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The Barrister Howard University School of Law Student Magazine

Publishing since 1964 ● Fall 2011 Edition

Featuring:

THE HUSL EDGE

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CONTENTS

The Dehumanization of the Judiciary Waris Husain and David Mathew Pg. 4

HOWARD Should Recognize HRG

Keisha Garrick Pg.8

The HUSL Edge

Tiffany Green Pg. 11

HUSL On Edge

Nurudeen Elias Pg.12

The Spook Who Sat by the Door

Christina Cobb Pg.14

Saying No to $160,000 Kerrel McCrimons Pg. 23

From Our Archives: The “Swagger-ful” Prof. Boyer

Claire Raj

Faculty Advisor

Nurudeen Elias

Editor-in-Chief

Nana Sarpong Christina Cobb

Managing Editor Copy Editor

Kerrel McCrimons Tiffany Green

Layout Editor Senior Editor

Nazirah Hasan Anitha Vemury

Senior Editor Senior Editor

Chike Chijoke Daniel Moore

Member Member

Jouya Rastegar

Contributing Editor

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Rediscovering Our History

Late last summer, members of The Barrister met to consider the role the

paper should serve in the HUSL community. We concluded that the paper

should be a vehicle for improving the school and a platform for sharing our

hopes and dreams. However, during a recent office cleaning, we

discovered another role The Barrister served for more than four decades.

In the forgotten drawers at The Barrister office, we found old issues of the

paper and pictures dating from the 1960s. There were pictures of Al

Sharpton, with curls, hanging out with students; Johnnie Cochran signing

his autobiography at HUSL; and Professor Boyer, forever ―swagger-ful,‖

posing for a picture in his office. We discovered that the paper served as the connection between HUSL‘s

social engineers and the public.

Past issues of The Barrister featured articles about local and national politics, the civil rights movement,

systemic injustices, and spotlights on individuals experiencing those injustices. The paper received

commendations from all over the nation, including from the NAACP and from Douglas Wilder—the first

African-American Governor of Virginia and HUSL alum. After learning the history of the paper, we

understood why we receive letters from incarcerated individuals requesting our help, as well as copies of

the paper so that they may keep up with the news from the battlefront.

Rediscovering our history has inspired us. So we have put together an issue that befits Barrister history.

Our lead article rekindles the warrior of justice spirit that we found in the issues from the 1960s. It is

followed by articles debating how best to move our community forward. Last, members from our

community share their experiences, ideas, achievements, and creativity. As always, we strive to give

meaning to the saying, ―Howard is a community that makes your heart sing.‖ Thank you for reading. I

hope you enjoy this issue as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Sincerely,

Nurudeen Elias

Editor-in-Chief

Check out The Barrister online at www.huslbarrister.com

The website is for you. We hope you will take ownership by sending us articles, advertizing in HUSL

Marketplace, and commenting on posts! We look forward to hearing from you.

Submit articles for posting to huslbarrister2012@gmail.com.

E-copies of this issue will be available @ www.huslbarrister.com

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►National Spotlight: Injustice

I AM TROY DAVIS

The Dehumanization of the Judiciary By Waris Husain and David Mathew

The execution of Troy Davis was met with

national uproar and a protest in Washington

D.C. Mr. Davis was executed for a crime he

allegedly committed, even though many of the

witnesses in the case recanted their testimony,

indicating his potential innocence. The Supreme

Court of the nation refused to stay the execution

based on legal formalities that were not satisfied

in this case. Instead of humanizing Troy Davis

as a man about to lose his life to an unjust

system, our courts employ a rigidly technical

jurisprudence.

In America, the legal community has focused so

greatly on upholding legal technicalities that

judges and lawyers disregard the human impact

of their decisions. An undue reliance on legal

formalism has pervaded in the Supreme Court,

resulting in a mechanical application of the law

that favors the law‘s logical form over its ability

to promote social well-being to the people it

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serves. A more pragmatic and humanistic

approach to jurisprudence is needed to interpret

law in its proper context, not as merely an end in

itself but as a means to fulfill human needs and

values.

The demand by the public for the judiciary to act

even in the absence of precedent stems from two

ideas: (1) the public‘s discomfort with allowing

a potentially biased system to take the lives of

citizens, and (2) the lack of respect for human

dignity implicit in the death penalty. Either

way, such contentions can only be addressed by

a court that recognizes and upholds the

principles of wisdom as much as it applies the

rigid technicality of legal formalities, so as to

value the human impact of the decisions made

by the Courts.

THE CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

The continual use of the death penalty in the

U.S. seems draconian when compared to the rest

of the developed world who has banned the

practice. But fundamentally, the continuation of

the death penalty relates to the technical nature

of legal analysis amongst lawyers and judges in

the U.S. With a technical perspective, the courts

have worked to uphold their own decisions, and

since executions were commonly upheld

throughout America‘s history, the status quo has

remained etched in stone. Indeed, a vital

function of the Court is to adhere to precedent –

and Justice after Justice has largely done so in

mechanical fashion.

The Supreme Court‘s legitimization of capital

punishment has created a particular culture

surrounding the state-sponsored murder of

citizens. Not only does a technical upholding of

a barbaric practice allow for its continued use, it

also has inspired a blood-lust amongst the

people. This was especially apparent when a

crowd at a Republican Primary Debate cheered

Rick Perry for announcing that he has presided

over more executions as governor of Texas than

any other American governor in the past

decade. It is ironic that the same crowd of

people who distrust the government from

competently delivering health care or education,

can trust that same State entity with determining

the fate of someone‘s life.

INJUSTICE IN ADMINSTRATION

Some were angered by the Troy Davis case

because there were suspicions of racial

discrimination, as Mr. Davis was African

American. This classification alone exposed Mr.

Davis to the death penalty more likely than a

white counterpart, as 89% of defendants subject

to capital punishment in the U.S. are either

African American or Mexican-American.

Several advocates have presented cases before

the Supreme Court that used social science data

to explain that capital punishment was being

used discriminatorily against the nation‘s

minorities. In such cases, the court relied on its

legal formalism to reject social science data, and

maintained the practice of capital punishment

despite the existence of information suggesting

that innocent people were being executed by the

State.

However, legal formalists would argue that

despite discrimination that might exist in

society, we can trust the courts enough to

adequately determine a person‘s guilt and

subject them to death as a penalty. The South

African Supreme Court rejected this very idea,

stating that no court in the world should be able

to put a person to death when inequality or

discrimination existed in that society. They

stated that,

―the outcome (of a capital

punishment case) may be

dependent upon factors such as

the way the case is investigated

by the police, the way the case

is presented by the prosecutor,

how effectively the accused is

defended, the personality and

particular attitude to capital

punishment of the trial judge

and, if the matter goes on

appeal, the particular judges

who are selected to hear the

case. Race and poverty are also

alleged to be factors.

– S v. Makwanyane

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Even though Europeans had slaughtered

thousands of innocent black citizens using the

death penalty in South Africa, the new Supreme

Court chose not to exact revenge on their

colonial masters. The Constitutional Court

correctly raised concern over the very real

possibility that circumstantial factors of societal

inequality may lead to incorrect judicial rulings.

Understanding the inherent fallibility and

imperfections of the legal system, South Africa

refused to accept capital punishment as being an

appropriate solution that imperfect courts of law

are capable of responsibly administering. The

U.S. shares a similar history of discriminatory

behavior towards certain minority groups, yet

formalists argue that the U.S. system can

somehow fairly administer the death penalty.

Unlike South Africa, where the judges had the

wisdom to understand the potential human cost

of allowing the death penalty to continue in a

discriminatory society, American judges have

dehumanized our judiciary with their undying

allegiance to formalism.

HUMAN DIGNITY AND THE DEATH

PENALTY

There is another group of people who wish to

repeal the death penalty based on the idea that

executions violate the modern concept of

―human dignity,‖ even if administered perfectly

by the courts. This principle is acknowledged in

several Constitutions around the world and is a

basic right in most international human rights

treaties. In Germany, Article II of the Basic Law

states that ―every person shall have the right to

life and physical integrity. Freedom of the

person shall be inviolable.‖ This has been

interpreted to prohibit the use of capital

punishment against any citizen.

Germany‘s Constitution and courts draw on their

scarred history of the Holocaust and World War

2 as inspiration for the abolishment of the death

penalty. During the reign of Nazi dictatorship

an estimated 40,000 death sentences were

handed down. In response to this atrocious

abuse of power, in 1949 Germany‘s

Parliamentary Council emphatically articulated

its commitment to abolishing the death penalty:

"As the extent of Nazi atrocities and abuse of the

death penalty became clear, everyone was

horrified, and the founders of the Federal

Republic of Germany decided the State could

never again be allowed the power to kill."

This acknowledgement of past atrocity

empowered a modern Germany to learn from its

grave mistakes and seek to never repeat them.

They understood the real human impact of the

loss of life, which is completely disregarded in

the United States with its rigid maintenance of

the death penalty. If one looks through the

history books of the U.S., the nation was built on

the genocide of a native population as well as

the enslavement and abuse of African

Americans. Yet, unlike the Germans, the

American legal community had no such self-

realization allowing the society to progress

forward with the changing times. This is

partially the reason why the execution of Troy

Davis was so disheartening to so many across

the world. Once again, it reminded us of

America‘s arrogant refusal to correct past

wrongs, and once again our poisoned judiciary

shrunk at the opportunity to stand up to its moral

obligations. Predictably, few in the Supreme

Court have acknowledged the importance of

human dignity in their legal analysis. Justice

Brennan explained how the death penalty relates

to the newly developing ideals of ―human

dignity‖, when he stated ―the country has

debated whether a society for which the dignity

of the individual is the supreme value can,

without a fundamental inconsistency, follow the

practice of deliberately putting some of its

members to death . . . the struggle about this

punishment has been one between ancient and

deeply rooted beliefs in retribution . . . on the

one hand, and, on the other, beliefs in the

personal value and dignity of the common man.‖

WISDOM IN THE COURT

Thus, we can now come back to the situation of

Troy Davis, whose appeal to the Supreme Court

was denied even though many of the witnesses

in his case recanted their story. Some legal

formalists lauded the reasoning behind the

court‘s decision, as the court upheld the prior

decisions allowing for capital punishment in the

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face of abject discrimination. While legal

formalists rely on case law, the ultimate law of

any nation is its constitution and the basic

feature of all Constitutions, we argue, is that

they protect human dignity and equality.

In Furman v. Georgia, Justice Brennan argued

that all capital punishment should be banned in

the U.S. because the society no longer accepts it

as an acceptable form of punishment (which is

true today as 60% of Americans want to ban the

death penalty). However, he explained through

the Constitution, that the Eighth Amendment

banned the use of cruel and unusual punishment,

and that the definition of ―cruel and unusual‖

would change over time. Justice Brennan stated

that Constitutional protections ―must draw

[their] meaning from the evolving standards of

decency that mark the progress of a maturing

society.‖ Therefore, the judges are tasked with

the job of monitoring the ―evolving standards of

decency,‖ which cannot be done purely through

a scientific legal rigidity and upholding past

decisions.

This requires that a judge display one

characteristic: wisdom. A judge embodies

wisdom when he/she recognizes the human

impact of the decisions they make and

understands the spirit of the laws. It is an

obvious contention that laws and constitutions,

at least nominally, were created to maximize

human happiness and ensure equality, but a

focus on legally formalistic arguments lends to

decisions that result in injustice and misery.

Thus, a judge espousing higher law principles of

wisdom possesses the ability to apply the law in

a manner contextually related to the human

experience. A judge should not apply the law as

if it is an infallible science, but rather should

acknowledge imperfections in the law that have

led to inequalities and socially manufactured

economic and ethnic divisions. More generally,

lawyers must possess the courage to

pragmatically address such inequalities and

divisions in restorative fashion, in an attempt to

make society whole again by reconciling the

past, not ignoring it.

CONCLUSION

While we train our lawyers and judges to be

skilled in the technical facets of the law, we do

not value an independently developed internal

wisdom that a judge possesses by way of

experience and inner-reflection, as opposed to

external study and recitation of doctrine. This

doctrinal formalism has dominated our Courts –

and trickled down into our lower courts and

judicial methodology in general. Thus, courts

will continue to exact injustice and take the lives

of innocent people if it does not adjust its

decisions to the environment / characteristics of

each specific case and value human dignity and

life above all else.

If a wise judge were given the chance to

examine capital punishment with regards to the

gross racial disparity in execution rates, they

would immediately work to ban the punishment

all together. Alternatively, a wise judge could

also assess the development of society‘s values,

which have redefined human dignity to include a

protection against state-sponsored murder. The

American legal system must catch up to

progressive constitutional mandates that prohibit

the death penalty. ◙

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HOWARD SHOULD RECOGNIZE HRG

By Keisha Garrick

Editor-in-Chief of HRG

For the past few years, the Human Rights and Globalization Law Review (HRG) has been

working diligently to get Howard University School of Law (HUSL) to grant it co-curricular

status. However, despite HRG‘s accomplishments, HUSL has remained reluctant to recognize

HRG and has therefore denied its members class credit for their work. Reasons for denying co-

curricular status may have been reasonable in the past but are now inconsequential given the

ongoing success of HRG and the crucial advantages journal membership provides. HUSL should

support the development and recognition of HRG, or an additional law review/journal, in order to

ensure the success of its students.

Unlike a vast number of law schools, HUSL only provides class credit to the members of one law

journal, the Howard Law Journal. In addition, the Howard Law Journal only allows the top 25%

of the student body to compete for entry. As a result, the remaining students must either take on

responsibilities of HRG, without earning academic credit, or find other ways to reap the

advantages that journal membership affords. These benefits include the opportunities to (1)

improve legal research and writing skills; and (2) compete in the job market.

First and foremost, membership on a law review/journal allows students to improve their research

and writing skills. Each member is required to conduct technical and substantive editorial work.

Members are also required to compose a note or comment of publishable quality. However,

proper execution of these tasks requires time. Therefore, the school‘s failure to recognize and

provide students academic credit for HRG, or any other law review/journal, forces students to

take on a significant workload in addition to their regular class requirements. Absent academic

credit, law review members have less time to dedicate to their law review responsibilities.

In addition, membership on a recognized law review/journal enables students to compete

effectively in this difficult job market. Due to the economy, employers have drastically limited

the number of slots available to law students. Thus, students are required to have increasingly

competitive credentials to secure jobs. Many employers are now demanding official law

review/journal membership before considering an applicant for employment. As such,

recognizing only one journal for an entire law school is detrimental to the rest of the HUSL

student body. As an institution that is focused on social justice and on coloring the legal market,

HUSL should capitalize on every opportunity to provide gainful employment for the entire

student body. Recognizing more than one law review/journal is a great way to achieve this goal.

Recognizing HRG will improve HUSL as a whole. Through recognition and possible academic

credit, members can devote the time necessary to improve their research and writing skills, as

well as increase their competitiveness in the job market. In sum, the reasons that prevented HUSL

from recognizing another law review/journal in the past are indefensible in light of the challenges

faced by our students in the current job market. ◙

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WELCOME TO HUSL To all 1Ls, The Barrister welcomes you to HUSL.

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“Here’s to the crazy ones…

the round pegs in the square holes…the ones who see things

differently… they push the human race forward, and while some may

see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who

are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the

ones that do” -Steve Jobs

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THE HUSL EDGE

By Tiffany Green

During intense moments of frustration in my job

search, I have thrown up my hands and

wondered what it would take to get a job offer. I

have engaged in self-defeating negative talk. I

have even wondered why I chose to come to

Howard instead of a higher-ranking school.

This year, however, I decided to take a different

approach with the 3L job hunt. I am going to

remain optimistic and let positive energy fuel

my search. In order to do that, I needed to know

what gives me an edge in the job market as a

HUSL student. I will share what I learned, so

that you too can move forward knowing that you

made a good choice when you decided to attend

HUSL.

To be clear, the legal job market is tough right

now. In 2010, about 40,000 new law graduates

entered the job market looking to fill about

30,000 available legal jobs. However, there are

a number of statistics out there hinting that you

chose the right law school, and that a permanent

job is within reach.

To be sure, Howard‘s recruiting program is

impressive. Howard has a reputation for getting

students jobs and starting salaries that are on par

with Top-14 schools. According to the

Princeton Review, Howard students ―feel as if

they‘re at the center of the recruiting universe.‖

The Career Services webpage boasts impressive

numbers. Approximately 200 major law firms,

corporations, public interest agencies and federal

government agencies participate in the Fall On-

Campus Recruitment Program each year.

Moreover, the Spring Recruitment Program

features at least 100 smaller law firms and

businesses and about 50 public interest

employers. Additionally, Career Services

facilitates resume collection for about 150

employers each year. One Howard student

reported to the Princeton Review an appreciation

for the Career Services Office and its ―tireless

efforts to encourage firms to recruit and hire

from Howard.‖ The good work of the Office

does not stop there; the Office also coordinates

informational panels meant to assist us with

identifying practice areas, preparing for

interviews, and exploring alternative

employment opportunities.

Perhaps the most impressive statistics come in

the form of Howard‘s track record in landing

students ―Big Law‖ jobs. According to The

National Law Journal (NLJ), Howard Law gave

its 2010 graduates ―the most big-firm bang for

their tuition buck.‖ Howard has one of the

highest percentages of graduates ―taking first-

year associate jobs at NLJ 250 law firms for the

lowest tuition price.‖ Despite HUSL‘s 2011

ranking as a third-tier law school in U.S. News

and World Report‘s Best Law Schools, it ranked

#31 on NLJ‘s Go-To Law School List. In 2010,

15.04% of graduates landed NLJ 250 jobs. The

most recently reported median full-time starting

salary featured on Top-Law-Schools.com was

$160,000 in the private sector. This is

considered ―a staggering figure for a school

outside of the Top-100.‖ According to the

website, the array of ―Big Law‖ jobs available to

Howard graduates is impressive.

Those who are not at least in top one-third of

their class may not interview with ―Big Law‖

firms. The majority of these firms focus on

class rank and grades. However, the

combination of respectable grades, an

impressive resume, and a purpose-driven cover

letter can land a Howard student interviews with

some of the top public sector employers and

mid-size firms in the country.

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As an additional benefit, a Howard degree has

national reach, with recruiters coming from all

over the country. One Midwest employer

reported that he has been coming to Howard to

recruit for years and enjoys bringing Howard

students in to work for him. Recruiters have

told the Career Services Office that Howard

students have extremely well rounded

backgrounds, making them very impressive in

both the public and private sectors .

Finally, one of our school‘s most important

assets is its alumni. A 3L pointed out,

―attending Howard School of Law provides

students with an edge over others in the job

market because of its active and engaged alumni

base.‖ She went on to share that when she

interned with the Executive Office of the

President last spring, she ―was pleasantly

surprised to find several HUSL alumni

employed there. [They] were eager to serve as

mentors, informed me of various employment

and networking opportunities, and continue to

aid in my development as a soon-to-be

practicing attorney.‖ Many students can paint a

similar picture of their interactions with Howard

alumni at internships and recruiting events.

With all of these tools, I remain confident that

we have the ―edge‖ necessary to find post-

graduation employment. ◙

HUSL ON EDGE

By Nurudeen Elias

Tiffany‘s article has told us how lucky we are to

be students at HUSL. However, we know that

the HUSL edge on employment has not

translated to a job for every student. Why?

It‘s all about the stats. Our US News ranking

and our first time bar passage (―FTP‖) rates are

among the lowest of any law school in the

nation. Law being a profession that values

prestige, we can understand why employers may

be skittish about recruiting from HUSL. Despite

these stats, employers still show up in droves

every year, but with a caveat—they want to

interview only the top five percent of the top

five percent of the class. So, how do we get

them to interview and hire more students?

First, let‘s determine which of the stats

employers care about so that we know where to

focus our efforts. I don‘t think they care about

our US News ranking because top employers

recruit in the top 25 schools and HUSL, which

ranks #121. Obviously, they don‘t care about

our ranking. But I think they care about our FTP

rate, which is why they interview only a fraction

of the class.

To understand my rationale, let‘s analyze our

FTP rate. We have an FTP rate of 64.1% in

Maryland, the state bar most HUSL graduates sit

for. That is 21.3% below the state average of

85.4%. If you compare our FTP rate to those of

other schools in the vicinity, you would be more

alarmed (Catholic—88%, GWU—95%,

American—92%, Georgetown—96%).

If I were an employer, I would assume that not

all HUSL students have the potential to hit the

ground running as a lawyer because not all

HUSL students can pass the bar on the first try.

I would, therefore, conclude that only the top

students could hit the ground running because

they are more likely to pass the bar on their first

try.

We all know that is not true. We also know that,

unlike students at other schools, many HUSL

graduates do not take bar review courses before

taking the bar exam because they have no

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appetite for more debt when they end up without

a job after three years of accumulating law

school debt. However, it has been proven that

solving 2400 MBE practice questions almost

guarantees a passing grade. Accordingly, taking

a bar prep course that will expose one to almost

as many MBE questions significantly improves

the chances of passing the bar on the first try.

So, I was very happy when Dean Schmoke came

up with a plan to pay for bar review courses.

The Dean‘s plan was to levy each student an

extra $1000 per year for three years, to hold that

money for each student, and to pay directly to

the bar prep course of each student‘s choosing at

graduation. However, many of my colleagues

were uncomfortable with the plan, because the

school was making the decision to take a bar

review course for them, without any

consultation. Thus, the plan was scrapped for

this reason and some other technicalities. I

disagreed with my colleagues because the

benefit of a bar review course outweighs its cost.

Taking on more debt for a bar review course is

the economically wise thing to do because not

passing the bar on the first try guarantees three

months or more of unemployment if you don‘t

have a job by November of your graduation

year. That is because it would take three months

to prepare for the bar again and no matter how

measly the salary one earns as an attorney, it

would definitely surpass the $3000 cost of a bar

review course in three months, not to mention

the mental anguish and stress. Moreover, what

is $3000 after $130,000 of law school debt? You

would agree with me then that taking on debt for

a bar review course is smart.

Do whatever it takes to take a bar review course.

It will benefit you. It will benefit future students

as well because the more HUSL students pass

the bar on the first try, the more confidence

employers will have that HUSL graduates can

hit the ground running as attorneys. Future

students will also thank you for sharpening the

HUSL edge. ◙

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THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE

DOOR

By Christina Cobb

2Ls and 3Ls nationwide have begun the long and arduous

job application‘s process, setting foundations for the course

of their careers. I, too, had the pleasure of filling out my

own applications, and they seemed pretty straightforward:

name, address, date of birth, race or national origin….

[Pause] I deliberately skipped filling in the race bubble.

Then I went back and spent 20 minutes deciding whether or

not to fill in the bubble. Should I disclose my race? Is it that

important? On the one hand I could fill in ―no answer‖ and

dare HR to take a leap of faith; on the other hand, I could

label myself as I am and allow my race to contribute to my

hiring potential.

Disclosing this information could determine whether I am

chosen for an interview or in fact hired. Our industry makes

constant fuss about ―diversity‖ and ―colorblindness.‖ They

even come up with stuff like the following:

“The interests of justice are well served when the court

reflects the racial and ethnic diversity of the community

in which it reside.”

Pretty profound statement from the Judicial Conference of

the United States responding to questions from Congress

about the lack of minority law clerks. The cold hard fact is

that minorities account for only 16.1% of all clerkships,

including federal, state, and local clerkships. African-

American women top the list holding 4.4% of clerkships,

followed by Asian American women at 3.4%, and Hispanic

women at 2.1%. Further, Asian American men lead the

pack at 2.1%, Hispanic men at 1.6%, and African-

American men bring up the rear holding just 1.0% of all

clerkships (hmmm, that‘s a rather poor showing from the

Brothers). Personally, I‗m not surprised, and you shouldn‘t

be either.

It seems this trend of hiring few minority law clerks starts

at the top. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and

Stephen Breyer attempted to explain the lack of minority

law clerks to the House Appropriations Committee, which

asked whether law clerks were only being selected because

they went to Yale or Harvard. Justice Thomas argued that

he in fact hires from a range of schools including Harvard,

Yale, Notre dame, and . . . Utah?!? He opined that the other

The Lawyers' Way

By Paul Laurence Dunbar

I've been list'nin' to them

lawyers

In the court house up the street,

An' I've come to the conclusion

That I'm most completely beat.

Fust one feller riz to argy,

An' he boldly waded in

As he dressed the tremblin'

pris'ner

In a coat o' deep-dyed sin.

Why, he painted him all over

In a hue o' blackest crime,

An' he smeared his reputation

With the thickest kind o' grime,

Tell I found myself a-wond'rin',

In a misty way and dim,

How the Lord had come to

fashion

Sich an awful man as him.

Then the other lawyer started,

An' with brimmin', tearful eyes,

Said his client was a martyr

That was brought to sacrifice.

An' he give to that same pris'ner

Every blessed human grace,

Tell I saw the light o' virtue

Fairly shinin' from his face.

Then I own 'at I was puzzled

How sich things could rightly

be;

An' this aggervatin' question

Seems to keep a-puzzlin' me.

So, will some one please inform

me,

An' this mystery unroll—

How an angel an' a devil

Can persess the self-same soul?

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Justices may not want to go beyond their comfort level, i.e. the Ivy leaguers. Furthermore, since

Supreme Court law clerks come from the lower courts, if the lower courts don‘t hire minority

clerks, they can hardly turn up later at the Supreme Court. Okay. As you may recall from last

semester, Justice Sotomayor also explained that she hired based on recommendations from law

school professors whom she knows and trusts. I suppose there are various reasons for the lack of

minority law clerks, some valid and some not. However, while I would like to give Justice

Thomas some credit from hiring outside the Ivy leaguers . . . but Utah?! Typically, diversity

refers to race, ethnicity, gender, or national origin, and not geographic region.

“Most law firms now recognize the business case for diversity.”

Or so the DRI Law Firm Diversity Retention Manuel asserts. It is surprising that law firms seem

to be more on the ball than our justice system. Firms are especially apt to advertise that they are

always looking to ―build a diverse team‖ and are committed to fostering an ―atmosphere of

inclusion.‖ These impressive statements are often found on the diversity page of law firm

websites, which are actually quite lengthy as each firm tries to ―out-diversify‖ one another. The

pages also proudly display the list of awards the firm has earned for being so open minded.

However, according to The American Lawyer, the percentage of minorities in large law firms had

been on a steady decline since 2006, with a slight rise in 2011. What‘s even more interesting is

that the decline in 2010, due to the economic recession, resulted in law firms shedding a

whopping 16% of African-American associates (for all you recent graduates). It‘s also prudent to

point out that Asian-American non partners suffered an 11% overall loss, while Hispanics fell by

13%.

“Executive Order--Establishing a Coordinated Government-Wide Initiative to Promote

Diversity and Inclusion in the Federal Workforce.”

This Executive Order is dated August 11, 2011. Unfortunately, there is actually very little

information about minority lawyers hired by government agencies. Some assert that the federal

government tends to hire a larger percentage of minorities overall compared to the private sector.

While recent numbers indicate that minorities do make up 33.8% of the federal workforce, I did

not find any information as to the percentage of minority lawyers. Moreover, as recently as 2008,

a government department faced allegations of overt racism and intimidation of minority lawyers.

The minority lawyers argued that the department not only overlooked them for promotions, but

kept them on the lower rungs of the pay scale for doing the same work as their Caucasian

counterparts. These assertions are buffeted by statistics from The Lawyer’s Weekly, which

disclosed that: (1) 88% of minority lawyers were concentrated in the department‘s two lowest

salary categories; and (2) minority lawyers were absent from top management positions. So back

to the above mentioned executive order. It is of some relief that minorities are at least being hired,

but then the question arises: are diversity requirements satisfied by only allowing minorities into

the low paying or menial jobs?

“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”

While I personally do not want my race to have any impact on my interview or hiring potential, I

recognize that it still matters. I don‘t know exactly why there is minimal diversity in the legal

field, but there are of course various factors at play. As we start our careers I hope that we all

remember our history and pay attention to our present. I‘ve spent much time thinking about the

lack of minority representation in the legal industry. I have my own opinion of why the statistics

look the way they do, but what do these numbers mean to you. ◙

16

THE LAWYERS KNOW TOO MUCH

The lawyers, Bob, know too much.

They are chums of the books of old John

Marshall.

They know it all, what a dead hand wrote,

A stiff dead hand and its knuckles

crumbling,

The bones of the fingers a thin white ash.

The lawyers know

a dead man's thought too well.

In the heels of the higgling lawyers, Bob,

Too many slippery ifs and buts and

howevers,

Too much hereinbefore provided whereas,

Too many doors to go in and out of.

When the lawyers are through

What is there left, Bob?

Can a mouse nibble at it

And find enough to fasten a tooth in?

Why is there always a secret singing

When a lawyer cashes in?

Why does a hearse horse snicker

Hauling a lawyer away?

The work of a bricklayer goes to the blue.

The knack of a mason outlasts a moon.

The hands of a plasterer hold a room

together.

The land of a farmer wishes him back

again.

Singers of songs and dreamers of

plays

Build a house no wind blows over.

The lawyers--tell me why a hearse horse

snickers hauling a lawyer's bones.

-- Carl Sandburg

17

HUSL

Entrepreneurs

By Nana Sarpong

Lawrence Crocker

TAYCRO MEDIA GROUP L.L.C.

Business' goals and objective

Our goal is to utilize innovative digital

media solutions to enhance customer

awareness and interaction with our clients'

brand.

How did you get started?

I started working on a social media

marketing campaign for Current TV, then

TayCro evolved from the experience.

What inspired you to start your business?

I always wanted to start my own company

and was fascinated about how technology is

able to change social and cultural norms.

Is this your first business?

Yes, this is my first business.

Does the business relate to your legal

education, if so how?

This business does relate to my legal

education because it involves intellectual

property and contract law.

What is the time commitment?

TCMG and HUSL currently occupy 90% of

my life.

Does your business have a "social

engineering" aspect?

TCMG has a social engineering aspect

because the success of my company wholly

depends on our ability to successfully

influence and interact with individuals

through digital media.

What advice will you offer entrepreneurs

starting out today?

The best advice to entrepreneurs is to

overcome your fears and to pursue your idea

with 100% belief in its success.

Where do you see your business in 5

years?

In 5 years, I see TCMG being a digital

media agency with around 50 employees

with offices in DC and LA.

18

Ron Cade

BLANK & OCEAN (blankandocean.com)

Business' goals and objective

Blank & Ocean is a one stop shop for

affordably commission oil paintings, cover

art and tailored clothing.

How did you get started?

I hopped on a one way flight to Bangkok

this summer in search of business

opportunities. The idea for Blank & Ocean

was birthed during this journey.

What inspired you to start your business?

I always had thoughts and ideas of owning

custom made art and clothing. I would see a

picture in a museum or a jacket in a movie

and say, "I like that but how can I get

something like that painted or made?" At the

time, I did not have access to affordable

artists and tailors with the skill to carry out

my vision. That changed this summer in

Thailand. I felt that there would be a market

for this type of service in the US and went

forth with establishing the brand.

Is this your first business?

This is not my first business.

Does the business relate to your legal

education, if so how?

The law very much relate to my business. I

often deal with many different legal issues

in the operation of my business. Issues in

intellectual property and international

business transactions arise often.

What is the time commitment?

I spend about one third of my day working

on this business.

Does your business have a "social

engineering" aspect?

Blank & Ocean provides an innovative new

service in offering affordable luxury goods

to the public. In addition, we are partnering

with several non-profit organizations to

promote good causes and engineer positive

change.

What advice will you offer entrepreneurs

starting out today?

―If you have something you want to do, do

it.‖

Where do you see your business in 5

years?

Growing.

The poster on the next page is a sample

of Blank & Ocean’s products. It is an

adaptation of Norman Rockwell’s

“Tattoo—Artist.” ◙

19

20

Ubuntu The oneness of being

Brian Caldwell

The first time I saw the sunrise over the

mountains, I knew I made the right choice in

coming. The first time I saw the sun set over

the ocean, I knew there was nowhere else I

would rather be. It is one of the most

beautiful geographic locations on the planet.

Nestled between the Atlantic and Indian

Oceans and surrounded by mountains, the

city is one of a kind.

21

I studied abroad last summer in Cape Town,

South Africa.

We, American law students, stayed at the

beautiful Peninsula Hotel at Sea Point. I

was blessed with a picturesque oceanfront

view. On clear mornings, Robben Island,

the island that housed Nelson Mandela‘s

prison cell, was clearly visible from my

balcony. A beautiful jogging path, dotted

with beach themed statutes, playgrounds,

and even a mini golf course ran along the

coast.

More enjoyable was The Peninsula Hotel

itself. Its staff was friendly and at our

disposal. The Hotel facilitated our

adventures, from trekking up Table

Mountain, visiting Robben Island, to

transporting us to the nearby shopping mall.

The staff even partied with us when they had

the opportunity. The kitchen staff was on

call twenty-four hours for those late night

munchies, and when we wanted to unwind,

the same was true for the bar in the hotel.

The hotel also added French fries to their

menu especially for us, and the fries were

better than the ones served in the States.

Even though the hotel was awesome, we did

not go on this trip to stay at the hotel bar,

though many weekend nights started and

ended there. There is a vibrant nightlife in

Cape Town; the most famous of the night

locations is Long Street. Long Street is a

half-mile strip in downtown Cape Town,

home to many bars and clubs catering to the

heavy tourist population. We also visited

Club 31, a favorite of our Hotel friends,

which is located on the 31st floor of a

building that yields a great view of

downtown Cape Town.

For the more adventurous, scaling either

Table or Lion's Head Mountain offered a

great physical challenge. The reward for

completion of the mountains is a

breathtaking view of the city and oceans.

Table Mountain has a cable car for those

who did not wish to spend the two hours

hiking to get to the top. For Lion‘s Head,

the only way up was our two feet, and there

were some places where if I had lost my

footing, I would remain in South Africa

permanently, if you catch my drift.

For those who wished to stare down the

beast, great white shark diving was

available, and for the more timid, the seal

and penguin colonies were close by. Seals

and penguins are cute, but having my eyes

locked with the large black-marble eyes of a

sixteen-foot great white is a memory of a

lifetime.

For sports fans, rugby was a good substitute

for American football. We caught a

semifinal match between the local Cape

Town Stormers and the Crusaders, a visiting

team. Unfortunately, the Crusaders

prevailed, but it was fun regardless because

the atmosphere was similar to a college

game day in the States.

But the trip was not all fun and games. All

students were required to enroll in at least

two of three classes offered. The classes

were International Business Transactions

and Tax (IBT), Human Rights and

Sustainable Development (HR), and

Comparative Constitutional Law (CCL).

Howard Law's own Professors Motala and

Gresham Bullock taught IBT, Professor

McDougall taught HR, and Judge Albie

Sachs, co-author of South Africa's

Constitution and former Constitutional

Court Justice, taught CCL. Anyone who

believed the trip was a vacation had a rude

awakening because professors expected

students to be prepared for class, a daunting

task when a new city beckons.

University of Western Cape hosted all our

classes. A bus picked us up at 7:30 a.m.

every morning from the hotel. We had

classes with University of Western Cape

students, but American students were the

majority because the university‘s students

were on holiday. Notwithstanding, there

was plenty of cultural exchange to go

around for those who were willing to seek it.

One thing that stood out was the racial

dynamics. Based on apartheid

22

classifications, South Africa has four major

racial groups: whites (people of European

decent), blacks (people of native African

decent), coloreds (people of mixed heritage,

usually of black and white), and Indian

(people of Indian decent). These

distinctions, not unlike America‘s

segregated past, influenced everyday life

during apartheid, from where a person could

live to which bench a person may sit.

Though South Africa has made major strides

in unifying the distinct groups, the divide

between the groups is still palpable.

Regardless of race, all are proud to be South

African, and they all seem to love

Americans of all races.

If you are a linguist, South Africa will put

your skills to the test; the country has eleven

official languages. Many of which are the

mother tongue of the native African tribes

found in South Africa. Luckily for us

tourist, English is one of the official

languages, and it is widely spoken.

This article cannot convey all the laughs,

good times, life changing experiences, and

the drama I experienced in South Africa. I

had a great time. And I encourage you to

find out more if you are interested in having

an experience of a life time. ◙

I like the slender, elongated

Presentation of your fingers

I feel delicacy of your wrist

Wrapped by the bracelet of my

hands

Your heart beat on arterial flows

A pulse quickens

My smooth slide to your palms

And there in their centers

There is a touch

My sign of leisure

Requesting a gesture

My push up is firm

To interlock with your fingers

The tingling sensations

I get because your hands

Rather real or imaginary

Are soft

Desmond Jones

23

SAYING NO TO $160,000

Kerrel Mcrimons

In the hustle and bustle of law school, it

becomes hard to think about the less fortunate.

Many people come to HUSL with the mindset to

right some wrong or undo some injustice.

However, it is often the case that this mindset

changes, especially for students who are

fortunate to be top of their class. I recently had

the opportunity to speak with April Frazier, who

graduated in the top 5% of the HUSL Class of

2004, about her career path as a public interest

lawyer.

April Frazier

Frazier is a model public defender currently

employed with the District of Columbia Public

Defender Services (―PDS‖) in the re-entry

division. The re-entry division of PDS works

with incarcerated individuals that are preparing

to re-enter society. Her work focuses on

addressing common issues for convicted

criminals, such as legal statutory restrictions,

unemployment, housing, child support, parole

and expungement of records.

Frazier is all too familiar with the push to enter

the private sector, especially big firm practice.

While she did not condemn entering into the

private sector, Frazier wanted to make sure

students understood that the public sector is not

where you look to when you are unable to find a

firm job. It is a place to pursue ones passion for

social justice. She said, ―if you are not

passionate about this work it will be evident to

your co-workers and more importantly to your

clients.‖

For the socially passionate students, I asked

Frazier what she thought they should do to

position themselves for a job after school. She

told me ―the most important thing is showing a

commitment to the field‖. This means seeking

internships in ones desired practice area, doing

pro-bono and volunteer work, and becoming

involved in professional organizations that cater

to ones desired practice area. She advised that

such students should seek out good mentors who

are knowledgeable in the field, including

professors. She also suggested becoming

involved in clinics or getting some work

experience interacting with clients.

To emphasize the need to sharpen ones skills,

she pointed out that there are top students from

top programs who are competing for positions in

some of the major public interest organizations

throughout the nation. When she said this, I

thought to myself, as ―social engineer‖ is

becoming somewhat of an inside joke to HUSL

students, students from other major programs are

picking up the baton and making their presence

felt in the communities that need it most. I know

that the history of HUSL is intact, but the

present as well as future definition of what it

means to be a HUSL alum is up to us. ◙

24

MY PUBLIC INTEREST SUMMER

Khyla Crane

This past summer, I worked at the NAACP‘s

national office in Baltimore. My internship

enabled me to see the inner workings of the

world‘s largest and oldest civil rights

organization. In a ten-week span, I worked on

housing, criminal justice, health care and

internal legal matters.

The experience I gained and the connections I

made were a great substitute for the financial

sacrifice. During my internship, I met attorneys

who are willing to help me advance my career

now and in the future. I also participated in

professional development meetings with leaders

of small and large firms, including a former

Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban

Development and heads of other non-profit

organizations.

I worked similar hours as my private sector

counterparts, because like my private sector

counterparts I was continuing my interview

process. Although, most non-profit don‘t grant

offers at the end of a second year summer

internship, it was still important for me to work

hard because I was building my reputation as an

attorney.

I also learned that securing a non-profit job is as

difficult as securing a private sector job.

Working in government or non-profit

organizations does not mean anything less than

stellar grades, great work ethic, and excellent

writing would be accepted of you. One

difference, however, is that the non-profit sector

heavily weights ones commitment to ―the

cause.‖ That means one‘s commitment to the

cause of public service in general, and to the

goals of that non-profit in particular. Hence, an

ample showing of commitment to ―the cause‖

may compensate for not so stellar grades. So if

you work in the non-profit sector next summer,

make sure you show your commitment to ―the

cause,‖ that may be the difference between

getting the job or not. ◙

MY BIG LAW SUMMER

Gabrielle Sims

I worked as a Summer Associate at Skadden,

Arps, Slate, Meagher, and Flom this past

summer in both the New York City and

Washington D.C. offices. My summer with

Skadden was an amazing experience because I

25

solidified my career interests, experienced the

cities of New York and Washington D.C. with

unparalleled resources, and developed

relationships with my future colleagues.

Before starting my summer position, many

attorneys told me to focus on a discrete number

of practice areas as a Summer Associate. But I

did quite the contrary. While in the New York

City office, I worked for the Mergers and

Acquisitions, Investment Management,

Corporate Finance, and Project Finance groups.

In the D.C. office, I worked for the Antitrust,

Project Finance, and Banking Regulatory

groups. My expansive practice area endeavor

limited my ability to significantly learn a group,

but the work assignments and people in the

groups helped me narrow my interests with little

reservation.

I was fortunate to work on substantive

assignments that I would realistically receive as

a first or second year Associate. I had little legal

foundation for most of these assignments.

However, Skadden was extremely patient and

helpful as I worked to understand them. The

partners did not expect that I be pre-trained, but

that I paid close attention to detail, knew how to

follow directions, and worked hard to timely and

accurately complete the assignments. To have

better met the partners‘ expectations, I wish I

had talked to other associates at the firm who

had done work for those partners.

Notwithstanding, I handled the assignments well

because having worked hard in my classes, I had

the aptitude for legal reasoning and writing.

Navigating firm life was more complicated than

I thought. Skadden ensured that I was just as

busy with social events as I was with work.

Personally, I loved having so little downtime

with the schedule of Broadway shows, museum

galas, ―skaddenture‖ races around the city and

endless happy hours. Although this schedule is

not an accurate portrayal of associate life at

Skadden, it prepared me for prioritizing and

making difficult choices in the future. For me,

work always came first. If an assignment was

due on Wednesday morning, and the firm was

going to the summer‘s most exciting event on

Tuesday night, then I came in on the weekend or

early in the morning or worked late the night

before. I did what was necessary to ensure that

the firm will remember me for my work and not

for the amazing jokes I told at the summer

mixers.

At social events, I balanced eating and drinking

with talking to the ―important‖ people. I always

tried to have at least one conversation with a

partner and one conversation with an individual

from the summer committee. Then my work for

the night was done. I spent the remainder of the

event getting to know other summers and

socializing with associates.

I had an amazing summer at Skadden! I hope

that sharing my experience with you will help

you too have a great summer next year. ◙

26

BLUEBOOK RULE 16

Maryam F. Mujahid, Note, Romeo and Juliet - A Tragedy of Love by Text: Why Targeted

Penalties that Offer Front-End Severity and Back-End Leniency are Necessary to Remedy the

Teenage Mass-Sexting Dilemma, 55 How. L.J. (forthcoming Fall 2011).

My Answer to the Teenage Mass-Sexting Dilemma

Fortunately, by the time we arrive at law school, we have usually attained legal majority (and

maturity). As a result, sexting scandals are uncommon, if not non-existent, in the law school

setting (particularly since law students preparing to sit for their jurisdictions‘ bar exams are

conscious of the character and fitness requirements). However, American teenagers are sexting at

an alarming rate. In my Note, I use a modern-day Romeo and Juliet to discuss what I have

termed the ―teenage mass-sexting dilemma.‖ The teenage mass-sexting dilemma is the pattern of

teens mass-distributing nude pictures of other teens via text message. This behavior has led to

significant depression and even suicide among the teen victims. However, the victimizers, who

are teenagers themselves, are not as capable of making reasoned judgments as adults and thus

they are not fully culpable for their behavior.

In my Note, I propose legislation that requires mandatory jail time to meet the goals of individual

deterrence and retribution. However, the legislation also ensures that no felony status or sex

registration requirement is imposed, so the teenagers who mass-sext are not punished long

beyond a time in their lives where they would likely commit these types of offenses again.

Because there is a trend towards decriminalizing teenage mass-sexting, my point of view is

decidedly severe. However, considering the tragedies that have resulted from the teenage mass

sexting dilemma, this penalty structure is fair and necessary to remedy the problem. Please take a

moment to read my note when it is published in this year‘s first issue. Also in this issue are

excellent pieces by Leila Siddiky and Betselot Zeleke. ◙

27

TRAVEL? Yes, Please!

By Anitha Vemury

Law school and travel may seem like strange bedfellows. Law school evokes thoughts

of stagnant library bound days…and nights. While that‘s true for many, there are

precious times between semesters, and gosh forbid, even a semester where you can learn

about the law while experiencing a completely different way of life.

Howard University has the much-acclaimed South Africa program, open to students at all law

schools. As a student at HUSL, we have the same opportunity to attend ABA approved programs

offered by other schools. American University has the most extensive semester study abroad for

non-students. A complete list of programs can be found at

http://www.law.uidaho.edu/lawstudyabroad. The following is a highlight:

Besides getting to experience a new environment, these programs are a great chance to pursue a

field not offered at HUSL. Last summer, I attended an International Corporate Law program in

London. I was able to earn six elective credits while traveling through Europe for six weeks; I

loved it.

Now of course there are those who would rather wait until they have their degree to travel or

prefer to delude themselves into thinking they will take a year off at some point. But if you are

serious now—study abroad can offer the opportunity to pursue a true legal passion or merely act

as a welcome escape from the monotonous. Either way, you will explore, dream, discover…and

work! And who knows, after your time away you might even start to miss this place…maybe.

Petition deadline is Nov. 1 for Spring/Winter Session programs and March 1 for Fall/Summer. ◙

Host School Location Semester

Temple Rome, Italy Summer

Georgetown London, UK Summer

Duke Hong Kong Summer

Hamline Israel Winter Intersession

Ohio State Oxford, UK Fall/Spring

Temple Tokyo, Japan Spring

American Barcelona, Spain Fall/Spring

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

-Mark Train

28

ONE MORE LESSON…

By Sharaya Cabasang

Although this may be the last thing on your

mind as we painstakingly sift through our

notes, outlines and supplements in

preparation for finals, let‘s take a study

break for a moment to reflect on what we‘ve

actually learned in law school.

How has your thinking changed? Do you

see the connections between your study of

the law and the outside world? Can you see

beyond your number (i.e., GPA and class

rank)? Are you disconnected from the state

of the world around you? Do you have a

hard time assimilating to the activities that

you used to spend your time doing? Do

your loved ones notice a change in you?

Are you disillusioned by these changes?

Can you still discern what is important?

As law students and aspiring lawyers, we are

poised to speak, act and aspire to social

change. Are you in denial of this

responsibility? When was the last time you

did something to purely benefit someone

else? How about someone you didn‘t know?

As we go out into the world, we may see

things that leave us even more disillusioned:

an overwhelming flood of offenders whose

crime is directly related to poverty, victims

of crime whose needs are aggravated instead

of addressed by the justice system and

discrimination within the legal profession

itself. Many attorneys out there deal

exclusively in numbers. Every fact pattern

or human problem can be reduced to a

$1000 and climbing flat rate.

I venture that service is the only way

attorneys can overcome the overwhelming

hopelessness that often pervades our

profession. When we devote our time and

energy to service, we receive long lasting

happiness, the ability to approach the law

with fresh eyes and fresh hearts and the

ability to sleep soundly at night. Service is

the way we can pursue the law for a lifetime.

I don‘t plan to be an attorney for a year or

two until I burn out at which point I open up

a cupcake bakery and bake the rest of my

life away (that was my back-up plan). I plan

to go into this profession with the faith that I

can counter the problems of our profession

without losing hope in our justice system‘s

capacity for reform.

How to do this? In a book I recently read,

Soul of a Citizen, by Paul Loeb, the author

encourages the reader to:

1) Avoid underestimating ourselves. ―[A]t

the core of our being lies resources many of

us never dream we possess, much less

imagine we can draw on…‖(22). Loeb

discusses how giants like Martin Luther

King struggled through messy, bewildering

situations to slowly plant the roots of

change.

29

2) Avoid learned helplessness, which breeds

hopelessness. (31)

3) Proceed at our own pace and break down

our goals into manageable tasks to avoid

becoming overwhelmed and paralyzed. (65)

4) Foster hope through ―compassionate

curiosity about our fellow human beings.”

Even when our efforts yield few immediate

results, we can draw strength and hope from

our positive interactions with others. (105)

5) ―Embrace both our voice and our

heart…even in the face of people who will

do their very best to deny the very core of

our being.‖ (149). As Loeb points out

―social movements often begin when once-

silenced people begin to tell their own

stories… They state: ‗This is who I am.

This is how my community‘s hopes and

dreams have systematically been spurned

and destroyed. And this is how things have

to change.‘‖(150)

6) Reduce your consumption. (166). Try

recuperating from stress by community

involvement instead of through distracting

and numbing pursuits. (169)

7) Draw on the strength of your community

to avoid and recover from burnout. (309).

Its undeniable that we all relied on each

other to get through this year. The Howard

Law community is a great example of the

support we also have outside these walls.

8) “Savor the work itself, as well as the

everyday richness of life.” (323). Need I say

more?

At this moment, we are the newest members

of our profession. We are naïve but we can

also see the farthest, still live on dreams and

feel something when injustice goes on in

front of us. Service is the way we can

continue to preserve this foresight and fend

off hopelessness. ◙

Glass

Blow me hard, put me in churches,

dress me in colors: brown, green,

cherry. Can you still see

through me? I'm full of wet,

food and space. Grab my body,

bring to your mouth, crush in your fist.

I‘ll burst to slit the lips I kiss.

Chalk

Run me up and down side

streets, concrete. Use me to etch

this corner yours, this ours.

Fight back, I snap in half.

I‘m married to tar but he forgets

as soon as rain. Thinks he‘s free.

He who scrapes kid‘s knees

and shaves off layers of me. Ice

Ice

I try to keep my shape for you.

Instead I float, brittle in tears.

You sense my cold through your teeth,

in your gums but I thaw.

I wish I were a frozen mound

in the sea where your eyes

only find mine so you can‘t

pick or melt away all of me.

Chet ’la Sebree

30

LICENSE

AND

REGIST

RATION

A short story

―Damn, the police behind me. Let me slow

down a lil bit,‖ he muttered under his breath.

He turned and looked at the girl almost

passed out in his passenger seat. Then he

watched the police turn on the sirens, speed

around him, and stop abruptly in front of the

car.

He knew the drill, so he put his hands on the

steering wheel, in clear view, and waited for

the officers to approach his car. One officer

went to the passenger side and flashed his

light on the drunken white girl sitting next to

him. As the officer examined his friend, his

partner approached him, shining a light in

his face.

―License and registration,‖ the officer

demanded.

―Officer, what seems to be the problem?‖

―This car matches the description of one that

was recently stolen.‖

―Sir if you run my tags, I‘m sure you will

find that this car is registered to me,‖ the

man told him.

―License and registration,‖ the officer

repeated.

Sigh. ―Alright officer, I have to reach into

my pocket for my wallet and in my glove

compartment for my registration. Is that

okay?‖ This young black man was no fool.

Rule #1 of being pulled over on a deserted

road by two white cops: do NOT give them

a reason to get you out of the car.

Novel written and published by a 3L at

HUSL who is also the author of this short

story

―License and registration, boy.‖ The man

slowly reached into his pocket and pulled

out his wallet to retrieve his license. He

then reached to his glove compartment for

his registration. The police officer all but

snatched the two cards from his hand.

He flashed the light onto the information

and walked away toward the police car. Just

as the driver began to breathe easy, the other

police officer flashed his flashlight in the car

again.

―What‘s wrong with the young lady,‖ officer

number two asked.

―She had a little too much to drink, so I‘m

escorting her home,‖ the man replied

31

carefully. The other officer began walking

back to the car.

―Mr. Jones, please step out of the car.‖ The

officer requested.

―What? Why?‖ Mr. Jones answered

bewildered.

―Out of the car now!‖ the other officer

yelled. Mr. Jones did not move. He knew

that there was no problem with his license or

registration. The officer that took his license

and registration pulled at the door handle of

his door, but it was locked. The officer on

the other side of the car then reached for his

gun.

―Don‘t make me have to pull this gun, boy,‖

the officer warned.

To be continued… ◙

Sections:

Pathways

to Success

If you had to describe your section in one

phrase, what would you say? It goes

without saying that everyone would state

that their section is the best, but what makes

your section unique? What gives it its

―personality?‖ More importantly, what can

the personality of the Sections teach us

about how to be successful? The following

are the phrases members of the sections felt

described their sections and a few thoughts

on how adopting these personalities can

grant us future success.

One member of Section one described his

section in one word: Socratic. This makes

sense to me. The section one professors

have a reputation for their heavy use of the

Socratic Method. Also, section one comes

across as more of an actions-speak-louder-

than-words group. Of all the sections, one is

the least likely to tell you how great they are

unprovoked. If a debate about section

superiority breaks out, it is rare that section

one started it. Of course, one could argue

that they do not brag because there is

nothing to brag about. However, anyone

who has had a class with a member of

section one knows that, when it comes to

work, they get the job done.

My favorite section two response to this

question displays the swagger that one

comes to expect from Section two: Winning.

Unlike Section one, Section two is the

section most likely to tell you about their

greatness. Some may argue that this is self-

aggrandizement or that the bravado is

overcompensation, but I prefer to see it as

the fruits of solidarity. It is a long-standing

tradition for Section two to purchase t-shirts

at the conclusion of Legal methods as

homage to Professor Worthy and a symbol

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of their unity. The often uninvited bravado

is merely another display of that unity.

Unity leads to group success and swagger

fosters healthy competition.

The word a member of Section three used to

describe his section was ―chill.‖ Section

three has a ―go with the flow‖ attitude,

sometimes bordering on apathy. This is

understandable given that Section three is

the one section that you can expect will have

a faculty change or two every year. It

almost seems like an on going experiment

with, at best, mixed results. Some may say

that the chill approach is really a lack of

seriousness or a soft work ethic, but in

reality the chill attitude helps them to adapt

to some of the curveballs that come as a

natural consequence of the Howard Law

experience and causes section members to

draw together. Where more folks break

under pressure, members of section three

find the right fit for any given situation.

Each of these traits when employed at

different times will garner success in the

profession. The old school ―get it done‖

attitude of Section one always pays off when

trying to make a good impression with an

employer. The swagger of Section two is a

key ingredient when trying to sell yourself

to a potential employer or while networking.

Having a chill approach like Section three

allows for adaptation to whatever challenges

come your way.

In the end, all of the sections are great in

their own right and all contribute to the

success of their members and the honor of

mother Howard. Each is a pathway to

success. Section three is just a superior

pathway.

By Chris Martin ◙

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Clues on the next page

16 25

8

10

6

7

24

20

2 15 9

18

1 3 14 23

26

4

5

28

11 12

21 17 27

22 13

19

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1. Prof. Worthy‘s famous

poker buddy

2. Our Chef

3. Opposite of light

6. Barrister website

8. DC Mayor & HUSL alum

9. Prof. & family law expert

12. Prof. La Rue‘s MS degree

16. Our official secret society

17. Time library opens Sun.

18. Thurgood Marshall‘s rank at

HUSL

22. Food served Thursdays

23. HUSL alum & clerked

for Judge Bruce Lee

24. First 2L SBA president

25. Dean on Top 40 under 40

26. Said ―a lawyer is either a

social engineer or a

parasite on society‖

1. Last day of classes in December

4. First AA female HUSL graduate

5. 0^n =

7. Dean who is from Atlanta

10. Number of credits needed to graduate

11. Prof. who was the Chief Prosecutor at Guitmo

13. TV show Dean Schmoke appeared on

14. Howard‘s mascot

15. Your ABA student rep.

19. Rumored to have amjured the most classes at HUSL

20. Barrister editor-in-chief

21. Only place in the library where you can eat

25. Degree possible to attain in conjunction with JD at HUSL

27. Professor who was a member of Carter administration

28. Number of clinics at HUSL

35

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