ndmckinney|net

I know I haven’t written anything in over a month. Here’s the quick update:

- I’m a duly sworn member of the Maryland bar
- I have decided to go into the practice of law with a friend of mine
- I am still working on establishing the law office

Outside of my life as a lawyer, I have maintained other interests, too. These include:
- Studying French (on my own)
- Studying Dutch this fall
- Running 4-5 times a week
- Cycling infrequently

Oh, and I have an iPhone as well.

I received the greatest letter in the mail today from the Court of Appeals of Maryland:

The Report of the State Board of Law Examiners has been filed in this Court and, subject to final ratification of the Order Nisi, you are requested to appear for admission to the Bar.

It’s been a very long trip to get here, but, in less than two weeks, I will finally be a licensed attorney in the State of Maryland.

After a week, I’ve finally been able to put two words together without wondering if someone is trying to trick me. It’s finally time to talk about the bar exam.

First, it is an absolutely miserable experience. The morning of the exam, I likened the bar to a fraternity hazing ritual à la “Animal House”. Second, the exam does not require any depth of knowledge. As Brandon puts it, the bar exam is “a test of minimal competency”; incidentally, if you look up the phrase “minimal competency” in the dictionary, my picture is there.

Okay, to the exam itself:

Read the rest of this entry »

I will be in Baltimore for the next few days taking the Maryland state bar examination. The exam is two days long with the first day consisting of essays. After that, it’s pretty much downhill.

If you need to reach me, you won’t be able. I will be tuning out the outside world until Thursday morning.

For those who really hate themselves, you can simulate my pain by going to the state board of law examiners‘ website and downloading old exam questions. If you’re thinking about becoming a lawyer, this is a good way to dissuade you.

I will be in Baltimore for the next few days taking the Maryland state bar examination. The exam is two days long with the first day consisting of essays. After that, it’s pretty much downhill.

If you need to reach me, you won’t be able. I will be tuning out the outside world until Thursday morning.

For those who really hate themselves, you can simulate my pain by going to the state board of law examiners‘ website and downloading old exam questions. If you’re thinking about becoming a lawyer, this is a good way to dissuade you.

Congratulations to Barack Obama for obliterating Hillary Clinton in Maryland, Virginia, and the District. Now that you’ve won the delegates in the District (90% registered democrats), we won’t be seeing you again until January 20, 2009.

I know it seems like I’m really against Hillary Clinton for President, and maybe I am. But in reality, the rationale for voting for Clinton isn’t much more than “well, she’s a woman.”

Take, for example, this page from the BBC. The Beeb posted photos and testimonials from Baltimore voters. The woman in this photo pretty much encapsulates why I hate Clinton supporters:

[Obama]‘s more of a visionary but it’d be very exciting to have a woman in the White House.

If I understand her point of view, she’s voting for Clinton not because she think’s Hillary’s the best candidate, but because she thinks a woman would be “exciting”?

To be fair, motivations for voting for Obama aren’t always fair, either. Consider this post from the same BBC spread.

*sigh*

There is presently a debate in Maryland over whether to allow speed detection cameras in Howard County. I, for one, applaud the effort to install these cameras, and hope to see them installed statewide.

Worse, the use of only intermittent traffic police only encourages risky behavior, since many drivers tend to think they can “beat the system”. Even if a driver is caught, the penalty is usually not sufficient to deter subsequent behavior.

The unblinking eye of the speed camera changes that equation. The camera will be in the same place at the same time. If there are enough cameras, then the incentive to speed disappears and behaviors change.

According to the Washington Post (see linked article, above), a Federal Highway Administration study showed that the use of red-light cameras caused a substantial decrease in drivers ignoring intersections (though, as the Post notes, incidents of rear-end collisions increased dramatically).

Issues of privacy, raised by many [speeders] argue that the . However, from a legal perspective, I don’t see where privacy becomes an issue. The cameras sole function is to catch individuals who are in violation of posted speed limits; there is no difference between a camera (mechanical device) observing the behavior and a uniformed officer (biological device) doing the same.