Thursday, September 15, 2011

Law School #1

Three or four weeks ago (I've lost track) I intended to write here weekly about the goings on, personal experiences, and thoughts surrounding my entrance and immersion into law school at Ohio Northern University.  Well, clearly, that hasn't happened.  I could get into all the various whys and wherefores, but I can't imagine anyone would really care to read that.  So the shortest of it: it boils down to the fact that I really just don't need the blog right now.  That, and I'm so totally fried once and if I actually do have time to write something for myself that I can't manage it.  Yesterday, however, there was quite a convergence of my past and present interests in three little moments: two while sitting in Property, one preparing for Torts.

We were discussing the right we have as property owners to exclude others from our stuff--land, things, home, whatever.  We went further--to the "outer reaches" of the privilege--to talk briefly and hypothetically about the supposed, and in fact very limited, right to destroy our property.  Interesting to note, and I think I'm grateful for it (though this is a fairly complicated mix-up of thoughts, opinions, and emotions, really), that a court will not generally back our actions if we gratuitously destroy, say, our house, at least not if we don't replace it with an improvement, for example.  It reminded me of some things I learned about Italian real estate (back when I subscribed to Architectural Digest), that even to make minor adjustments (and I'm talking about even just getting new windows or locks installed) to a home or piece of property over a certain age or in a certain location requires full authorization from the government, in the interest of preserving cultural interest in architectural heritage.  Further, courts will rarely support you in the destruction of artistic or literary works, even if they're yours and were never even published.  For example, Franz Kafka (if I'm remembering this correctly) requested that his many incomplete works be destroyed in the event of his death.  Aren't we all glad (well, okay, I'm glad!) the court did not enforce that request!

In torts Torts today, we will be discussing a case regarding an event that occurred in good ol' Saginaw, Michigan, outside a now-defunct department store called Arlan's (suspicion of shoplifting with pursuant accusations of slander and wrongful arrest).  I couldn't remember the name of the department store that is now the Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy, so I did a little digging.  I'm sure most of you will be little surprised to learn that I found a number of cases built upon events that happened to have occurred outside one Montgomery Ward not far from Arlan's.

So long for now.  I suppose I will write again eventually, if not soon.

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