Arizona Supreme Court Oral Arguments

Arguments I heard at the law school on Thursday . . .

State of Arizona v. Raphael Durnan
"When the State prosecuted Durnan on felony charges, it complied with the constitutional duty that it owes to indigent criminal defendants by appointing, at its own expense, a private attorney to defend him. Durnan was convicted, but the conviction was overturned for ineffective assistance of counsel. Can the State be held liable for Durnan’s attorney’s negligence in these circumstances?"

mms://www.law.arizona.edu/archive/courts/azscnov081.wsx

City of Phoenix, City of Phoenix Employees’ Retirement System Board v. Mary Ann Perez et al
"1. Are potential class claimants required to do the impossible by setting forth in their pre-suit notice of claim a specific amount for which the case can be settled, when, at the time notice was required to be given, the class has not been established, the class members have not been identified, the damages are impossible to quantify, and no court has certified the class or approved a settlement?
2. Does the court of appeal’s decision thwart class action relief against public entities, an outcome this Court clearly found unacceptable in Andrew S. Arena v. Superior Court, 163 Ariz. 423, 788 P.2d 1174 (1990)?"

mms://www.law.arizona.edu/archive/courts/azscnov082.wsx

Why do we love Hank the Puppy?

I realized that the blog's puppy pictures have been kinda heavy on Dagny lately, so I decided to write a list of why we love Hank the Puppy:

We love Hank the Puppy because he . . .

1. always lets Dagny fetch the ball.
2. always wants to be the life of the party.
3. burps after he eats.
4. can jump six feet in the air.
5. can sit, lie down, roll over, speak, shake hands, high five, hug, bow, and dance!
6. can’t drink water without leaving half of it on the floor.
7. can’t understand why he doesn’t get to sleep in our bed.
8. costs half what Dagny did.
9. did, in fact, “grow into his tummy” (Vet – 01/13/2007).
   
10. doesn’t just jump into water; he leaps!
    
11. doesn’t see anything wrong with sneaking some food.
12. greets me every day with a wagging tail and a “ra-ra-rooooo!”
13. has a tail with a mind of its own.
14. has fishy breath.
15. has wild, greasy, unmanageable booty hair.
16. hates his gentle leader and pugs.
17. is a cuddle monster.
    
18. is a daddy’s boy first but a mama’s boy second.
19. is a sensitive boy.
20. is a very good watch dog.
21. is always hopeful.
22. is always in the way.
23. is oh so awkward.
24. is really good at soccer.
25. is such a handsome boy (and knows it).
    
26. is very scared of the vacuum cleaner.
27. just a big, playful, goofy guy.
28. keeps me company while I read Civil Procedure.
29. lets Dagny bite him on the face anytime she wants to.
30. likes to eat trash.
31. likes to help us cook.
32. loves Easter egg hunting.
33. loves everyone he comes across.
34. loves his pink blanket.
35. loves his sister soooo much.
36. loves to chew up bones and hide the pieces around the house
37. loves to crunch ice.
38. loves to roll around on the Restoration Hardware towels (but not the cheap ones).
39. loves toys, although none can survive his love for more than 10 minutes.
40. makes me feel safe when Patrick isn’t home.
41. makes me smile every day.
42. screams like a woman when he is startled but can have a scary bark when he wants to.
43. sleeps outside our bedroom door.
44. sometimes just can’t contain all that energy.
45. sounds like he is actually trying to form words when he “speaks.”
46. thinks everyone he meets is there to play with him.
47. thinks toilet water is awesome.
48. used to be afraid of shadows
49. wants to be wherever we are.
50. will punch you in the face, give you a hug, and then lick your feet.
    

Election Day

Election Party Map #1:

Apparently Dagny was a McCain supporter . . .

Our Beautiful New First Family:

While I don't want to detract from the great historical significance of yesterday’s events, from the blurry-eyed, smiling faces of my fellow students today, or from the warm feeling in my heart which has temporarily silenced my head, I’ve still got to say what I would have said no matter whether McCain or Obama had been elected . . .

WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the foe, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they all flown in the next war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
For I know that the hypnotized never lie

Do ya?

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss

- The Who

Who should be our next President?

This is how the poll came out:

Due to some atrocious vote tampering (Tory and Blake, I’m talking to you), these numbers are not exactly right. Specifically, Cynthia McKinney did not get 7% . . . hmmmm. Her voters are really 2 McCain people, so I’m gonna pull an executive action and correct that. However, since I think Cynthia is a crazy nut job (and I kinda like that about her), I’ll leave her with a point . . .

Who should be our next President?
Obama (50% to 34%)

Let's see how to goes today . . .

Sleepy Babies

Happy Halloween (from the desert)!

The Great Pumpkin

Dagny was very excited that Patrick brought home a pumpkin tonight, although I'm not sure if this was because she was glad to have a pumpkin or because she thought it was a giant orange

B-A-L-L.

Dagny LOVES the pumpkin Poor Hank the Puppy . . .

Our House - The Dining Room

Some people have asked me to post pictures of the Arizona house like I did for our house in Athens. I'm gonna do that, but since I just can't manage to get the entire house clean at one time, I decided to post one room at a time. And, while I'm at it, I'll try to make them slightly more interesting than before since it is basically all the same furnature just in a different place.

I unfortunately am not as skilled photographer as I'd like to be, but humor me, Okay? - I'm in need of a creative outlet . . .

And lastly, the "thing" I have attempted to strategically leave out of all the above pictures: Our fabulous, gorgeous, eye catching light fixture.

It is really just as bad in person as it looks here - maybe worse! It is a remnant of the former tenants (who had also painted the entire house bright blue and purple from what we can tell). I have given Patrick my list of replacement "options," so hopefully it will be magically disappearing after Christmas - wink wink.

San Miguel de Allende Video

Link for video:
http://www.terrazassanmiguel.com/heart_of_mexico.html

Rose Canyon Lake

CLS Retreat

This weekend the Christian Legal Society had our retreat - camping at Rose Canyon Lake on Mount Lemmon.
Here are some of the pix:

The Ball Tree

A lot of you have been asking me how the puppies are adjusting to life in Arizona.

Well, while they quickly seemed to grasp that this was their new home, they did not embrace the backyard quite as easily. Both seemed rather weary of this new place where it is blistering hot, oddly dry, where in place of grass there are sticky weeds, in place of red mud there is white dust, and where the critters for them to chase were not quite as cute (chipmunks = cute; bugs = not cute). For a while, when we put them outside, they didn't run around and play (even in the evening when the temperature drops down). They just stood at the back door, motionless, and waited for us to let them in. Even when Patrick or I went outside, they would just stand in the doorway observing us, instead of venturing all the way outside (just in case we were trying to trick 'em). Dagny even refused to drink water for a few days - I think out of protest - turning her nose up at the bowl every time I sat it in front of her (thanks, mom - for teaching her that being hand fed ice cubes is an acceptable way to remain hydrated ).

And, while they still do some of these things from time to time, life did get a little better on the day that Dagny and Hank discovered the BALL TREE!

And don't tell me that balls do not grow on trees . . .

Grapefruits, balls, same difference.
Until he saw it for himself, Patrick even thought I was kidding when I came in one day and told him that Dagny and Hank thought that the grapefruit tree was a ball tree. I am truly not exaggerating in the slightest. They are not ripe and certainly not falling off on their own, yet, there are now grapefruits ALL OVER the yard. At last count, they had pulled off 12, but that was about two weeks ago.

Posing with their tree
"I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine."

Hopefully waiting on the patio: If you still don't believe me . . .

Oh, and for those of you thinking, "well, y'all just shouldn't have thrown them in the place" . . .We didn't! They pulled them off, and they thought this all up on their own! You just can't make this stuff up.

P.S. We actually think Dagny got so sick because she ate part of a grapefruit, but they have not stopped bringing them to us . . . darn.