Nawaz Sharif restored to political life; Proposition 8 upheld; Right to Counsel threatened. Full details after the break.
On his Twitter Feed, “Skelly Wright” of Arbitrary and Capricious offers a bit of practical advice:
To teen in court: if you want to beat a [urinalysis] for marijuana, make sure the friend’s urine you’re substituting won’t be positive for opiates.
Oops.
Defense Attorney, during a bail argument:
Judge, he’s charged with possession of burglarious tools. I presume that’s the box cutter. Which is used to cut boxes.
And of course, ipso facto, if it’s used to cut boxes it couldn’t possibly be used as a burglarious tool!
Then again, he said it with such exasperation in his voice, it just might have worked. I wasn’t paying attention when the judge made her ruling.
Notes on the Translation: I will be using the verses as found in Samuel B. Griffith’s translation of the Art of War, published by the Oxford University Press. This translation is one of the best and easiest to read that I have found, and contains a lot of commentary and some helpful discussion of the text. I suggest anyone interested in reading the Art of War to check this out. I will of course only use the translation of the original 2,000 year old text, and not the commentary itself.
Chapter One:*
Estimates**
Sun Tzu said:
1. War is a matter of vital importance to the State; the province of life or death; the road to survival or ruin. It is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.
With this verse the Art of War begins by defining what is the fundamental concept being studied: War. “War is a matter of vital importance to the State” says Sun Tzu – it is a political tool, first and foremost. To Sun Tzu, war was not about glory or fighting or soldiers, it was politics. To forget this is to forget Sun Tzu’s main principle, the principle under which all of Sun Tzu’s theories lie: War is about the State, nothing else.
As lawyers, we must remember a similar truth. To us though, this verse is best read as “Trial is a matter of vital importance to the Client; for the courtroom is the place of life or death, and trial the road to survival or ruin.” Of course, in Massachusetts, there is no death penalty, but the just because a person’s life isn’t in immediate jeopardy doesn’t mean that what we do doesn’t impact them thoroughly. In this statement (“Trial is a matter of vital importance to the Client”) we maintain the spirit of Sun Tzu’s definition of Warfare: This is about the Client’s interest, not the lawyer, not the trial itself. It is the Client’s life at stake, trial is where he will survive or be ruined.
Thus, “it is mandatory that it be thoroughly studied.”
Keep reading Chapter 1, after the cut.
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(Or should that be less incorrigible? How can one be more of less of something…)
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Let thy words flow, gentle readers!