US Attorney General Loretta Lynch

Loretta Lynch was sworn in as the country's new Attorney General earlier this week. She replaced Eric Holder, who resigned last year (but remained on the job until his replacement was sworn in). The Attorney General is the nation's chief federal prosecutor. She decides what the federal law enforcement priorities will be.

Ms. Lynch is a graduate of both Harvard College and Harvard Law School. (No, I have never met her. She graduated before I started.) Accordingly, Harvard published a very nice bio of her today.

Loretta Lynch Bio

Supreme Court Arguments in Obergefell

The Supremes do not allow cameras in the courtroom, but they do allow audiotaping. The audiorecordings of yesterday's Obergefell v. Hodges has been posted on the Supreme Court's website. Those of you looking for some interesting listening can click on the link below.

Obergefell v. Hodges Oral Argument

Summer Classes--Not as Popular as I Had Thought

I misread the enrollment figures for the summer classes. It turns out that there is plenty of room in both Litigation and Law Office Technology (not to mention Civil Procedure and Legal Ethics). Join us!

US Supreme Court Hears Argument re Same-Sex Marriage Tomorrow

Tomorrow, April 28, 2015, the case of Obergefell v. Hodges, concerning whether there is a Constitutional right to marry someone of the same sex and to have that marriage recognized in all 50 states, will be argued before the Supreme Court. Supreme Court proceedings are not televised, webcasted, or in any way videotaped, and a line reportedly started forming last Friday for the limited seats in the courtroom, so if you're not already in line, you'll probably have to wait until after it's over to find out how the arguments went.

In the meantime, if you'd like a little light reading, the ABA has published all--and I do mean all--of the briefs filed in the case. There are over 100 briefs. Twelve are for the parties, and the remaining 90 + are amicus curiae, or friends of the court, briefs. It seems that everyone who's anyone has an opinion they would like to share with the Court.

Obergefell v. Hodges, Tanco v. Haslam, DeBoer v. Snyder, Bourke v. Beshear

Docket Nos. 14-556, 14-562, 14-571 and 14-574

QUESTION PRESENTED:
1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

Supreme Court briefs

Summer Classes

Enrollment in PARA 155, Law Office Technology, and PARA 202, Litigation, are both at 21 students as of this morning. (Woot!) These classes are capped at 24 students. If you want to take either class this summer, you should sign up SOON. Maybe today.

PARA 103, Civil Litigation, and PARA 170, Legal Ethics, are also being offered this summer.

Unhinged Pro Se Filing

Sure, lawyering looks easy. We've all seen "Law & Order." But sometimes the stress of self-representation can push a person over the edge. That's apparently what happened to Tamah Jada Clark down in the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. The language is a little salty (fair warning), but the spelling and grammar are actually not half bad. It is good reading!

Notice to F*ck This Court

In Re: Guardianship of Izzo

In a remarkably fast decision, the Court of Appeals has issued its order in the Izzo case that formed the basis of this year's Appeals on Wheels argument. As you may recall, Sharon Izzo is an older adult who, according to the trial court, was incapacitated and in need of a guardian to manage her affairs. Ms. Izzo brought the appeal to challenge that decision, and the case was argued right here at Ivy Tech.

In its decision, issued Friday, April 17, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court's order. The decision to appoint a guardian for someone is within the discretion of the trial court. Overturning that order would require the Court of Appeals to find that the trial court abused its discretion--a really tough standard to meet. Ms. Izzo didn't meet it, and the guardianship stands.

The link to the decision is below. Ivy Tech students and faculty get a little shout-out in footnote #1. It's worth looking at the opinion just for that!

Izzo Opinion

Clay Bowl Lunch and Dinner Tomorrow, April 16, 2015

Clay Bowl Giving Project 

Thursday, April 16, 2015 at the YWCA
605 N. 6th Street, Lafayette

Hundreds of beautiful clay bowls donated from over 30 local potters are on display. Join us for lunch or dinner and pick out a clay bowl to take home.

Lunch is served 11:00 am - 1:00 pm.
Dinner is served 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm.

Carry-out is available.

Reservations are $25 in advance and $30 day of event.

Students can attend dinner for only $10.  Must show student ID and pay at the door.

All proceeds benefit the YWCA Domestic Violence Intervention and Prevention Program.

Because Who Couldn't Use a Better Memory?

Paul Nowak, who teaches seminars on improving one's memory, is offering a free study skills workshop to Ivy Tech students, just in time for finals. The details are below.



Earlier in the school year, I taught a workshop to help students read faster. 
I'm now teaching a new workshop, Memory Techniques for Students, and was wondering if you could pass this information along to members of your organization that might be interested.  
This workshop is free to all students. 
Because class space is limited, we're asking that students RSVP here:
http://wwww.irisreading.com/memory-techniques
This workshop will cover the following:

1. How To Remember More of What You Read
2. How To Memorize Lists of Information
3. How To Memorize Equations
4. How To Memorize New Vocabulary

I think students will find the workshops very useful. 

The Role of the Citizen in a Democratic Republic

Monday, April 6, 2015, is the last day to register if you would like to vote in Indiana's primaries.

Free Summer Classes -- It's Legit!

Several of you got emails from Dr. John Laws yesterday, informing you that you could take one free class this summer. I spoke to Dr. Laws yesterday afternoon. He sent out several hundred of those to students across campus. Students were chosen on the basis of a long list of criteria. This is a real deal. Check your ivytech.edu email. Check your spam box. If you were one of the students selected to take a free summer class, do not miss out on that!

Finding Your Representatives

This week's events have cast a bright light on the workings of state legislatures, and highlighted for many of us the importance of making our views known. One of the comments I hear from people (not just students) is that they don't know who their legislators are, and they have no idea how to contact them.

Thanks to the wonder that is the internet, there are a couple of websites that help you do just that. They are non-partisan. You type in your address at the website, and it tells you who represents you at the state house and at the state senate. You can then access a page about each legislator by clicking on that person's name, and the page contains a hyperlink to the legislator's email address. I will add the link to the website over to the right on this page where my other links are collected.

Legislators may do things that some--or even most--of us do not agree with. Nonetheless, they are people, and they are professionals, and they should be addressed as such. Name-calling and threats have no place in any professional correspondence.

I am polite to people, not because they are polite to me, but because I am a polite person.