ERWIN CHEMERINSKY

Today I had the privledge to meet someone who makes things happen in our nation. He was introduced as a man of brilliance and I beleive that to be true.
Most people as smart and important as this man, are usually not as down-to-earth nor as personable as he was today.

This man, who holds many titles, was amazing.

He is a law professor, a Supreme Court lawyer, and the Founding Dean of the University of California, Irvine's School of Law set to open August 2009.

He has his own page on wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Chemerinsky

The things he was able to talk about, rattle off at the top of his head and explain without pausing were fascinating. He seemed to be a walking law encyclopedia with human depth. I could see sitting in a classroom listening to him and be disappointed when the class was over.

I am currently taking a law class, which many people think I am crazy to do, since my undergrad law class was very painful, but was probably one of my most favorite classes.
I am really enjoying the ideas of Communication law and I know I will use all of the things I am learning. In fact, I used some of the information this morning. It is facinating how things work in this nation and with the internet and communication changing the world, it will be exciting to be in the middle of all that change.
But for today, I was listening to a wealth of knowledge from someone who will change things through our courts and possibly be on the supreme court some day.
http://www.hpu.edu/index.cfm?section=News11305

This is the new law school. It features a new way of thinking. He actually wants the graduates to BE lawyers, not just think like one. His example was "would you want your doctor to THINK like a doctor or BE one?" http://www.law.uci.edu/profile_e_chemerinsky.html


http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-chemerinsky7-2008oct07,0,6051351.story

Based on what he has done, this school that hasn't even opened its doors to students, is rank 10th in the nation.
http://abajournal.com/news/new_uc_law_school_at_irvine_ranked_in_top_10/


Today we got to see what it might be like to hear this man explain why someone should get another chance. He is currently representing a Guantánamo Bay detainee. His arguement is not about whether this man is dangerous or should be detained, but more about that he needs a trial so we can find out.
He talked about issues being decided in the next few months by the 9 justices. It is wild how much power these decision have on our lives and yet most of America has no clue what is being heard on thier behalf.
Not only did he talk about the Supreme Court and all the things happening with it in the near future, the cases he is currently trying to have argued there, but he also humored questions from students who were not in law school.


It was an interesting conversation. I refer to it this way because I believe it was more than just a speech. I enjoyed it so much, I humored Robert by mentioning that the law school would be fun.