Juris Doctor, Confirmed

The Stud's final law school grade came in today; he passed. Recognize.

Died: Mildred Loving

Mildred Loving, the wife in Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1 (1967), passed away on Friday 2 May 2008, at the age of 68. The Economist published an obituary:

The constitutional arguments had meant nothing to them. Their chief lawyer, Bernard Cohen, had based his case in the end on the equal-rights clause of the 14th amendment, and was keen that the Lovings should listen to him speak. But they did not attend the hearings or read the decision. Richard merely urged Mr Cohen, “Tell the court I love my wife.” For Mildred, all that mattered was being able to walk down the street, in view of everyone, with her husband's arm around her. It was very simple. If she had helped many others do the same, so much the better.

She had never been an activist, and never became one. When June 12th, the day of the ruling, was proclaimed “Loving Day” as an unofficial celebration of interracial couples—who still make up only 4% of marriages in America—she produced a statement, but she was never a public figure. She lived quietly in Caroline county, as before. Her widowhood was long, after Richard was killed in a car accident in 1975, but she never thought of replacing him. They loved each other.

Often in our field we will come across cases that may seem more like material for human interest stories on the local news, than for earth-shaking opinions from the United States Supreme Court. As Dean Burcham mentioned in his keynote address at graduation, the practice of law is about relationships. Keep this in mind in your practice, and let history take care of itself.

Law Law Stud, Juris Doctor

Sunday 18 May 2008 proved to be a hot day, as Southern California languished beneath a heat wave that toppled temperature records. Set by the ocean, the campus of Loyola Marymount University was caressed by gentle breezes, bringing much relief to the more than 450 men and women receiving degrees from Loyola Law School.

Before the ceremony began, the candidates for JD and LLM degrees gathered to make sure their gowns were donned correctly. Many took the opportunity to take pictures with their friends.

After a class photo session on a football pitch, the candidates lined up and began making their way toward Sunken Garden for the processional.

All along the way, various candidates looked to find their places, some having arrived late. As the heat began bearing down on the candidates, they often watched with envy whenever they saw one of their number walking about in much cooler wear under the purple gowns.

Along the processional, parents and friends began taking pictures with the candidates, excited to be part of this rite of passage.

The candidates remained standing as the large group filled the seats:

Once the candidates and faculty were seated, the commencement began in earnest, and the candidates took the heat with stiff upper lips:

The keynote speaker was LMU Executive Vice President and Provost and former LLS Dean David W. Burcham, who spoke of a syllogism: "First, life is about relationships. Second, the practice of law is about life. Therefore, the practice of law is about relationships."

Finally, the time came to present the candidates. After presentation of all the candidates, the names were called:

After the calling of names, the recessional began, ahead of schedule. Once the recessional ended, it was time for pictures.

Professor Romano mugs for the camera, Internet Age-style:

Law Law Stud is now a Juris Doctor. It has been an exhausting day, and tan lines from the caps and, for some JDs, glasses or shades, are beginning to appear. But no matter. Barring the unexpected, we are finally done with school!

And now, on to bar prep classes, and the bar exam. Congratulations, Class of 2008, and best of luck!

Happy Birthday Arlene!

Definitely one of the sweetest girls at Loyola, "Sweet Pea" decided to save her friends the worry of having a party during the middle of bar prep, and instead held it during the week before graduation, when all but a few people were free as birds.

The venue was Magnolia Lounge in Pasadena. First, the pictures.

Most of the Loyola crew:

Mike was left out of the first picture, so he made sure we couldn't forget him:

"It's my party, I can FOB if I want to!"

It's raining men!

Chowing down. Did anyone ever figure out what else was in the topping besides mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes?

"That's not a nose ring. This is a nose ring!"

The girls.

Mike with the ladies.

Late to the party, Vic was nevertheless welcomed with open arms.

And now for some video!

Here's Arlene trying to imitate Sophia's "travel cheer", developed while the Laker-Jazz game was on (sorry about the dark image):

And here's Ricky teaching Sophia about the one-inch punch, while others jeered and cheered.

It was a very fun night, and the crew stayed until almost closing. Thanks for coming out everyone, thanks Arlene for being born, and Happy Birthday!

End of Finals Party at Club 740 (Hallelujah! Again!)

As the Property II final wound down, fun-starved students began piling into Club 740 in downtown Los Angeles, less than two miles from the Loyola Law School campus, for the End of Finals Party; some did so without bothering to stop for food! The anticipation was great, and the venue was very convenient. For graduating students, in particular, the party could not come soon enough; some even hurried through the Property II final to get a head start on pre-partying.

For some other graduating students, there had been some time to wind down from final finals last week--enough time to finally attend to personal affairs that had been left on the back burner during this last push.

The party was well-attended, and included some acts that were very much in the spirit of show business: There was Mad Chad Taylor, who juggled three chainsaws, and Danny "Rubberboy" Smith, a contortionist.

The Stud's camera ran into file-writing issues around the time of the acts--the acts took so long the camera was unable to squeeze it all into the SDHC card, which trades speed for capacity. In any case, the Stud was, well, "occupied" by then, and for the remainder of the night. As a result, there are not nearly as many pictures this time around as in previous times. Further, the pictures were predominantly of graduating students due to the euphoria of being done (!!) with law school finals. Nevertheless, here are the pictures the Stud was able to find on the camera.

Some graduating students started bar review classes the very day of the End of Finals Party, so were not able to make it out despite wanting to. A few still had straggling finals the next day, and some others still have papers to work on. All in all, though, the party was an exercise in rediscovering largely unfettered fun, a luxury most graduating students have not had in three years.

Next up, graduation!