We got our exams back yesterday, and I scored a "1"! So I'm very happy about that and intend to take it as a good sign of things to come, especially given the excellent quality of the other students I was competing against.

Today was the first day of the mandatory orientation that all 1L's have to attend. It was fairly dull, because I had heard it all before. But the highlight of the day was definitely listening to Prof. Gey expound upon Roe v. Wade. Roe was actually a lot of fun to read. Contrary to wingnut doctrine, I don't think it was poorly decided at all (but I would say that Rehnquist's dissent was awful). Roe cited numerous precedents that gave support to a right of privacy found in numerous amendments to the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Also, to some surprise, I realized that the case did not define abortion as an absolute right for women. In fact, the court claimed that when the state has a "compelling interest" to regulate abortion (either to protect women from unsafe abortion practices or to preserve the a potential human life in the form of a "viable" fetus) it may do so. Great stuff, and Gey's lecture was amazing and showed just how much settled law would have to be overturned should Roe be overturned on the basis that there is no right to privacy in the Consitution. I even got to speak to Prof. Gey after the lecture. I probably sounded like a drooling fan boy backstage at a Kiss concert, but he really is the superstar attorney at the school.

Gotta go eat cake, so take care.