My Dad's visit

My Dad's in town, and we've taken the opportunity to travel around the entire penninsula. We saw Homer and Seward, and of course spent a lot of quality time in Kenai - even an entire afternoon in the Kenai courthouse.
The photos came out in a funny order, so bear with my descriptions. The third photo down is one I took from Kristie's parents' place. Alaska is absolutely stunning. The second picture is from a suprise visit from Matt - a friend from law school. I got a call Friday from Matt that he'd be down on the Penninsula with a couple of friends, and might like a place to stay on Saturday. Well, we made it back Saturday just in time to give Matt and his friends a floor to crash on. The next morning, in an adventure I entitled "cooking with SBA," Matt and I made pancakes. Knowing where his place was, Matt did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen a good bit! Then his friend Jason made us coffee... This photo shows us with my kitchen's finest mugs - a measuring cup, my travel mug, and the top of a thermos. Nothing but the finest when you're with the Macks!

The next top and bottom photos are from our travels. Dad and I went to Homer, and walked into a tourist shop around 11:45am, asking about tours. The nice girl working said she might be able to squeez us into the noon tour. Sure, boarding was at 11:30am, but when you're travelling with me and my dad - we fly by the seat of our pants! That's how we ended up in Halibut Cove, an amazing artist town of about 100 people, eating at a beautiful restaurant on the water, and having one remarkable afternoon.
The next day we went to Seward, and I walked through some very cold glacier water (about 2 inches deep, for about 10 feet) to get up to Exit Glacier. Thus, this last photo - me, and my friend the glacier.

Adventures to the max, when you travel with the Macks!

A brief posting on why I love the law...

I know I usually write about the bars we've been to, the sights we've seen, and the funny people we've met, but today, I'm going to take a quick break and talk about the law. There are three reasons for this.
1) I've meant to post photos, but our work computers recently blocked blogger, so it's been tough to find time to post.
2) Right now, my camera batteries are charging. My dad is in town and we are touristing like mad. The camera batteries have taken the brunt of the work, and they need a break, so I can't put up any photos.
3) If I don't post anything, I will lose readership. So here goes!

There's a sickness that a lot of lawyers and law students have - this gnawing feeling that somewhere out there is a case that proves their point. They are sure that some judge (ideally, in the lawyer's preferred jurisdiction) has ruled on this exact point. They know that this situation has arisen before, and the side of justice (and coincidentally, the side the lawyer is currently taking) has won out. So, instead of just finishing the darn brief or memorandum of law, the lawyer sits in front of westlaw, trying new combinations of words, new westlaw key numbers, and other jurisdiction, for the case on point. Of course, the case doesn't exist, and somewhere around the time of day that the lawyer has just enough time to get the motion to the court, hot off the printer, the lawyer will give up the search for the golden case.

But in all that reading through caselaw, the lawyer comes across the occasional gem - the witty clerk, the eloquent judge, the absurd fact pattern - all of which make research worthwhile. I remember the first time I found a case that made me realize judges were people too - people with a captive audience and, potentially, a lot of creativity bottled up. In research an environmental law case, I found this quote:

In this appeal, we consider the management of the waterways in Arizona's Sonoran desert. This case, of course, inevitably brings to mind the exchange between Claude Rains and Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca (Warner Bros.1942), which aptly distills this dispute to its essence:

Captain Renault: What in heaven's name brought you to Casablanca?
Rick: My health. I came to Casablanca for the waters.
Captain Renault: The waters? What waters? We're in the desert.
Rick: I was misinformed.

In our case, it was not Rick Blaine, but the United States Army Corps of Engineers that came to the desert for the waters.
Save our Sonoran, Inc. v. Flowers, 408 F.3d 1113 (9th Cir. 2005).

There are lots of funny cases (such as the 7th Circuit decision in 2005 which clarified the difference between "ho" and "hoe" in a footnote, U.S. v. Murphy, 406 F.3d 857 (7th Cir. 2005)) but those pale in comparison to the truly spectacular writing that I stumble across is daily research.

After a couple months at the Public Defender office, I've gained a new appreciation for the Fourth Amendment. Call me old fashioned, but I don't like the idea of being searched for no reasons. I've also gained a deeper appreciation for the Fifth Amendment, and sincerely wish all prospective criminals could be given a STERN warning to SHUT UP when questioned by law enforcement officials, but I digress.

Back on the Fourth Amendment, I've spent a lot of time this summer on Terry stops, which has brought me back to reading Terry over and over again. And you know, it's just plain beautiful. Check this out:
It is quite plain that the Fourth Amendment governs 'seizures' of the person which do not eventuate in a trip to the station house and prosecution for crime-'arrests' in traditional terminology. It must be recognized that whenever a police officer accosts an individual and restrains his freedom to walk away, he has 'seized' that person. And it is nothing less than sheer torture of the English language to suggest that a careful exploration of the outer surfaces of a person's clothing all over his or her body in an attempt to find weapons is not a 'search,' Moreover, it is simply fantastic to urge that such a procedure performed in public by a policeman while the citizen stands helpless, perhaps facing a wall with his hands raised, is a 'petty indignity.' It is a serious intrusion upon the sanctity of the person, which may inflict great indignity and arouse strong resentment, and it is not to be undertaken lightly.
Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 16-17 (1968).

Beautiful! How do you argue with that? It's clear, it's eloquent, and it's just.

I'll quit now, and go to bed, refraining from reminding everyone to read Federalist 10 over and over again for some fantastic writing. Okay, just one quote:
"Liberty is to faction what air is to fire, an aliment without which it instantly expires. But it could not be less folly to abolish liberty, which is essential to political life, because it nourishes faction, than it would be to wish the annihilation of air, which is essential to animal life, because it imparts to fire its destructive agency."

We'll miss the Kiwis!!

It's been a tough week for Kristie and I. We've had a lot going on at work, gone out enough to kill lesser women, and said goodbye to new friends. I'll start from the end of that list. To be absolutely clear, there is no better way to Kristie's heart than to buy her drinks. And Rob - well, you have her heart! We tried to calculate out our debt to the Kiwis... and our best guess is around $450. No, guys, the check is not in the mail. Postage to New Zealand is just too much! But beyond the kind-hearted nature of these men (looking to us each time they bought a round) we've laughed over some outrageous activities at karaoke, heard more about Toby than we probably need to know, and had a sure group of friends to meet at Hooligans. That kind of devotion to a bar is priceless!
This week, Kristie and I realized that Hooligans has become our Cheers. Walking into the bar on a Tuesday, the bartender looked up at us and said, "Two T&Ts?" She even knows what kind of gin I like! What service! When we have to leave this town, I think I will cry over the shuffleboard table and kiss the dance floor goodbye.
Finally, work has been wild. The second photo from the top is the courthouse on a gray day. The bottom photo is our office - conveniently located across from the courthouse. (The top photo is of our backyard... just because I love how barren it looks. We have gone four-byen' back there!) I came to Alaska by accident (it's a long story) but I've been so glad to have ended up with my job. This week I did a cross-examination and a closing argument in an evidentiary hearing, a couple of change of pleas, a few bail reviews - and had three telephonic court appearances. The best thing about practicing in Alaska (for the lazy lawyer) is being able to kick back in a t-shirt and cordouroys, drinking coffee, a file open on my lap, and be in court in a neighboring city via speakerphone. You know, working at the Alaska Public Defender Office has been a little bit like legal boot-camp, but I realized Friday how much I've learned in seven weeks. I was in a courtroom without any lawyers present, and for the first time, I didn't have any desperate questions to ask the attorneys. Unlike a week before, when I told a judge, "I'm really sorry your honor, I don't know what I'm doing, I'm still learning this whole thing," I think I seemed semi-competent. This lawyering as an extreme sport - submitting motions hot off the printer, getting to court at exactly the time of our hearing - really speaks to my way of life. So, the decision's made; I'm going to be a criminal attorney for at least a little while. Anyone have any job openings for August 2008?!?

5K and ATVs

Another weekend, another adventure. This past weekend was the 5K! No... not a jog, but a visit to 5 bars in Kasiloff... and a schoolbus going from bar to bar. Here is Kristie with the "body fluid cleanup kit." Gosh I miss schoolbuses!
I'll admit, I generally look awful in pictures. The cute photo of Kristie and I on the bus took 3 tries... but don't we look happy? The bars were a lot of fun. We started around 5pm, and stayed out most of the night. I quit at 4am, and got called a "dork"for my lack of staying-power. Finding 5 bars in Kasiloff is a bit of a stretch; this one bar was more of a lodge for people who like playing darts and Elks meetings. On the lower right is Kristie posing with the moose antlers. She's a moose! Below that is me with Adam, our bus-driver on the 5K adventure. Note that I am wearing the official 5K t-shirt! The 5K was wild, and actually became a 7K for me, as I went to two bars after the 5K was finished. I guess a Saturday night just doesn't work without a trip to Hooligans and Riverside!



In other news, we went four-wheeling yesterday! Yes, we rode ATVs! Our new friend Will took us out, and we saw parts of Alaska that are neither accessable by foot nor car. What adventures! More to come, as we have big plans for the week!