I Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Law & Ice Cream

At yesterday’s dedication of Eckstein Hall, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson referred to Justice Scalia’ s admonition that students not take courses in Law and Ice Cream.  Justice Scalia confirmed that advice and added his relief that Marquette offers no such course.

It will surprise few who know me that I yield to no one in my admiration for Justice Scalia. But, being an enthusiastic proponent of both law and ice cream, I wondered what such a course would look like. What might it teach?  I have imagined Law and Ice Cream and it turns out to be quite (may God forgive me) rich.

Continue ReadingI Scream, You Scream, We All Scream For Law & Ice Cream

“I Hope Marquette Will Always Be a Teaching Law School”

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia called Wednesday for Marquette University Law School faculty and students to focus on the basics – teaching and learning core knowledge of the law – and for lawyers who support the Law School to be advocates for maintaining that emphasis.

Speaking at the dedication of Ray and Kay Eckstein Hall, the Law School’s new home, Scalia said, “I hope Marquette will always be a teaching law school.”

About 1,500 people, including all seven members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, took part in the dedication ceremony in a large tent next to the $85 million building. The building was described by both Scalia and Chief Justice Shirley A. Abrahamson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court as “magnificent.”  

Continue Reading“I Hope Marquette Will Always Be a Teaching Law School”

Handshake Science

As I mentioned last month, I don’t know that formulas always make things clearer, but an NPR story from July on handshakes might prove me wrong. (A hat tip to Natalie Fleury for this idea.)  Marketplace on NPR aired a story about the science behind the handshake. Geoffrey Beattie, a professor at the University of Manchester researching handshakes for General Motors, came up with the following formula for the perfect handshake:

PH = √(e2 + ve2)(d2) + (cg + dr)2 + p{(4< s >2)(4< p >2)}2 + (vi + t + te)2 + {(4< c >2 )(4< du >2)}2

This is the key to the equation: 

Continue ReadingHandshake Science