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The Issue is Moot

Pity poor Professor Yin. In Iowa as he is, he's stuck in the midst of the current Democratic primaries, and suffering through a thicket of TV commercials. This is the first election since Bush I vs. Dukakis for which I will actually be in the United States, and I can't say I'm looking forward to the experience. I'm questioning whether I chose the right time to start watching TV.

The bright side is that he quoted an article by Judge Kozinski, which got me reading two very interesting pieces. The first, The Wrong Stuff, 1992 B.Y.U. L. Rev. 325, focuses on how to lose an appelate case if you really, really find that you have to do so. (Trust me, he's come up with a good reason why you might want to. You could end up on the Supreme Court.)

But better, considering that our 1L Moot Court is coming up and I know almost nothing about it, is In Praise of Moot Court -- Not!, 97 Colum. L. Rev. 178. Despite the atrocious title, he makes some compelling arguments against the way that moot court competitions are run: that they should focus more on the facts of the case; that they should work more with typical appelate cases instead of Supreme Court issues laden with policy; and that they should focus more on the brief.

Not having been in a moot court myself yet, it's impossible for me to say how right I think he is, but it's a persuasive piece. If you're a 1L facing the same challenge I am, you should take a look. Kozinski's never dull, at the very least.

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Comments

Quoth Anthony: "I'm questioning whether I chose the right time to start watching TV." Later model televisions come with a newfangled gizmo called "a power switch". Turning said gizmo to the position marked "0" or "off" (depending on model) does wonders for shielding you from obnoxious television content. I speak from experience here. :-)
Along the same lines, just don't watch network TV or the news stations. Most candidates haven't figured out the whole cable thing.

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