Vinewords

So I know I’m totally behind the curve in this (since it’s off the air now), but I’ve been watching Dollhouse on Netflix and I really like it. I’ve always like Eliza Dushku, being an old Buffy fan and all, and she’s really good in this show. I decided to give it a try after listening to the Nerdist podcast with Eliza and Tahmoh Penikett. (It was on 7/8/11, if you want to check it out go to http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nerdist/id355187485).

I’m only a few episodes in, but I can already see why it has such a fan following. Even though Fox didn’t think it was worthy of more than a couple seasons.

I had a few friends over the other day for a small Sex and the City Marathon and wanted to make something cute and fun for them. I came across a recipe for Cosmo Cupcakes on Hostess Blog……they were perfect! What could be better for a girly party than bright pink cupcakes!?

Check out the recipe at: http://www.hostessblog.com/2010/05/cosmo-cupcakes-sex-and-the-city-style/

I spent the second half of my spring break in New Orleans at the Spring Board of Governor’s Meeting for the ABA Law Student Division. The meetings were long, and there was a lot to learn about being a Circuit Governor…..but the new board is full of fantastic people, and I’m so excited to work with them this year.

As the 15th Circuit Governor my states include Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico. So if you’re a law student in one of those states, please feel free to contact me with any questions, concerns, or ideas that you may have. You can also check out our Circuit Webpage at http://www.abanet.org/lsd/15thcircuit/home.html

I’m pleased to say that our Vice Chair-Elect is a member of the 15th Circuit, Stephanie McCoy Loquvam. She’s been a driving force for getting ABA involvement at her school, and I’m excited to see what she can do in her new position.

It’s going to be a fantastic year!

Yesterday I was able to do something that I honestly thought I’d never get the chance to do after starting law school. I was picked to be on a jury. Crazy right? I’ve heard countless times how they never pick anyone with legal experience, but apparently in this case a law student was the lesser of two evils (it was a domestic violence case and quite a few of the other women there had personal experience with that).

At first I wasn’t too happy about being selected, but I tried to make the experience into a learning opportunity and I think I really did learn a lot. A few things I noticed:

• I was amazed at the lack of experience on the side of the defense team. I know everyone has to start somewhere, but one of them honestly looked like this was his first time speaking in public.
• The prosecutor dropped the ball big time. When you have the burden of proof, you should probably at least get in all of the evidence you can. Like maybe……the 911 tape!
• After being in law school I’m surprised at the lack of legal knowledge among laymen. One of the other jurors actually told me that he thought 70/30 was “beyond a reasonable doubt.” 30% unsure? Really? In a criminal trial??
• I also am of the opinion that we really need to make the process more comfortable for jurors. Sitting in uncomfortable chairs all day without anything to eat…….that leads to angry people making decisions that affect people’s lives. Not a good combination.

This is probably purely a law student thing (being excited at the chance to participate in a jury), but next time you get called to jury duty take some time to think about it. It’s really a privilege to be able to participate in a system like this. In most other countries you wouldn’t have a chance to have a say at all. And while I admit the judicial system has its problems, I think it’s about the best the system can be.