to class and avoid time in the cold.  So I guess those are my notes for now.  I have a headache (probably from the weather change) so off to take some tylenol and lounge around!

so today was the first day of class, and luckily the weather was glorious.  I snagged all afternoon classes for this semester, which means hopefully I get to avoid that morning freezing weather.  I think I’m scared of the weather more than the classes, which makes me wonder about my priorities : P

as for the first day of class…I really enjoyed it! I was pleasantly surprised, and very happy to see that I had prepared for the right kind of discussion.  And I love love love having so much free time in the morning! And it’s especially nice that I live right across from school so I can leave my apartment five minutes before class.  I highly recommend living very close, but I personally like going to my apartment in between classes and I like studying in my own room.  I get distracted by people, but I need the noise, so I like having the tv on in the background while I’m doing my homework. 

My apartment has become one of those places that is never clean.  Once something gets cleaned, some other pile of mess appears.  I put a can of Diet Coke in the freezer to chill it quickly and I thought I had taken it out and put it in the fridge, but alas…..I did not.  Guess who gets to clean up frozen chunks of diet soda in the freezer tonight….huzzah!  But my roommate finally moved in today!

Okay, so by now all our diligent readers are well aware that last week was orientation, and classes start tomorrow.  I am both excited and anxious about jumping into classes.  Pretty normal, right?

I suppose I should introduce myself before proceeding too much further.  My name is Sally and I am in the MSEL program part time while working full time.  Yup, it’s gonna be tough, but I can do it… that’s what I tell myself, anyway.  I don’t want to go into too much detail about my job but will say that it has to do with my pet cause, renewable energy.  (VLS seems like a pretty great place for those of us who are concerned about that issue, by the way.) 

No introduction is ever complete without answering the unavoidable question where are you from?  I rather dislike that question because it’s not easy to answer; I’ve lived in a number of different states, and the one that I am from originally (by birth, not by choice) does not fill me with a great sense of pride.  (I’ll give you a clue: it starts with a T and Mr. President wasn’t born there.  No, not Tennessee.)  Before moving to New Hampshire (where I live now) this past spring, I spent several years in Maryland working as a spacecraft engineer on a constellation of environmental satellites.  It’s been over five years since I graduated from college — nearly six years since I completed all of my undergraduate requirements — with a degree in physics.  Although science is a common undergraduate major for VLS students, I think physics is not.  So I’m an oddball.  But getting back to the issue of having lived in numerous different states, I must say that it’s great to be back in New England.  This really is a very special little corner of the world.  And would you believe the autumn leaves are already beginning to show?

So orientation was good, aside from the fact that the Student Ambassadors (JDs, of course) seemed to continually forget that we lowly MSELs also exist.  They would repeatedly wonder why they couldn’t find us on their list of names or in their computer system until we told them we’re MSELs (which they didn’t think to ask).  Geez, you’d think after a year or more at VLS they would have heard of us, huh?  Guess again.  But yeah, the week was good, if a bit busy, but now I’m back to providing my own meals every day.  Oh, well, it was nice while it lasted….

I have a tendency to ramble on and on sometimes once I get started, which may become obvious in future posts, so I should take this opportunity to say goodbye before your eyes glaze over.  As if they haven’t already.  Will be back with more gossip sooner or later.  Cheers.

Packing frantically at 5am on August 15th, I started my journey to VLS at 5:30am from Fraser, MI and arrived in East Randolph to my new home just 15 minutes North of VLS at 12:30am.  A 19 hour drive with many stops along the way including my favorite, Niagara Falls.  After making it to my new house, meeting my roommate, I fell asleep.  In the morning, I woke up to the rising of the fog over the mountains as the sun started to slowly show itself.  With the fog came a dampness that covered everything, but after the fog arose I saw the most amazing scene right outside of my bedroom window.  Now coming from a city just outside of Detroit, I have never awoke to such a view and I was very thankful and finally relieved that I was here.  Each day I have been here begins with the fog, but the great thing about it is that you never know what the day will bring once the fog lifts - rain, sun, cloudy days - you just never know.  I love this aspect about Vermont - having the sweet serenity and relaxation right at your fingertips.  I know that this will come in handy once school begins - the outdoors will be my getaway from reality.

After seeing off my family that helped me move out here, orientation started in a day!  Okay so I was relieved that I was here, but what next?  A thousand questions were rolling through my head the night before orientation- what to wear, how early should I arrive, and many others, but I did just fine on the first day.  I just wore something that I usually would and got there just in time to eat some breakfast and pick up all my orientation materials.  Each day of orientation they had a breakfast in the morning and usually provided lunch and dinner, but it depended on the day and the event.  The best day I of orientation was the trip to Montpelier.  On this trip, we listened to how the Vermont government was actually run by those who knew first hand.  The Capitol is a must because it is a very unique, small building and the government structure in Vermont is different compared to other states and this information may be useful for future classes.  Another aspect of orientation is that the MSELs actually start learning about the different aspects of law and researching methods in your sessions called “Legal Studies.”  I found this very helpful because as orientation went on I started to realize that I was going to be in classes with the 2L and 3L students (2nd year and 3rd year law students).  I just didn’t know if I could perform as they did, but these sessions definitely helped alleviate most of my concerns.  During orientation, I also picked out my classes by getting feedback from Anne Mansfield, my faculty advisor and alumni of the MSEL program.  I found this very helpful and finally figured out my schedule and turned it in to the Registrar.  Overall, orientation week was long, informative, but very helpful and fun since I met so many new people from around the nation.  It helped me understand what was expected of me and what to expect throughout the year.

Tomorrow is the first day of class!  I have been studying, getting last minute projects completed, setting up my computer to access the VLS network and looking at my budget for this year.  I am not too worried seeing as I am very relaxed and have gotten many of my “to do’s” done, but there is an unknown about tomorrow.  What will my first day bring?  Will the professors be exciting and interesting or will they use the Socratic method to embarrass me because I didn’t understand something in the reading?  Will I be prepared?  Should I bring my laptop to take notes or just write them by hand?  With all these questions jogging my mind, I think I may just take a leisurely hike through my backyard and then come back to reading for my first class assignments.