It looks like there will be a Prop 8 movie. Line-waiting customer Rob Reiner will direct. So, that poses the obvious question. Who will play each Justice?
It looks like there will be a Prop 8 movie. Line-waiting customer Rob Reiner will direct. So, that poses the obvious question. Who will play each Justice?
Depending on how we use history, originalist arguments can point in more than one direction. But that is also true of doctrinal arguments. They aren’t always more determinative, especially at the Supreme Court level. So the big takeaway is that originalism may shape the way that judges argue about the Constitution, but it doesn’t relieve judges of the need to exercise judgment. The reason we hire judges is to judge.
A very interesting interview with Jack on originalism and same-sex marriage.
Update: The last quoted sentence reminded me of something I wrote in The Constitutionality of Social Cost, with respect to how the Second Amendment should be understood in the future:
With regard to how courts should develop the right, I do not hold the key. Judges will invariably do what judges do.
What a shame. I was really looking forward to the judicial benchslap.
Now, we’ve learned Trump filed documents in L.A. County Superior Court on March 29 to dismiss the case … but a rep for “The Apprentice” star says it doesn’t mean the war is over.
“The lawsuit was temporarily withdrawn to be amended and refiled at a later date,” says Michael Cohen (Trump’s Executive Vice President and Special Counsel).
As for when Trump plans to refile the suit … that question is still unanswered.
Property I Sample Examination
Instructions
(These are the instructions that will be on the final exam).
You will have three hours to complete this exam. There are two essay questions. Each question is worth 50% of the final score. Each question has a 500-word limit. Anything you write past 500 words will not be read. Please use the word-count feature to check the length of each answer, or count the words if you are hand-writing the exam.
The exam is completely open-book. You can use anything you wish, so long as that it was printed before the distribution of this exam. Obtaining any new information from anyone or anything after the exam is prohibited.
Question
The year is 1839. The Republic of Texas has recently declared its independence. You are clerking for the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court, and have been asked to prepare a memorandum explaining this very-Texas property problem. Because time is short, the Chief Justice wants a memorandum of no more than 500 words. (Y’all and other Texisms count as one word). If there are multiple possible outcomes, please discuss the options. Texas applies all of the common law property rules, as stated in the Restatement (First) of Property (which will be published in about 100 years). Any similarities or dissimilarities between this fact pattern and actual Texas history are unintentional–please indulge your Yankee professor.
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In 1836, Austin led the Texians in their triumphant victory in the Texas Revolution. During his conquests, Austin claimed ownership of two plots of land in what was now the Republic of Texas: Gonzales and Alamo. Nearing the end of his life, Austin set out to ensure that his friends and family were taken care of after his death. At the time, Austin was not married, and had three children: Bowie, Crocket, and Dusk. Austin also had several close friends: Eustache, Fannin, and Gamar.
On January 1, 1837, Austin recorded the first of two conveyances: “I convey Gonzales to Bowie for life, then to Eustache and his heirs so long as the cannon used during the Battle of Gonzales remains in Gonzales.”
On January 2, 1837, Bowie took his own life and fell on his (bowie) knife.
On February 1, 1837, Austin recorded the second conveyance: “I convey Alamo to Crockett and Dusk jointly, but if the Alamo fort is not maintained, then to Fannin and his heirs.
On February 2, 1837, Crockett locks the Alamo fort, and prevents Dusk from entering.
On February 14, 1837, Crockett became too busy hunting raccoons for his new coonskin cap, and forgot about the Alamo. It quickly fell into disrepair.
On May 1, 1837, tragically, Crockett was attacked by a rabid racoon, and dies.
On May 14, 1837, afraid of his own mortality after Crockett’s sudden demise, Dusk recorded the following conveyance: “Alamo to myself for my life, then to Gamar and his heirs.”
On May 15, 1837 at Crockett’s funeral, Fannin learns that the Alamo is in disrepair, and tells Dusk that he is moving in.
On May 16, 1837, Dusk dies during a tragic mutton-bustin’ accident, that would later become known as the silence of the lambs.
On May 30, 1837 Fannin enters Alamo and demands access. Gamar, who had moved in after Dusk kicked the bucket, won’t let him in.
On December 31, 1837, Austin died, leaving no heirs.
On January 2, 1838, General Hanta Anna, still peeved over losing the war, entered Gonzales and claimed that Austin never properly acquired Gonzales, and that the land belongs to him. Hanta Anna claimed that in 1824 the Native Americans in Gonzales conveyed the land to him. Eustache, with a classic Texian bravado and swagger, kicks out Hanta Anna.
On February 1, 1838, Hanta Anna, taking Gonzales’ “Come and Take It” flag a little too seriously, came and took it. He seized the canon and brought it South of the Border. By messing with Texas, he nearly ignited another Revolution.
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With these facts, address the following questions in your memorandum to the Chief Justice.
(1) With respect to Gonzales, describe the interests held by Austin, Bowie, Eustache, and Hanta Anna at the following dates (If a person has not yet acquired any interest at a certain date, no need to discuss it):
(a) 1/1/37
(b) 1/2/37
(c) 1/2/38
(d) 2/1/38
(2) With respect to Alamo, describe the interests held by Austin, Crocket, Dusk, Fanin, and Gamar at the following dates (If a person has not yet acquired any interest at a certain date, no need to discuss it):
(a) 2/1/37
(b) 2/2/37
(c) 2/14/37
(d) 5/1/37
(e) 5/16/37
(f) 5/30/37
Instructions: You are an associate at a law firm. Your lazy partner, who is quite short on time, asks you to prepare a memorandum of no more than 500 words addressing a situation affecting a client. You are in a jurisdiction that, for the most part, adopts the rules of the Restatement (First) of Property, but is gradually moving towards the Restatement (Third) of Property. The jurisdiction has a “Notice” recording statute. The period required for adverse possession is ten years with color of title, and twenty years without color of title .
Here are all the facts. If you draw any inferences beyond these facts, please explain why you drew those inferences.
On January 1, 2011, your client Aladdin purchased Blackacre from Oliver with a general warranty deed for $100,000. Oliver told Aladdin that he owned the land in fee simple, and that there were no encumbrances on the title.
Aladdin, who was otherwise involved in a bitter dispute with his girlfriend Jasmine (she acted like such a Princess!), delayed recording until January 1, 2012.
Unbeknownst to Aladdin, Oliver also sold Blackacre to Bambi for $50,000 on June 1, 2011. Oliver gave Bambi a quit-claim deed, though Oliver never signed it. Bambi recorded the same day, on June 1, 2011. However, the clerk who recorded the deed accidentally wrote “Greyacre” instead of “Blackacre.” Bambi knew nothing about the sale of Blackacre to Aladdin.
Bambi did not enter the property right away, as she was grieving the tragic death of her mother.
On January 2, 2012, Aladdin finally enters Blackacre, and decides to open the forest, which is extremely over-populated with deer, to hunters for a fee. Within 24 hours, Aladdin sells out hunting passes for the year for $20,000.
Gaston, a renowned hunter, enters the land, fires his gun, and kills a deer.
Captain Hook, who owns Whiteacre, which is adjacent to Blackacre, is startled by the gunshot, and comes running over and yells at Aladdin, telling him hunting is not allowed on the land. The Captain is very sensitive to sound.
The Captain says, “Look around at every other plot of land in the area. There is no hunting allowed anywhere in the county!” Aladdin said he didn’t even notice.
Aladdin told the Captain that his land was so over-populated by deer, who were eating all of his crops, that he needed to do something to reduce the number of deer. Aladdin said “this was the only way I could save my land!”
The Captain tells Aladdin that when he sold Blackacre to Donald Duck thirty years ago, the Captain added an easement on the deed, stating that hunting would not be allowed on Blackacre.
Aladdin tells the Captain that he “purchased Blackacre in fee simple from Oliver, not Donald Duck.” Aladdin had no clue who Donald Duck was. The Captain looks confused, and said that he had seen Oliver on the land occasionally over the last 5 years, and before that Eeyore had lived on the land continuously for six years. Oliver claimed he acquired a deed from Eeyore, but it was never recorded. Eeyore obtained a deed to the land from a sheriff’s sale. Eeyore never recorded his deed. However, years later–after Oliver acquired title from Eeyore and entered the land–a court determined that the the sheriff’s sale was based on an invalid foreclosure. Oliver had no notice that the foreclosure sale was invalid. The Captain said he did not mind that Eeyore and Oliver were on the land, as they were quiet. However, the Captain said that Donald Duck was the lawful owner. Aladdin said he had never even heard of Donald Duck.
Shortly thereafter, Bambi, still traumatized from the death of her mother, enters Blackacre, and discovers to her absolute shock and horror, that Aladdin is allowing deer-hunters onto the land.
The Captain filed suit to enjoin hunting on Blackacre, and claimed that the noise from the gunshots constitute a nuisance, seeking $5,000 in damages. Bambi filed an action to quiet title, and to oust Aladdin from Blackacre.
What are Aladdin’s best defenses against the suits brought by Captain Hook and Bambi? What actions may exist against Oliver? What should Aladdin do (and no, Genie can’t help)?