Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Nancy Pelosi’s Office Has a Blog

Posted on February 14, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office has a new blog, called appropriately enough, The Gavel. Today there are lots of videos (via C-Span via YouTube) of house members giving speeches about the war.

I also noticed the Comments Policy:

Due to staffing constraints, we regret that we are not capable of monitoring, moderating, and responding to comments at all times. Instead, we will open up comments on selected posts when we, or our guest-posters, have adequate time to give your input the time and respect it deserves. We appreciate your patience and understanding, and we will be sure to give advance notice when the comments are open. Always feel free to contact us via e-mail with any concerns or input you might have.

…which seems reasonable enough. And then there's the JFK, which I'm hotlinking to below:

Posted in Blogs | 6 Comments

Love & Traffic Court

Posted on February 14, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Today's Miami Herald has a cute Valentine's Day story about a Broward County couple finding love in traffic court.

When I went to traffic court a couple of weeks ago, all I got was my ticket dismissed. And as the cop didn't show up, I didn't even get to explain why the ticket — supposedly for stopping several inches beyond the line at a stop sign but in fact for behaving legally in a manner not enjoyed by a police officer — was an outrage. So much for my first pro se appearance in court…

Note to self: if you wear a tie to traffic court in Miami, they all think you are a lawyer representing someone else.

Posted in Miami | 6 Comments

Fish Stories

Posted on February 14, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

So it seems that Florida diners are ordering grouper and getting counterfeits: On Fla. Menus, a Favorite Fish Experiences Identity Theft. I suspect that when the stuff is slathered in sauces, or charred to within an inch of charcoal, diners can't tell the difference anyway.

It all puts me in mind of the story of the lady who went to Zabars in New York and said, “I'd like half a pound of caviar. And make sure it's imported because I can't tell the difference.”

Posted in Florida | 1 Comment

What Makes a Good 1L Law Exam Answer

Posted on February 13, 2007 by Michael Froomkin

Orin Kerr has done 1Ls around the country a great service by writing a very clear guide to distinguishing between Bad Answers, Good Answers, and Terrific Answers to 1L exams.

While the principles also have considerable applicability to more advanced courses, I think that we professors legitimately expect all this and more from 2Ls and 3Ls, including more complex issue-spotting, coping with more complex and contradictory rules, and taking account of various sorts of policy considerations (when relevant), to name just three. Actually, might we hope for some of those in the terrific 1L answers too? I should admit here that it's been far too long since I actually taught first years, and for some to-me-incomprehensible reason the day students (but, it must be said, not the students in our since-dismantled night program) said I was too scary….

Update: on the subject of exams, Paul Ohm has a thoughtful post about achieving fair grading in a common grading situation. (Personally, I grade each question separately and average them, but that's not without issues.)