

Homeless Lawyer Secretly Lived in Public Defender’s Office for 5 Months - petethomas
http://abovethelaw.com/2015/05/homeless-lawyer-secretly-lives-in-public-defenders-office-for-5-months/

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MichaelCrawford
There was an attorney in santa cruz, california who specialized in pro bono
work for the homeless, most commonly when they were prosecuted for camping
within city limits. That law was passed in the 1950s to encourage tourists to
rent hotel rooms rather than camp on the beach.

He was unable to pay his bar association, so some judge paid it for him.

The name of the judge was never disclosed publicly. I'm not real clear how we
know that it was a judge. I expect that had the judge claimed credit publicly,
he would have been obligated to recuse himself when this attorney appeared
before him.

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MichaelCrawford
Go read a legal textbook - as opposed to legislation or a contract.

They're really quite easy to understand in contrast to computer science or
physics texts. I read them for fun.

Judicial opinions are commonly easy to read, especially supreme court
opinions.

My point is that maybe it's not so hard to pass the bar.

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def_illiterate
It's really not. People used to pass the bar without ever going to a law
school.

The entire profession has been captured by educational institutions. It's a
posterchild for what tech should not allow itself to become.

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cafard
It is still possible, here and there to "read law" to qualify oneself to take
the bar examination. It is definitely rare these days.

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MichaelCrawford
Caryl Chessman - The Birdman - passed the bar after reading the law in
Alcatraz.

I've met some attorneys that I don't regard as being very bright. I don't
think that's ever been the case for anyone I've ever met with a graduate
physics degree.

