Comparing Bush to Hitler?
Judge Guido Calabresi, a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, has strong ties to our law school. Two professors - Prof. Cooper and Prof. Magliocca - clerked for him. His recent remarks at the American Constitution Society Conference have sparked a bit of controversy:

"(Bush) came to power as a result of the illegitimate acts of a legitimate institution that had the right to put somebody in power. That is what the Supreme Court did in Bush versus Gore. It put somebody in power.

"The reason I emphasize that is because that is exactly what happened when Mussolini was put in by the king of Italy. The king of Italy had the right to put Mussolini in, though he had not won an election, and make him prime minister. That is what happened when Hindenburg put Hitler in."

On Thursday he apologized in a letter to John Walker Jr., chief judge of the circuit and a cousin to former President George H.W. Bush.

My remarks were extemporaneous and, in hindsight, reasonably could be -- and indeed have been -- understood to do something which I did not intend, that is, take a partisan position.

The New York Sun first reported the remarks and the NY Times soon followed with their own story.

Breakthrough
Prof. Cooper is back to blogging, even if just temporarily, and offers some encouraging news on his adorable son Noah.

Earlier these pages noted the banning of "Ladies Night" in New Jersey, but the New Jersey assesmbly has, thankfully, OK'd the practice.

Friday Finals v. Indy JazzFest

For those taking finals this Friday you likely know this already. Our Friday finals conflict with the Indy Jazz Fest occurring across the street at Military Park. Various streets around Inlow Hall, including New York, Blackford, and possibly Vermont, are either shut down or severely restricted. The parking lot next to Inlow Hall will probably be full of JazzFest attendees making parking for students taking finals a problem.

My best guess: use Lot 73 north of Michigan Street. That is the lot across the street from the newly constructed Informatics Building. I've never seen this lot full, and I can't imagine Michigan St being restricted for the JazzFest as traffic planners are using it to funnel patrons to Blackford. At that point you are less than a 5 minute walk from the school assuming you can cross the street safely.

Good luck to all.

Why You Should Pay Attention To Civil Procedure

ELK GROVE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT v. NEWDOW, the controversial case concerning the constitutionality of the Pledge of Allegiance, was decided by the Supreme Court in a 8-0 decision. The Supreme Court never got to the issue of whether or not the phrase, "under God," is constitutional in a public school setting. Instead the Court decided that Michael Newdow, the non-custodial parent of the student, lacked standing to sue the school district in order to prevent his daughter from saying and hearing the pledge.

As this case partially resulted from a custody battle it also touches upon family law. "When hard questions of domestic relations are sure to affect the outcome, the prudent course is for the federal court to stay its hand rather than reach out to resolve a weighty question of federal constitutional law."

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

From todays Indianapolis Star on page C1, readers of the Coprporate Board Member magazine have ranked have ranked local law firm Baker & Daniels as Indianapolis' most respected law firm for the third straight year. Ranked second was Ice Miller, followed by Barnes & Thornburg, Bose McKinney & Evans, and Krieg DeVault.

Quiz: Trials of the Centuries

Go here and test yourself on the trials of the centuries.

A common joke you've probably heard is that "chivalry went out the door with women's liberation." That may or may not be true, but it seems "Ladies Night" is about to join chivalry. The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights has ruled that "gender-based discounts" are illegal acts of discrimination. The ruling concerned "Ladies Nights" at bars, in which women can get in free or with a lower cover charge. The theory behind it for the businesses, of course, is that getting more women to attend will also bring in more men.

Assault With an Unwanted Chalupa

A man who claimed he didn't get the taco he paid for has been charged with assault for allegedly pelting a Taco Bell clerk in the face with a chalupa.

Harrison said she told him the store was closing, and as she turned away, a chalupa hit her in the face near her right eye. She said she ran into the parking lot and took down the license number as the motorist was driving away.

I'm wondering why this is an assault and not a battery?

Congrats On Turning In Your Law Review Write-On Memos.

For those turning in a memo today for law review: good luck!

Variable Rates For Student Loans?

There is a proposal in Congress about ending the fixed rate on our student loans. The current program, as most of you should be familiar with, allows all student loans to have a fixed rate of interest over the life of the loan. If you consolidate your loans, the new rate is an average of the interest rates of all your previous student loans, which remains at a fixed rate. Currently this would be around 3% interest rate.

The measure would end the fixed-rate option, making all federal student loans issued after July 2006 subject to variable rates. Repayments would then rise and fall each year in sync with interest rates.

Representatives from both parties are split about the proposed change. Why the change in policy? Our student loans are different than a mortgage loan in the following way: the federal government guarantees a rate of return for the lenders. For other loans, such as a car or home loan, the interest rate is whatever was charged at the time.

That, in turn, has made the program more expensive for the government, which offers lenders a guaranteed rate of return. Millions of students have consolidated at low rates, forcing the government to pay lenders the difference.

A recent General Accounting Office report estimated that, simply on loans issued in 2003 under one of two major programs, subsidies would amount to $3 billion, up from $1.3 billion on loans issued in 2002.

Proponents of the change want more of the money to help prospective students get into college in the first place. Others note that the increase would put an even greater burden upon those to pay off student loans.

"To add on another $3,000, $4,000 even $5,000 to interest costs to somebody who is starting out as a teacher is not a minor event for that individual," said Rep. George Miller, D.-Calif.

I wonder what the numbers would be for students who have undergraduate debt combined with graduate debt such as law school or medical school? The change in interest could produce very scary numbers.

If you want to make your position known, whatever it may be, I highly recommend you contact your senator and representative.