Apparently last post I got a bit carried away, so I'll try use more pictures and less words this go around.
PR & Succession persistently happen despite interfering with nap time. There was a threat of a faculty strike giving us a second Reading Break, but no such luck. Thankfully life at PPSC & the Crim Clinic continue regardless!
We took a field trip to the local provincial prison, and toured the psychiatric wing with the head psychiatrist as our guide. Did you know that people found not guilty by reason of insanity can be locked up in an institution indefinitely? And that such institutions are places nobody would willingly go? More often than not what governments and media show as lenient sentences are anything but. This was an eye-opening trip, and thankfully the number of people in the tour was the same coming out as it was going in.
The Crim Clinic also had a mock trial where the full class each played a role, before a real supreme court justice (who happens to be married to the judge teaching the clinic), with a jury and viewing gallery full of 120 journalism students. A lot of stress, preparation, and work went into carrying it off, and it was videotaped for our future reference.
Here's me cross-examining a witness, with Scott beside me taking notes:
Speaking of Scott, he had the guts to ask for a mistrial in the middle of the proceedings, to the confusion of many and amusement of some. The judge's first reaction was "well, that would really mess up your course requirements!" Here's some mistrial reaction shots, both from the opposing team - Erin's got the red hair:
There was a class party later on, at the judges' bayside getaway cottage. What a contrast between seeing a supreme court justice, who the day before presided over our mock trial in full court regalia, in a bandana and apron, smoking cigars and running the kitchen like a boss. Racheal was able to come along (but not my principal Rachel) and meet some of the people she'd heard so much about, and had a good time. The supreme court judge, being Italian and a master of kitchens, had an inspired dip recipe I'm including here from memory:
-250g cream cheese
-250mL ranch dressing
-1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot sauce
-7 cloves crushed garlic
-chicken breasts as preferred, cooked and cut into small pieces
Bake at 350F for a while to reach a uniform temperature. Expect and prepare for an insanely large amount of dip, almost lasagna sized.
There were also a couple opportunities for office pranks recently. First, Erin's principal Tim went on vacation. After tossing around many ideas (most would annoy the custodians) we settled for ballooning his office. Plans to change the decor from Liverpool Football Club to Justin Bieber everywhere were sadly dropped at the last minute. Here's the finished product, thanks to most people in our half of the floor:
Oddly enough, after the Aarins blew up the balloons for this project, we both came down with bronchitis. It hit her harder than it hit me, and thankfully didn't touch Racheal at all. Tim returned to work to find his door covered in balloon-related quotes, opened his door and started cackling, then grabbed a pair of scissors and went on a balloon-popping rampage - the most fun he's had in months, I'm told. This was his response:
April Fool's Day was Sunday, but that didn't stop an enterprising, unsuspected young Crown from pranking the secretaries on the Tuesday after. He had previously pranked a senior lawyer back when he was in private practise with a similar trick, and put up a very official-looking sign over the photocopier first thing in the morning:
For those with difficulty reading the smaller type, it says "The learning module is currently running, so you may need to repeat your command a few times, until the printer understands. This is only temporary while the printer gathers localised accent and language information."
He had 3 secretaries standing around the photocopier all trying to "fix" it for about 15 minutes before he came clean. Tim, the office prankster, was proud to have inspired him.
Tim and my principal Rachel are very different people, with Tim being the rules-are-optional daredevil who loves to laugh and cause havoc, while Rachel is the poor soul trying to hold him in check. They'll often argue in front of the Aarins, leading Erin to say "the kids don't like it when mommy and daddy fight," causing Tim to retort "you'd better stop now Rachel, we shouldn't argue in front of the children." Her default response to most of what he says is to throw up her hands in frustration. Recently we went on a farewell lunch with the lawyers in our section. Tim and Rachel were carrying on as they usually do, with him throwing out harebrained ideas just to get her riled up, and the other lawyers just being generally silly. One of them said "when I graduated I thought all my conversations would be profound and get me into the halls of power. Now look what I've become!" Just like in the first month, this placement really has been a family-like experience, with the Aarins as either fraternal twins or favourite cousins placed with a caricature parental pair and a handful of doting aunts and uncles ready to further corrupt, or sometimes to try save, the young impressionable minds. I don't think I've enjoyed myself quite so thoroughly in a school or office setting, ever. They will all be missed. One thing the Aarins will not miss is the Citadel Hill noon gun, a midday cannon that seemingly explodes outside our window, causing us to jump and Erin once to wear a latte on a rather nice shirt.
I'll leave you with a curious trend I've noticed. These are the following office views I've had over my time at law school with my various placements.
1L - NS PPS:
2L - NS DOJ [simulation in lieu of actual photo]:
3L - PPSC Halifax:
It seems that the less I'm paid, the better my office view!
I think that's enough for now, I'll see you all later.
A.
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
