By: David Johnson

Forum Writer

“This must be it. Welcome to the New Year.”  It’s the opening line to one of my favorite Motion City Soundtrack songs, and I suppose I may have just been looking for an excuse to use it.  Regardless, it’s a new semester here at Valparaiso University School of Law.  On top of that, it’s also the New Year.

What that means for many of us is that we have committed ourselves to change.  Resolutions are popular.  We find an element of ourselves that we dislike, and hope to alter it in some way for either our own fulfillment, or possibly to make someone we care about more happy.

These promises typically embody the same themes.  To study more.  To drink less.  To finally quit smoking.  Sometimes resolutions are much more narrowly tailored to an individual and break the archetype. Sometimes a group of friends pledge themselves to a cause together, either for fun, or to share each others’ strength if the task is harrowing.  Sometimes resolutions are just wacky.

Yet, many times we find ourselves making the same promises that we did last year.  One way or another, people breach their resolutions.  The gym gets too expensive, or the nicotine wins out.  Such is the way of life.

But that does not always have to be the case.  We have 365 days in 2010.  It’s a long time, all things considered, to accomplish our resolution.  So, after some Internet research and personal reflection, here are a few tips I thought were useful in ultimately fulfilling your New Year’s promise.

First, try to keep your resolution in the proper scope.  If you promised to lose 20 pounds by summer, don’t burn yourself out by getting rid of the weight as quickly as possible in January and February.  Assuming you turn into a gym superhero and actually do drop the pounds, what will happen?  Do you stop going because you hit your goal?  A lot of people might.  Summer comes around, and you’re right back where you started thanks to unfavorable long term habits.  Steady as she goes is the name of the game.  Change is hard, and only a gradual implementation of our new  behavior into our old selves will make sure that the changes sticks.  It’s far too easy to get into something intensely for the short term, only to regress once we become placated.

Second, it may be better to postpone your resolution for a few months.  Personally, I don’t think you’re being unfaithful to your promise by giving yourself some extra starting time up front.  If Moot Court or Legal Writing or Trial Advocacy is swamping you right now, wait a few weeks.  Over working yourself now is just going to frustrate you.  You’re not dealing with a recipe for success if you’re incredibly stressed and you want to stop smoking.

Third, find someone to hold you accountable. The more people you tell your resolution to, the more people will ask how far you have progressed.  In short, it can be an effective way to motivate you to keep up your hard work.  If you’re really committed to the cause, do what I’m doing.  Get some of your close friends to harass you constantly to make sure you keep working at your goal.  Bonus points if you set up a penalty (i.e., you owe those friends a high-class dinner) if you wimp out and don’t reach your goal by December 31, 2010.

Fourth, on the opposite end of suggestion three, don’t be afraid to reward yourself along the way.  And if you actually do accomplish your resolution, do something big for the sake of the new you.  Such hard work should not be overlooked or its importance dismissed.  Even smaller resolutions deserve at least some sort of recognition for their completion.  For many people, change is much easier to accomplish if there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.  A juicy reward to yourself might give you the incentive you need to push through a difficult time when you’re contemplating abandoning your promise.

It’s inevitable that anyone who attempts to change an aspect of him or herself will start doubting the merits of why, exactly, he or she started this change in the first place.  So my fifth suggestion is that you make a list to remind yourself just why you want to achieve your New Year’s goal.  Be it a higher GPA, fitting into that new dress by Barrister’s, or adding a few years to your life, write down why you’re working so hard.  Reading your reasons over and over will reinforce why they’re still important, and why all the sweat and tears are worth it.  If you think of more during your change, add them to the list too.  Just because you see more reasons for change during the transition doesn’t make these brand-new reasons any less valid than the original ones.

So, it’s a new year and new semester.  Here’s to hoping that 2010 will be better than 2009.  The Forum would like to wish everyone good luck this year, not just on honoring their resolutions, but in every aspect.  We really do appreciate your readership, and we’re looking forward to covering another academic year for you all.

Word Count: 882

David is a 2L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu

By:  David Johnson

Managing Editor

Bartonville State Hospital, located close to Peoria, Illinois, was a mental health hospital opened at the start of the 20th Century.  Ultimately, it was abandoned in 1973.  The hospital still stands as a feature of Bartonville skyline, but the building is clearly a ghost of its former self.
The history of the hospital is interesting.  Opened in 1902, the hospital offered some of the most progressive treatment available at the time to the mentally ill.  Most accounts say that the staff and doctors were quite kind to the patients.  But kindness doesn’t make for a good ghost story.  Hence, rumors of deaths, abuse, and unorthodox experimentation are abound.  Whether or not they are true is unlikely, but it has been over a century since the clinic first opened its doors.  As an interesting side note, the site still has four cemeteries on the premises.  However, like the building itself, these cemeteries have fallen into disrepair; victims to both time and vandals.  It is not surprising, then, that the adventurous have reported ghosts all over the hospital property.
Ghost stories for the hospital tell of “Old Book.”  Book was a patient who dug graves for the institution until his own death.  One legend says his spirit is still seen wandering the graveyards, from time to time.  However, another tale says that, upon Book’s death, he took on the physical form of an Elm tree located in one of the cemeteries.  For years the tree has stood on the hospital property, and for years ominous feelings of dread and despair have emanated from it.  These ghosts are not limited to only patients, although many ghost hunters speculate the vast majority of the paranormal activity present at the hospital comes from these spirits.  Perhaps the only way to know for sure is to go investigate.  You had better hurry though, the hospital is bound to be demolished any time now.

David Johnson is a 2L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu.

The evening of September 16, 2009, JESSUP—Valparaiso Law’s international moot court team—hosted its first public debates. The two speakers, Jacob Blackstone and Godwill Tachi, came to argue over the outcome of a fictional conflict in the nation of Alicanto. The situation appeared, at least at first glance, to be the following: after the assassination of Alicanto’s Prime Minister by a radical member of an ethnic minority, the nation of Ravisia placed its military forces inside of Alicanto to preserve order and keep the peace. At least, that’s the story Ravisia is sticking to.

Of course, the plot for this international conflict was much more complex, and both speakers needed to keep a myriad of other details in the back of their minds. You see, Alicanto had been in a state of turmoil for quite some time. Plagued by drug cartels and gun-runners, the nation nearly began a military conflict with its neighbor New Bennu. To resolve this dilemma, Alicanto and New Bennu both agreed to allow a UN Peacekeeping force to occupy Alicantan territory and monitor the peace along the boarder. The principal actor in this requested UN intervention was none-other-than Ravisia itself. Furthermore, Ravisia and Alicanto shared more ties than just this UN sanctioned peacekeeping force. Alicanto was a former colony of Ravisia, and both nations were members of an international organization known as the R-FAN: the Ravisian Family of Allied Nations. And, concerning the placement of those “invading” military forces into Alicanto, the Ravisians basically just left the balance of their peacekeeping forces in the tumultuous nation after the UN mission expired and only added a few more troops thereafter.

These complex, ambiguous issues are what JESSUP primarily deals with in its competitions.  Add to this equation the inherent uncertainty of International Law, and one will soon realize that it’s practically impossible to say, for sure, what outcome a tribunal such as the International Court of Justice will reach. With these uncertainties in mind, Blackstone and Tachi took the stage. For this particular evening, various alumni, as well as Professor Telman, served as the judges.

Tachi, who represented the State of Alicanto, was first to present as agent for the Applicant. Speaking confidently and smoothly, Tachi set up an introduction to his issues while solidifying his position with references to the UN Charter and other customs in the international legal landscape. The first point of the evening to be addressed concerned the military intervention, itself. Were the actions of Ravisia legal, if it acted solely to secure humanitarian treatment for Alicantan citizens? Tachi argued in the negative. States, at least under international law, have sovereignty over the affairs occurring in their boarders. This right, Tachi asserted, could not be violated. In fact, territorial sovereignty stands as one of the longest recognized rights which exists in the otherwise uncertain international community.  The second issue was equally complex. Ravisia had captured the Alicantan accused of assassinating the previous Prime Minister by using a car-bomb. After an exhaustive manhunt, Piccardo Donati—the alleged murderer—could not be located. Consequently, Alicanto held a trial in abstentia. For this issue too, Tachi made his points.

Following Tachi’s arguments, Blackstone took the stage for rebuttal. Like Tachi, Blackstone was poised and made his arguments both eloquently and forcefully. Naturally, his analysis yielded the exact opposite conclusions Tachi had argued just minutes beforehand. Blackstone asserted Ravisia’s intervention into Alicantan affairs was a new feature of International Law. Like what NATO did with the conflict in Kosovo in the late 1990s, Ravisia was doing with Alicanto in 2008-09. Blackstone proclaimed that Ravisia could not stand idly by and allow a genocide to happen. Concerning Donnati, Blackstone cited several treaties and conventions to which Alicanto was a part. A trial without him, Blackstone noted, violated many of the procedural safeguards Alicanto had agreed to implement when it entered into these binding multinational agreements. There exist two well-established sources of International Law under the current political system: treaties and customary international law. Both carry equal weight and binding force.  Blackstone indicated that, were Ravisia to hand over Donnati to Alicantan authorities for an execution, it too would violate international law.

Although each issue was unarguably complex, both speakers were not free to make their arguments without interference.  During the presentations of both speakers, the judges fired off a barrage of questions. Ranging from the binding power of varying conventions to possible alternative remedies to the situation at hand, the judges kept both speakers on their toes. There were also a few questions tossed into the mix which tried to get both speakers to deviate from their main-points or lose their place in their arguments.

Like veterans, however, Blackstone and Tachi stayed focused on their issues. After earning a round of applause from the audience, everyone retired to the Atrium for cake and refreshments.  The members of JESSUP’s executive board presented awards to several team members. Peter Kirby won the Best Brief category. Tachi secured the win for Best Oralist. Blackstone, however, managed to walk away from the evening winning Best Overall Performer.

Even though it is only the beginning of the academic year, the featured members of JESSUP managed to display a high degree of professionalism and demonstrated an impressive understanding of International Law. As Professor Telman’s class on the aforesaid topic is a JESSUP requirement, however, it’s likely that some praise for the competitors’ understanding of International Law should be extended to him. Regardless, it looks like JESSUP is going to have another fantastic season representing the students of Valparaiso at all the competitions it participates in around the United States and North America. To the members of JESSUP, we at The Forum wish you the best of luck.

David Johnson is a 2L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu

On September 18, 2009, Phi Alpha Delta hosted a picnic which served the dual purpose of being an informational call out meeting to Valparaiso Law students about the benefits of joining P.A.D. Christopher Nunley, Justice of P.A.D’s Valparaiso chapter, gave a speech concerning just this. As one of the world’s largest legal fraternities, boasting over 300,000 members, Phi Alpha Delta offers its members the unique opportunity to network with professionals who have already served for years in the legal profession.

The food P.A.D served was from Wings, Etc., and provided a nice break from the standard of pizza which seemed to be everywhere during September. Don’t get me wrong, I love pizza, but one can only eat Papa Johns so many times before going a little stir crazy.

The afternoon of September 18 proved to be a lovely day for a picnic; sunny and warm, it was probably one of the few nicer days Northwest Indiana will offer us for the remainder of the year. Curious 1Ls asked questions to the P.A.D officers present about classes, teachers, and study techniques. Everyone that grabbed a few wings stayed outside for, at least a short while, and chatted with their Valparaiso Law peers. All in all, it was a very nice event for everyone who attended.

David Johnson is a 2L and can be reached at Forum@valpo.edu

Admittedly, this article comes a little early. But heck, it’s October! That means Halloween! This month’s story is about a local legend that many of Valparaiso Law’s out-of-area students probably know little about: Bachelor’s Grove Cemetery.

For those readers willing to risk having to report a trespassing charge to the Bar, Bachelor’s Grove may be worth the trip. Located in Midlothian, Illinois, Bachelor’s Grove is arguably the most haunted cemetery in the Midwest. Perhaps a little history lesson should be provided before I go on.

Opened for use in 1844, this cemetery holds the remains of some of Chicago’s first inhabitants. Remarkably, tragedy has seemed to plague the Grove since the very start. For instance, there are several reports involving local residents meeting tragic ends while visiting the grounds in and around the Grove. One such story is based on an unnamed local farmer and allegedly occurred in the 1870s. Part of the Grove borders a rather large, murky pond. One day, while plowing a field adjacent to the water, the farmer is said to have been pulled into the pond by his frightened horse; unable to release himself from the plow’s restraints, the farmer and the animal drowned. Witnesses still report seeing the farmer’s apparition being dragged into the depths of the pond. More excitingly, local lore also claims that Al Capone used the cemetary as a dumping ground for recently-disposed mafia targets. Like the farmer, these murdered victims of Chicago’s underworld are still seen standing by the edge of the pond, mourning the fact they were never properly laid to rest. In all, about 200 graves filled the cemetery before it was closed from further use in the mid 1960s.

Coincidentally, it was during the 1960s and 1970s that Bachelor’s Grove really entered into local folklore. Formerly, the cemetery was accessible by a stretch of road that offered the perfect spot for drag racing. The cemetery also offered quite a bit of privacy to anyone looking for time alone with their date. As the years progressed, more and more people started telling fantastic tales of orbs, cold spots, and full-body apparitions of ghosts. But hey, that’s common for your average haunted house.

Here is where some other tales really distinguish Bachelor’s Grove from other “haunted” sites and earn it the reputation of the Midwest’s most haunted cemetery. Many ghost hunters report having to sneak around an older house with a light on its porch to avoid detection and stealthily enter the cemetery. But on their way out, these hunters find themselves questioning if they’re leaving the right way. The house they had to sneak past an hour before is no longer there. That’s right. Bachelor’s Grove offers the bravest of Valparaiso Law an entire ghost house.

Like most cemeteries which no longer get used, Bachelor’s Grove found itself succumbing to vandalism and age. Of the 200 headstones that once marked the graves, only 20 are left. These headstones are the ones too heavy to carry away. As reports indicate, graves were dug up and items were stolen. It has been whispered that these graves were desecrated as part of Satanic rituals—which may have opened the Grove up to much darker forces; if you believe that sort of thing, anyway.

Visitors to the cemetery note that, although it is very isolated, there’s always this lingering feeling that someone is there with you. Because I am unaware of the statute of limitations for trespassing in Illinois, I’m unable to verify/deny the truth to these claims. Happy Halloween, everyone.

No one can contest that times aren’t tough. Valparaiso, like all universities, finds itself competing for student-talent in the undergraduate, graduate, and law arenas. Often, its efforts go rewarded, and some very bright minds chose this university as their home for the  next few years. Valparaiso Law, in particular, has been gallantly trying to improve its ranking on a progressively lower budget.

However valiant the Law School’s efforts have thus far been, there always room on the table to consider more. This idea is one I’ve kicked around with a few friends. We all would like to see the implementation of a Dual Degree Program aimed at a hard science. Personally, I would consider enrolling in it; even if it only awarded a Bachelor’s degree, rather than the traditional Masters tied with programs of that nature.

I find myself talking to my classmates and consistently sharing the same problem: none of us ever had the true value of a hard science degree—like engineering or physics—explained to us until it was far too late. Personally, this realization hit me two weeks before I received both my diplomas from my undergraduate university in Chicago.

When I graduated high school in 2004, the economy looked promising. For years, my teachers had reinforced the notion that all you needed to succeed was a college degree: it really didn’t matter which. A stock market crash and a bubble burst soon showed me the real world rarely syncs with a 20-something’s ideas on job qualifications. Now, I can try to shift blame and argue that not getting a Bachelor’s in engineering isn’t somehow my fault, but in the end, denial is a river in Africa.

But, to this extent, I believe that if Valparaiso offered a program that would let me—and a large number of my peers—hit the “Do-Over” button, it could attract a much larger applicant pool because of the unique service being provided by the institution. Patent law, which requires a degree in sciences such as biology, chemistry, physics, or engineering, has proven to be one of the few areas insulated from the current recession. Even as the demand for new associates has faded elsewhere, firms have desperately continued their attempts to secure new talent in the patent field. Estimates for starting salaries for patent associates in large cities is in the low six figures. There’s likely going to be a sizeable signing bonus attached to any new patent lawyer’s starting contract, too. Additionally, because the demand stretches across the country, a student looking to practice patent law could likely choose to settle in any region in America and still not have a difficult time finding a job.

I know that implementing a new program such as this will take time, planning, and probably some persuasive arguing by Valparaiso Law’s administration with the undergraduate school, but I believe that the payoffs would be huge. Ideally, the program would award a hard science Masters to the students enrolled. Sadly, this would likely require a preexisting science degree, and students like me would be stuck in the same position we already find ourselves in.

One of the beauties of being able to take the Patent Bar, though, is that it only requires a B.A. Here, each law students already holds a Bachelors—the problem is the majority come from undergraduate degrees that aren’t Valparaiso. If the law school were to secure an exemption for core classes, apply credit reciprocity for classes like Intellectual Property and Contracts, and perhaps tack on an extra semester onto our time as law students, many of us would likely be able to fast-track an engineering or physics degree in conjunction with our J.D.
Although the stress from law classes is quite immense,  law school helps students set schedules and learn to prepare for class in efficient ways. Despite the fact that I can only speak for myself, I believe my personal study habits have improved tremendously from when I was an undergraduate to when I finished my first year here at Valparaiso Law. I also feel like the training and study techniques I acquired during my first year would really help me excel in an engineering class, despite the fact that it would also be very new territory for me. But heck, so was the law a year ago.
Maybe it’s just wishful thinking to want a new dual degree program here. In a highly-selective economy, though, Valparaiso should aim to offer their students a way into a very profitable niche. If worse comes to worse, and student finds him or herself cringing at the idea of practicing the law, he or she could always decide not to utilize the J.D. and opt to use the Engineering Degree instead. Starting salary for a mechanical engineer is around $55,000. Not a bad chunk of change, all things considered.

David Johnson is a 2L and can be reached at forum@valpo.edu

In honor of The Forum’s departing Managing Editor moving to New Jersey, I would like to start my Urban Legends column off with the story of the Jersey Devil. Allegedly occupying a vast stretch of forest in southern New Jersey called the Pine Barrens, this beast is said to have the head of a horse, the wings of a bat, a serpentine tile, and hoofed feet.

There are arguably two principal origin myths for this creature. The first comes from the Native Americans who occupied the land prior to European settlement. The Lenni Lenape tribe believed the Jersey Devil to be a spirit which resided in the woods — they also strongly believed in leaving it alone. The European settlers, creators of the second origin story, thought the monster to be nothing less than a demon.

In 1735, Deborah Leeds was pregnant to her thirteenth child.  After delivering her twelfth, Leeds allegedly swore that if she were to have another baby, it would be the devil himself. The dark, stormy night the thirteenth child was born supposedly saw this prophecy fulfilled. Although the baby was born in human form, it changed into a devilish beast, let out a horrifying scream, killed Leeds’s midwife, and flew out the chimney. It is whispered this is the very-same monster which haunts the denizens of New Jersey today.

Sightings of the Jersey Devil have been well documented and come from a wide variety of sources. Joseph Bonaparte, brother to Napoleon, is said to have witnessed the creature and pursued it around 1820. In 1909, a string of sightings caused extreme panic to overwhelm many residents in southern New Jersey. Ultimately, two mobs formed to try to hunt the beast down. After eluding capture, the Jersey Devil is said to have attacked and damaged a trolley car before flying away into the night. Several schools and businesses around the Pine Barrens closed out of fear. The last reported sighting of the Jersey Devil is documented as occurring on January 23, 2008 near Litchfield, Pennsylvania. The witness claimed to have seen the monster burst through the roof of his barn before disappearing.

For the more daring readers here at Valparaiso Law, or those looking to find a way to help pay off their student loans, there are several rewards available for the creature’s capture. At least $10,000 is being offered by several private residents in New Jersey to anyone bold enough to capture the creature alive. Additionally, the Philadelphia Zoo is rumored to be willing to pay $1,000,000 to anyone who manages to trap the Jersey Devil alive. I’m sure an eBay auction would also bring in a six-figure payout.

I suppose we can all sleep easy: Valparaiso is a way away from the east coast. But Sari, you need to watch out.

David Johnson

Managing Editor

On Tuesday April 28th, the Federalist Society held a debate on Freedom of Religion and Supreme Court jurisprudence.  The two keynote speakers for this event were Valparaiso University School of Law’s Professor Rosalie Levinson and Professor Patrick Garry, of South Dakota University School of Law.//

The specific topics of the afternoon were the Establishment Clause, the Exercise Clause of the United States Constitution, and what the Supreme Court’s decision in Employment Division v. Smith, which is a case concerning a ban on peyote and Native Americans.  This case spawned the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.  An additional topic covered in the debate was the various approaches Supreme Court justices have utilized in examining what constitutes a violation of the church-state barrier. //

Garry stated that  the lack of a consistent and encompassing approach to challenges against the Establishment and Exercise Clauses has led to a “jurisprudence of minutia.”  Solitary events like a rabbi saying a prayer prior to a middle school graduation ceremony have led to excessive litigation because there is currently no definitive test on these Clauses in operation.//

Although Levinson interprets the holding of Smith and the Clauses differently, she was in agreement with Garry over the years of ambiguity Supreme Court decisions have caused on the topic.  As Levinson said, although we may hold the Supreme Court and its justices in the greatest regard, they’re people too, and the mingling of religion and government leads to a terribly slippery slope of what’s too much and what action is permissible.//

And, as a question at the end of the two presentations pointed out, the deeply personal issues of religion and government will likely continue to divide the Justices on the Court for years to come.

David is a 1L and can be reached at Forum@valpo.edu

  You ever wake up in the morning and just wish to get the snot pounded out of you? I don’t. But I’m quite lazy. For those of you looking to get in a vigorous workout this summer, I have a sport you probably should try. It’s called Kabaddi, and it gets played almost all over the world.

  Kabaddi is played between two teams of twelve. Depending on the version, the number of active players can range from seven to ten, with the rest remaining in reserve.  The particular form discussed here in this article is the game-style endorsed by the Kabaddi Federation of India, otherwise known as Surjeevani Kabaddi.

  The ring is essentially a 150 foot wide circle that allows a team to break up into Raiders and Stoppers. Since the game is divided up into two twenty minute rounds, with a five minute water break in the middle, each team eventually gets a chance to play both sides.  Remember how I said the game was tag with attitude? Well, essentially, all the Raiders have to do is run in from their side, tag an opposing Stopper, and get back to their safety zone in 30 seconds. They do have to hold their breath the entire time (cheating is hard to do because the raider must chant “Kabbadi” the entire time he’s outside of his safe zone, proving he’s not inhaling).  Additionally, the Stoppers are required to lock arms or hold hands the entire time so the Raiders have one giant target. Not so bad, right? Just a quick in and out and you’ve scored yourself a point.

   Easy in theory, miserable in practice. Stoppers get to charge you. They also get to tackle you and pin you to the ground. Once one Raider goes down, all Raiders are required to immediately report back to their safety zone so no sneaky points may be scored. If the Raider goes down for more than 30 seconds, the Stoppers earn a point. If you get tagged and don’t catch your opponent, you’re out. If you tag and end up getting a face full of dirt, you’re out. If one team gets all the other team’s players out, they score 4 bonus points. However, under the Federation rules, if you have a man out when you get the opposition’s player out, he gets to sub back in. The game is made further difficult because the circle is divided into smaller segments making a smaller playing field in it. If anyone goes out of the space allotted, the other team scores a point. The Kabaddi Federation of India decided to make the game a little trickier, so they also added some dress and behavior rules that apply to all the players of the game, and could potentially cause a team to lose a few points (but these are all pretty normal, so not worth digging into).

Arguably, there’s not much to do in Finland. I suppose one could spend his day visiting all the beautiful fjords, but even that has to get old after a while. It’s situations like these that call for the invention of a sport like Eukonkanto.

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