Winding Down the Fifth Semester

Traveling has dominated the first semester of my third year, and I've enjoyed every bit of it. Early on I had an election law class in D.C. on two different weekends, and a job fair there another weekend. I stuck around to attend an oral argument at the Supreme Court with a good friend, one of the best experiences of my three years here.

Because it was only the second day of the term, we got in line around 5:30 a.m. We were numbers 53 and 54. At 9:30 the guards let in the first 50 people, but we stood there waiting nervously. Twenty minutes later, ten minutes before the start of the argument, the guards let us in. We sat in the back row and watched the nine Supreme Court justices take their seats in United States v. Stevens, a First Amendment case involving a man who'd been sentenced to three years for showing videos of dogfighting. My friend and I enjoyed every minute of it, and afterwards we spent an hour and a half discussing the case and all its implications. An awesome day.

More recently I've made weekend trips to New Hampshire to visit friends, Iowa to visit family, and New Haven, Connecticut for a conference at Yale Law School (pictured) on the "New Media Ecology." I drove with two friends from W&M. We learned a lot about the future of media in the digital age, sustainable business models for newspapers, the unbundling of news, and the increased reliance on Wikipedia, among other things. Mostly we gleaned that we have little to fear from the future — the delivery of news will undoubtedly continue to change, but this creates as many opportunities for engagement as it does crises. Though some academics worry that society is becoming more polarized and seeking out news outlets that confirm their opinions, it's also true that more people are paying attention to news and participating in it to some degree. Many more of us see opportunities to add content to online sites or at least send articles to our family and friends, stimulating conversation and creating debate. Some argued that these developments do not bode well for society but others, including me, believe that these changes will make us a better, more engaged democracy.

For several hours the last two nights I have made phone calls on behalf of the law school admissions office, contacting admitted students and answering their questions about the law school experience. It's a strange thing to feel like, at least for these future law students, I'm a bit of an expert on all this — being at William & Mary, living in Williamsburg, knowing the people here. It doesn't seem that long ago at all that I was in their shoes, excited to get to law school but with no idea what I was in for. I'm looking back at it all rather fondly now, though of course it's not over yet. I have chosen my classes for the final semester. The job search continues.

In the last week or so I've spent some time reflecting on how my worldview has changed over the last two-plus years. I have come to this conclusion, and sorry if it seems rather obvious, but I think it's worth stating:

We human beings are all deeply flawed creatures. Each of us has countless faults, some glaring, some visible to others but not to ourselves, some obscured to most people but painfully known to those closest to us. We tread always on dangerous ground when we begin to judge others for their faults, though judging others is impossible to avoid. It's part of our human condition, making value decisions about the people around us, the people we hear about on the news, the people we see at work and at school. Still, we so rarely know the full story. Indeed, we almost never know the whole story, what makes others tick, the pressures that bear down on them, the difficulties they endure and likewise the privileges they have known.

I'm learning to keep this in mind, in no small part because it will be necessary when I become a public defender. To represent clients with rough histories, one must learn to love them, and loving them means appreciating all the hardships they've endured, all the choices they've made under difficult circumstances. I have led a relatively privileged life, with the love and support of family and friends and communities, so much of this is new to me. But over the past two-plus years, I have only had to open my eyes and walk into one incredible new experience after another, meeting so many inspiring attorneys, investigators, and clients along the way.

We are all deeply flawed creatures. But we all have so much potential for goodness. Ayn Rand once wrote, "Judge, and prepare to be judged." I once agreed with this, but now I would advocate a different approach. (I've been listening to Stoic podcasts lately.) Be slow to judge. In the words of Epictetus, "When you are offended at any man's fault, turn to yourself and study your own failings. Then you will forget your anger." Ah, philosophy, how I've missed you.

Live-blogging David Baugh, Virginia civil rights attorney

8:56 a.m.—This morning the William & Mary Law Library is hosting David Baugh, a civil rights attorney and the Capital Defender in Richmond, Va. He has lectured the last two years, and is always a dynamic speaker. He'll be discussing "The Bill of Rights and the Roberts Court." Should be an excellent hour. There are about 50 people in attendance at the law school this morning, many of them first-year law students, public policy graduate students and many from the Williamsburg community. A fine turnout for a Friday morning.

9:01 a.m.—Jim Heller, head librarian, has introduced David Baugh, the son of a Tuskegee Airman. "I don't like the Supreme Court," Baugh says.

9:02 a.m.—Baugh says the justices should not care about the outcome of a case. "They're there to protect the rules, and the rules are in our Constitution. The Supreme Court does not understand that."

9:05 a.m.—Baugh is often introduced as a civil rights scholar. "I'm not, I'm a trial lawyer. I'm a thug. I go to court and I beat people up." Baugh is plugging Judge A. Leon Higginbotham's open letter to Clarence Thomas, which I haven't read. Here's the cite: An open letter to Justice Clarence Thomas from a federal judicial colleague, 140 U. Penn. L. Rev. 1005-1028 (1992).

9:08 a.m.—Most law schools don't teach the Constitution. We're going to talk about why we have it. "Thomas Jefferson was one of those guys who really was a genius. He knew that the key to life was happiness. Yeah, they screwed slaves, but he knew what he was talking about." Another plug: download The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations in 1948.

9:10 a.m.—"Government always will be in opposition to freedom." Two opposing forces: one is freedom. No issue is taboo. "What do you think about the Man-Boy Society?" (He's talking about NAMBLA here.) "We ought to talk about it."

Baugh is talking about his former client, a grand dragon of the KKK. "If any one of you believe there's a superior race, talk to a Klansman. He was dumb as a rock."

9:12 a.m.—On one side is freedom, and on the other side is order. "Those forces are in opposition because the greater the freedom, the less order. We have to have order, but we have to have freedom. The opponents of freedom will always be the government, the majority, and you when you're scared." So we have to maintain a system of laws that recognizes freedom while keeping order in place. It will always be a sliding scale.

9:15 a.m.—We're the only government in the world that swears allegiance to a philosophy, to a document. That's brilliant. Others swear an allegiance to a king or queen. He's talking now about freedom of religion, "which is a brilliant idea." The only way to allow everyone to practice the kind of religion they want is to have no laws establishing religion. "That's kung fu crap. That's like, 'The only way for everyone to have religion is to leave religion alone, Grasshopper." (Big laughs from the crowd.)

9:18 a.m.—Talking about harm to others and the First Amendment. Up until 10 years ago, consensual sex between married adults was illegal in this state. How does gay people getting married harm others? "It's going to destroy the American family. Don't look now but heterosexuality and monogamy destroyed the American family."

9:25 a.m.—On defending clients: every time someone walks, the rules get stronger. Most people view the Constitution and the Bill of Rights as an impediment to convicting guilty people. Only the ACLU and criminal defense attorneys protect the rules.

9:26 a.m.—"For every freedom, there is a corresponding responsibility. If I want freedom of speech, I have to tolerate the rights of other dumb son-of-a-bitches to talk, too."

9:28 a.m.—On to the KKK case. (I should mention here that Mr. Baugh is black. He represented a KKK Grand Dragon who burned a cross.) How to tell a Klansman from anyone else: it's not a cross burning, it's a "cross illumination."

9:29 a.m.—"When it comes to constitutional issues, there are only two sides. There's the government on one side, and everybody else on the other side." The reason Baugh took the case is because he and the Klansman were on the same side.

9:32 a.m.—"Human beings are basically good." Baugh says he's never defended someone he thought was bad. Even bigots aren't bad people, he says. They're good people who pay their bills and love their kids but who have a distorted sense of values.

9:34 a.m.—Baugh on his mother, who he says, "should have been a Nazi," for her stances on pornography. She didn't want him defending someone accused of having pornography, and he told her he believed it was important to protect that person's freedom of speech. "I've been called a bastard before but never by the person who really knows."

9:35 a.m.—A few links to articles about David Baugh and his former client, Barry Elton Black, the Klansman: http://www.abanet.org/irr/hr/fall00/oneil.html and http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/20/us/klan-case-transcends-black-vs-white.html.

9:38 a.m.—On human rights: should we support countries who oppress their women? Should we support countries that discriminate against minorities? How about the burqa issue? Baugh did the bombing case at the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi. He represented an al-Qaida member who blew up 200 people. He started researching and realized he didn't know anything about Islam. A friend recommended him a book called, "Teach Yourself Islam." He highly recommends it, even though it's the equivalent of "Islam for Dummies." The book is about 250 pages (224, to be exact).

9:40 a.m.—On suicide bombing: Suicide is a sin in Islam, but giving your life for the cause of war is not. That's how Islamic extremists draw the distinction. It's easier to extend rights to other people if you understand those people and their religion.

9:42 a.m.—On rights in America: We rank about 33rd in infant mortality. "I think it's obscene that we have bombers that cost $2 billion and we have dying children." Health care is a right.

9:45 a.m.—"You have a duty, not just to get educated, but to understand other cultures, other people. Every time you get a chance to study another culture, take it."

On Tim Kaine (the current governor of Virginia): He came from Harvard and moved to Richmond. The most segregated place in America is a church on Sunday morning. Well Tim Kaine went to a black church and joined the choir.

9:46 a.m.—"For those of you who are law students, if you know why you're doing it, it's the greatest job in the world." That's the end of the lecture. On to questions.

9:47 a.m.—"Should we have voluntary slavery? Other than prostitution and marriage."

9:58 a.m.—A little experiment. Baugh stands in the middle of the room and says, "I think Dick Cheney is an evil bastard who should die and rot in hell." There. He says in most countries, a person couldn't do that without the threat of being imprisoned. But not a single person in this room, he says, believes that saying that deserves a criminal penalty. "And that's what gives me hope, hope for our Constitution and for our country."

Maybe the best line of the day. Baugh's final point is about having courage. "It's not enough to be smart, and you all are smart. You have to have kahones, too. Oh wait, excuse me. You have to have ovarian fortitude."

On that note, Baugh heads to the public policy class to discuss upcoming Supreme Court cases.

Voters Who Wear Black Robes

Some who wear black robes get to vote. Some don't.

You wouldn't know it from recent media coverage, but the Supreme Court continues to hand down decisions and quite often, they suck. Within the last few weeks, the Court upheld an Indiana law requiring all voters to show a photo ID. In a 6-3 ruling, the Court said that the law, which is heavily supported by those (Republicans) who purport to fear voter fraud and heavily opposed by those (Democrats) who actually fear voter suppression. While the proponents of the law could show no actual evidence of voter fraud, a majority of the Court clearly believed them.

Well, nothing like a quick reality check. In the Indiana primary today, a dozen nuns, all in their 80s and 90s, showed up to vote but were turned away — by one of their own! — because they did not have driver's licenses. Moreover, they were denied provisional ballots because it would be impossible for them to get processed by the Indiana DMV within the necessary 10-day period before the state certifies the election. Some of the nuns — one was 98 — showed up in wheelchairs with outdated passports. The story is really quite appalling. Read it here.

I mention the bit about media coverage because of an outstanding study by the Project for Excellence in Journalism. The nonpartisan group does empirical research, tracking which media outlets are covering which stories, and how much. The PEJ concluded that last week, in all the coverage of the 2008 campaign, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright was mentioned in 42% of the stories, while Sen. Hillary Clinton (she's still running for president, folks) was mentioned in 41% of stories. This is troublesome.

According to the PEJ study, of all the stories last week, the campaign ranked first, receiving 38% of the coverage. Understandable, perhaps. Coverage of the Supreme Court, by the way, was 10th, at 1%.

Too bad for the nuns. Like the justices, they wear black robes, too, but I guess their votes don't matter.