TJSL

On Saturday, September 20, the San Diego County Bar Association partnered with I Love a Clean San Diego and collected trash at La Jolla Shores beach. Among the volunteers were of members of the bar, law students, junior ROTC members, and the UCSD men’s basketball game.

Thomas Jefferson School of Law students, including myself, Chalsie Keller, Andy Umana, Ivana Duarte, Morgan Karalash, Dennis David, who are members of the Environmental Law Society, joined in the effort.

“I participate in the SDCBA beach cleanup every year because I think it's important to leave the world at least a little better than you found it and this event brings together such like minded legal professionals,” Chalsie Keller said. Keller, a third year, has been involved in ELS since her first year.

Ivana Duarte, a second year student, attended the beach clean up as a member of the executive board of the ELS, and has “always cared about the environment and keeping it clean.”

“ELS decided to participate in SDCBA’s beach cleanup in an effort to both do our part for the environment and network with the San Diego County Bar,” Morgan Karalash said.

“I particularly wanted to participate with the event because I thought it was a wonderful opportunity to get out and get to the beach while having a positive impact on the environment and our community,” Karalash said.

Karalash is this year’s ELS president and a second year student. “There were a few other groups participating in beach cleanups of their own that day so the beach looked spotless,” Karalash said.

I brought my daughter to the Shores to participate because it’s our home beach. While I think it’s important to take care of the world at large, it’s almost more important to take care of the community around us. Each team had the task of trying to find the most interesting item on the beach. “This year, the most interesting thing we found was a rubber fish with a missing head,” Keller said. “It was no rubber chicken that was found last year, but still interesting.”

“The grossest thing I found during the clean up what the dead bird,” Durante said, and Karalash reported that her group found a jellyfish.

I think the grossest things we found had to do with things that looked like medical supplies, e.g. bandages. But the most interesting thing to me was a frayed rope tied in a knot. This year marked the 30th Coastal Clean Up and in honor of the 60th anniversary of “I Love a Clean San Diego.”

According to Lori Mendez, the SDCBA’s volunteer coordinator, there were 118 total volunteers who covered 2 miles at the Shores. The volunteers removed 83 pounds of trash and 18 pounds of recycling.

“We found enough clothes, men’s jockey underwear, a t-shirt, pants and several mismatched sandals to put together an outfit or two,” Mendez said.

For more information and to participate in future beach clean ups check out http:// www.cleansd.org. There are generally four beach clean up days a year.

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Michael Begovich has taught Advanced Trial Advocacy and Trial Practice at TJSL since 1996.  An AV-rated attorney by Martindale-Hubbell, Mr. Begovich is Deputy Director of the San Diego County Office of Assigned Counsel—one of the largest conflict panels for indigent criminal defendants in the U.S.A.  As a Deputy Public Defender, Professor Begovich has tried approximately 190 trials including 10 murder trials to verdict.

1. What can law students do while enrolled in law school in order to learn the skills necessary to be a trial attorney?

Three things can be done during law school to learn rudimentary trial practice skills.

First, take Trial Practice and Advanced Trial Advocacy.  All Professors teaching these classes at TJSL do an outstanding job.  The art of trial practice requires “learning by doing.”  The more experience, the better.  Students often can tell during their Trial Practice class if being a trial lawyer is what they want to do.

Second, enroll in an internship at the Public Defender’s Office, District Attorney’s Office, or City Attorney’s Office.  There are wonderful opportunities to interact with witnesses and clients.  If you are a State Bar Certified Legal Intern, you may appear in court to argue motions, argue at sentencing, and also conduct Preliminary Hearings.  Some students have completed misdemeanor jury trials at the Public Defender’s Office.  The “in the trenches” experience of appearing on the record in court—is invaluable.

Third, join the Criminal Law Society at TJSL and similar student-based organizations that involve trial attorneys and trial practice.  Excellent Continuing Legal Education lectures are provided so students can learn from top trial attorneys and also engage in some networking.

2. Can you recommend any books that students interested in becoming a trial attorney should read?

The books that are required reading for your Trial Practice and/or Advanced Trial Advocacy classes should be sufficient reading. 

Students and newer trial attorneys often have difficulty with preparing and presenting direct and cross-examination for expert witnesses.  Some students and attorneys have benefitted from a practice-oriented work that I authored: Chapter 3, “Preparing & Presenting Expert Testimony on Scientific Evidence,” in a 2011 CEB book entitled, Scientific Evidence in California Criminal Cases. 

3. What are the three most important traits of a successful trial attorney and why?

Preparation, preparation, and preparation.

Preparation involves training for the trial lawyer.  Training for a trial attorney never ends.  Taking Continuing Legal Education classes, reading key books and other sources, trying cases, and watching other excellent trial lawyers try cases are necessary things for one to improve.

Preparation also requires a thorough work-up of the case-related materials.  Unanticipated things frequently “pop up” during trial.  Being prepared is the tool we use to “fix” the unforeseen problem.

So what does proper trial preparation involve?  First, a thorough client interview where trust and rapport are quickly established.  You must keep your client advised of key events during the case.  Investigation is critical.  Hiring expert witnesses for trial—and then working with them to prepare expert testimony persuasively—is important; trial presentation is integral to a successful outcome and it can involve PowerPoint presentations and/or effective courtroom exhibits.

Preparation finally involves personal planning.  Schedule appointments and other matters before or after the trial; continue to exercise consistently; eat properly, and budget in “quality time” with the people that mean the most to you.

4. What is the most difficult skill in regards to becoming a trial attorney for young lawyers to learn?

From my observations in the courtroom and in the classroom, Voir Dire presents the biggest challenge for new trial attorneys.  How can one improve?

First, ask your supervisor at your internship who an excellent trial lawyer is that is currently picking a jury.  Go and watch in the courtroom.  You will see what to do and what not to do.

Second, here are some sources that can assist with jury selection generally:

• Jo-Ellan Dimitrius & Wendy Patrick Mazzarella, Reading People (Random House: 2008).

• Michael Begovich, “Jury Selection” in Chapter 29 of California Criminal Law: Practice & Procedure (CEB: 2011).

• Jo-Ellan Dimitrius & Mark Mazzarella, Put Your Best Foot Forward: Make a Great Impression by Taking Control of How Others See You (Scribner: 2000).

5. Do you have any general advice for students who are aspiring to be a trial attorney?

Taking the classes and internships noted above, and/or participating in mock trial, and/or working in a law firm where you can assist the trial attorneys, are all things that can make you more competitive when you apply for a job—after you pass the Bar Examination.

In addition, the San Diego County Public Defender’s Office and District Attorney’s Office have “Post-Bar” positions that you can apply for when you are a Third Year Student.  Many “Post-Bars” have gained fulltime employment as Deputy Public Defenders and Deputy District Attorneys over the years.  Please check with TJSL’s Career Services for more information.

Good luck!

In early August, I had the privilege of representing Thomas Jefferson School of Law (TJSL), along with Student Bar Association (SBA) American Bar Association Representative (ABA) Christine Tornatore, at the American Bar Association Annual Meeting.  This year, the conference was held in Toronto, Canada. 

This trip provided us with the opportunity to meet SBA-ABA Representatives and SBA Presidents from just about all of the 200 ABA-accredited law schools in the United States.  Each day, the ABA Law Student Division leaders provided detailed schedules loaded with incredible opportunities that enabled us to exchange ideas with other students at the conference. 

On the last day of the conference, Christine and I participated in the Law Student Division Assembly where each law school’s SBA had two votes on each of the proposed resolutions on this year’s ballot.  One of the key issues this year was in regards to the procedures used by law schools to report the employment rates of their graduating classes.  This was of particular interest to us given the recent lawsuit by a TJSL graduate, and since graduates of other law schools have followed suit and brought claims against their former law schools.  We as law students should pay close attention to this issue over the next couple of months and years, as changes in how law schools report their graduates’ employment statistics are quite likely. 

Participating in the Assembly was unlike anything I had ever experienced in my life.  I felt as if I were a member of Congress, listening to vibrant debates between zealous law students representing different regions and cities across the country.  Hearing the different perspectives (and the different accents), and the rationale in support of each message, was quite interesting since I had rarely considered the perspective of other law students who were not colleagues of mine at TJSL.  It was not until this time that I truly understood how much of an impact we, as law students, can have on our legal educations.  We were voting on resolutions and referendums that were to be passed onto the ABA Board of Governors!

In regards to the Board of Governors, the body that oversees law student policies and procedures for legal education in the United States, a new and exciting process has been implemented.  Te Law Student Division has successfully obtained a voting position on the Board of Governors!  This means that, moving forward, there will be a student representative in the Board of Governors hearings that will ensure that the student perspective is heard and considered.  When one considers factors such as the troubled economy, the influx of law school graduates into the job market each year, the issues relating to law school employment statistics, and many others, students should be pleased that their current Law Student Division leaders were able to achieve such a momentous victory on our behalves. 

Whether it was the roundtable discussions with students from various schools across the country, small meetings with just the other students from the ABA Ninth Circuit (of which TJSL is a member ), or the social and dinner events each evening, this was truly an experience that I will never forget.  Not to mention that Toronto was a beautiful city—we even got to stop at the Hockey Hall of Fame before leaving (absolutely, 100% Christine’s idea!)  I strongly encourage TJSL students to run for the SBA positions that allow them to partake in this experience.  It was, without a doubt, one of the best experiences of my time in law school thus far. 

On behalf of The Jeffersonian I’d like to welcome everyone back for a new semester and a new year.  While we are still your student newspaper, we are not literally printed on paper anymore.  In an effort to go green we’ve moved completely online.  On the upside, you can now read the paper in class without the unwanted attention of unfolding it and turning pages.  On the downside, I will now have to bring my laptop with me into the men’s room when I want to read the TJSL news and some of you will have to find something else to line the bottom of your parakeet cage. 

Much work went into the creation of this webpage and the content you are now looking at.  The TJSL technology team hidden on the 6th floor did an incredible job of creating the website and working with us to make it look as fantastic as it does.  A special thanks is due to Patty Ramert for taking all of our suggestions, improving on many of them, and building this page. 

All of the writers worked very hard (or so they tell me) in order to produce smart-sounding sentences; they even went as far as to combine these sentences into what journalists and intellectuals call “paragraphs.”  The editors also earned their keep, toiling away to make the writers sound even smarter.

Thanks are also due to our SBA Vice President and Editor-In-Chief, Nancy Astifo.  Nancy worked tirelessly to, among many, many other things, ensure that no inappropriate content made it’s way to the pages of The Jeffersonian; despite my best efforts to the contrary it looks like she succeeded. 

Look for an ipad app on the horizon, as well as many other interesting and creative things from this paper.  Follow us on twitter @JeffersonianLaw.

As always we welcome contributions from students and staff.  Send us an email at TheJeffersonian@tjsl.edu.

We are proud to be the only law school with an exclusively online paper and will continue to make each issue at least 7% better than the previous.            

Cheers, Scott Greenwood Managing Editor

In case you haven't noticed, the newest edition of Thomas Jefferson Law Review (TJLR) is now available.  This issue is jam packed with exciting content, authored by both professors and students.  TJLR can be found on tables around campus, on stands, and in the library.  Be sure to pick one up.  They are free to students, so don't hesitate.

A Law Review is primarily composed of Articles and Notes.  Generally, Articles are written by professors from universities and law schools across the country and around the world.  Articles are generally longer in length, and provide an in depth look and analysis of some legal issue.  Notes, on the other hand, are generally written by law students.  Typically, TJLR publishes Notes from TJSL students.  Notes are usually shorter in length than articles and consist of analysis of an unsettled area of law.  Students who publish Notes in TJLR spend close to a year writing and editing.  TJLR and some of its student Note authors have even been honored with the Burton Award, which is one of the highest honors granted to published students.  In fact, with four Burton Awards, Thomas Jefferson School of Law is tied with Stanford Law School for earning the most

Burton Awards in California.     

The new issue of TJLR really grabs your attention with the Lead Article, written by Ronald J. Placone, Ph.D., of Carnegie Mellon University.  The Article, entitled “The United States Supreme Court: A Decline in Civility,” discusses whether the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinions involving abortion are becoming more or less civil.  The analysis compares the pre-1987 Burger court against the post-1987 Rehnquist court, and uses analysis of variance (MANOVA and ANOVA) and keyword analysis, a type of text analysis developed at Carnegie Mellon University.

Ray L. Ngo, a solo practitioner, authored an Article entitled “The Elephant in the Room: A Critique of California’s Constitutional Amendment Process that Gave Birth to the Baby Elephant (Proposition 8) and A Call for Its Reform.” The Article discusses the voter initiative power in California, its relationship with the very controversial Proposition 8, and the California Supreme Court decision that ruled Proposition 8 was a lawful exercise of the voter initiative process.

Several students from TJSL also authored Notes appearing in the current issue of the TJLR.  Bunkosal Chhun ’11, authored a Note entitled “Catcalls: Protected Speech or Fighting Words.”  The Note looks at what constitutes a “catcall” and whether they should be considered unprotected speech under the fighting words exception to the First Amendment.  Jaime Moss ’12, wrote a Note entitled “Patients at Risk: The Need to Amend The Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to Ensure the Safety of Imported Prescription Drugs.”  In her Note, she looks at problems associated with the perceived lack of safety regulations for prescription drugs imported into the United States.  Noah Wald ’12, wrote a Note entitled “Don’t Circumvent My Dongle! Misinterpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act Threatens Digital Security Technology.”   Noah’s Note criticizes a recent decision by the Fifth Circuit, which Noah contends misinterpreted the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and does not offer enough protection to software developers who use “dongle” technology.  His analysis focuses on the negative impacts the court’s decision has had on the music industry.  James Wolken ‘12 also added to the scholarship of TJLR with his Note entitled “Valencia’s Reasonable Belief Test: Expanding the Scope of Burglary in California One Window Screen at a Time.” In his Note he criticizes the interpretation of California’s burglary statute by California courts. 

The current issue of TJLR will certainly have something of interest to you.  Be sure to pick one up today!