If you think your work or study environment is challenging, check out this story.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,497987,00.html
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Legal Reasoning in 08-09 (posted by Jessica)
As you have no doubt discovered by now, Legal Reasoning concepts can be hard to grasp concretely. Perhaps, like me, you find it valuable to consider concrete examples of reasoning at work to help you grasp the theory behind each one. This blog post will be some mental wanderings on the topic of legal reasoning, and how each theory applies in the political realm. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
How many types and theories of legal reasoning have been revealed in the election and in the agenda of our new President?
-Idealism-
Many voters considered him a promoter of idealism. His campaign line of “Change,” and his repeated remarks about changing America and making the country better, sounded idealistic. Quite a few starry-eyed constituents went to the polls believing they were helping usher in a utopian society. An ideal of everyone’s needs being met. The voters would have claimed they and the President held to idealism if they had been polled about theories. A goal outside of current reality is the ideal for which society must strive to become a utopia.
-Realism-
Realism is finding the ideal embedded in the current reality. On the new White House website you will find information about goals for the new administration. Bills will be promoted and measures enacted to support abortions of all kinds, the homosexual community will receive more special treatment, and more regulations will be added to businesses. Since some people in society have already engaged in the former activities and clamor for the later then these must be the new ideals. Presidential advisors probably would claim the administration holds to the theory of realism. Current thought dictates the ideals.
-Nominalism-
The news stations and announcers like to proclaim themselves as unbiased providers of information. Nominalism is the theory of stating what currently exists in society without comment, almost like cataloguing. Calling a candidate a long-awaited messiah or a great breath of fresh air does not qualify as nominalism. Nor does bashing the previous administration. While reporters might say they hold to the theory of nominalism, their opinionated comments probably show otherwise. “What IS is what is, and that is all there is, with no right or wrong about it” the true nominalist would say.
-Legal Positivism-
The last “ism” philosophy, is legal positivism. Some of the new White House agenda items conflict with the Bible. An adherent of legal positivism believes there are no laws except what men legislate. God’s laws would be ignored as not true law, while legislated human opinions would be held as the only standard of right and wrong. Would our new Congress and President fall into the category of legal positivists?
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!
God bless as you take exams soon.
How many types and theories of legal reasoning have been revealed in the election and in the agenda of our new President?
-Idealism-
Many voters considered him a promoter of idealism. His campaign line of “Change,” and his repeated remarks about changing America and making the country better, sounded idealistic. Quite a few starry-eyed constituents went to the polls believing they were helping usher in a utopian society. An ideal of everyone’s needs being met. The voters would have claimed they and the President held to idealism if they had been polled about theories. A goal outside of current reality is the ideal for which society must strive to become a utopia.
-Realism-
Realism is finding the ideal embedded in the current reality. On the new White House website you will find information about goals for the new administration. Bills will be promoted and measures enacted to support abortions of all kinds, the homosexual community will receive more special treatment, and more regulations will be added to businesses. Since some people in society have already engaged in the former activities and clamor for the later then these must be the new ideals. Presidential advisors probably would claim the administration holds to the theory of realism. Current thought dictates the ideals.
-Nominalism-
The news stations and announcers like to proclaim themselves as unbiased providers of information. Nominalism is the theory of stating what currently exists in society without comment, almost like cataloguing. Calling a candidate a long-awaited messiah or a great breath of fresh air does not qualify as nominalism. Nor does bashing the previous administration. While reporters might say they hold to the theory of nominalism, their opinionated comments probably show otherwise. “What IS is what is, and that is all there is, with no right or wrong about it” the true nominalist would say.
-Legal Positivism-
The last “ism” philosophy, is legal positivism. Some of the new White House agenda items conflict with the Bible. An adherent of legal positivism believes there are no laws except what men legislate. God’s laws would be ignored as not true law, while legislated human opinions would be held as the only standard of right and wrong. Would our new Congress and President fall into the category of legal positivists?
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comment section!
God bless as you take exams soon.
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Thoughts from Court. (Posted by Gabe)
This morning I was sitting through some 341 meetings in federal bankruptcy court, and overheard a rather terrible discussion about a paralegal. You see, it's not uncommon at all for people looking to bankruptcy to hire a paralegal to help fill out the forms. While there are certainly acceptable ways to do that, this one was not - the paralegal went a bit beyond filling out the forms, gave the client some plain wrong legal advice, and was being investigated by the United States Department of Justice. Not a pretty picture, to be sure!
Being in on that meeting prompted a couple of thoughts on being a paralegal. Maybe these thoughts won't apply to you as you study, but I hope that they will be an encouragement to you as you prepare for your future work.
Know the Rules
This one is obvious, I'm afraid. A glance at an ethics book or a little common sense could have saved this paralegal a whole lot of potential heartache - not to mention criminal prosecution.
Now, who knows? Maybe this paralegal was having a bad day. Maybe she was distracted and didn't think about what she was saying. Maybe she has given this advice and gotten away with it a dozen times before. Or maybe she just took that little twinge of common sense and stuffed it under the rug to make a few bucks from this client. I will never know - but this I do know: whatever the reason, she is going to regret her laxity and ignorance of what she should and shouldn't do.
Your Words Matter
Scriptures are certainly clear on this point, as are the many that have written on the subject, but in the legal field it is especially true. To a very large extent, legal professionals have the lives of others in their hands. What you say and what you write has, for better or for worse, someone else's fate embodied in it.
It may not seem like much, sometimes. It could be a small question, a tiny project, or a seemingly inconsequential conversation with your client or your boss. But don't let those appearances deceive you. Don't get sloppy in what you say!
And it never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to mis-communicate. It's highly possible that this errant paralegal I heard about today has a very different idea of what she said. It could be that she is innocent at heart - but what she communicated caused her client to go the wrong way, and could well lead to criminal liability on her part. Clarity in speech can be horribly difficult, but it is no more difficult than it is vital.
I don't say this to scare anyone. I say it more as an encouragement, because you, as a paralegal, have the opportunity to impact people's lives in ways many will never know. You are in a position of trust, to both your clients and your bosses, and with that trust comes great responsibility - and great potential to bless, to enrich, and to edify.
Even now that I am a lawyer, I can still honestly say that some of the most rewarding experiences of my life came when I was working as a paralegal with the chance to help people through legal issues on a regular basis. But not just legal issues, friends, because legal issues are often just symptoms of something deeper, and often the reward comes with seeking out spiritual and practical solutions to the difficulties your clients are in.
So don't forget that what you say will have an impact on lives. And study your ethics rules!
Being in on that meeting prompted a couple of thoughts on being a paralegal. Maybe these thoughts won't apply to you as you study, but I hope that they will be an encouragement to you as you prepare for your future work.
Know the Rules
This one is obvious, I'm afraid. A glance at an ethics book or a little common sense could have saved this paralegal a whole lot of potential heartache - not to mention criminal prosecution.
Now, who knows? Maybe this paralegal was having a bad day. Maybe she was distracted and didn't think about what she was saying. Maybe she has given this advice and gotten away with it a dozen times before. Or maybe she just took that little twinge of common sense and stuffed it under the rug to make a few bucks from this client. I will never know - but this I do know: whatever the reason, she is going to regret her laxity and ignorance of what she should and shouldn't do.
Your Words Matter
Scriptures are certainly clear on this point, as are the many that have written on the subject, but in the legal field it is especially true. To a very large extent, legal professionals have the lives of others in their hands. What you say and what you write has, for better or for worse, someone else's fate embodied in it.
It may not seem like much, sometimes. It could be a small question, a tiny project, or a seemingly inconsequential conversation with your client or your boss. But don't let those appearances deceive you. Don't get sloppy in what you say!
And it never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to mis-communicate. It's highly possible that this errant paralegal I heard about today has a very different idea of what she said. It could be that she is innocent at heart - but what she communicated caused her client to go the wrong way, and could well lead to criminal liability on her part. Clarity in speech can be horribly difficult, but it is no more difficult than it is vital.
I don't say this to scare anyone. I say it more as an encouragement, because you, as a paralegal, have the opportunity to impact people's lives in ways many will never know. You are in a position of trust, to both your clients and your bosses, and with that trust comes great responsibility - and great potential to bless, to enrich, and to edify.
Even now that I am a lawyer, I can still honestly say that some of the most rewarding experiences of my life came when I was working as a paralegal with the chance to help people through legal issues on a regular basis. But not just legal issues, friends, because legal issues are often just symptoms of something deeper, and often the reward comes with seeking out spiritual and practical solutions to the difficulties your clients are in.
So don't forget that what you say will have an impact on lives. And study your ethics rules!
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
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