From the Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
A blog by Jena Jolissaint, 2L
Rant, Rave, Release
For this, my final blog of the year and thus my last word (in semi-public, at least) on the 2011 Legislative Session under the gold dome, it makes sense to do a rundown of the highs, lows, and general hilarity that is how bills get made (or, you know, don’t) in Georgia. I’ve never been one of those people to thrive on the suffering of others. For instance, I didn’t get a kick out of couples fighting when I was single, or get excited when my classmates have technical difficulties during a particularly brutal final exam. But, somehow, when there is an epic battle for dominance within the Republican party it just tickles me to no end. The debate surrounding Senate Bill 36 gave me just the lift I needed after a series of bills so boring and uncontroversial I would have surely dozed off had it not been for the fact that the Speaker kept fussing at everyone for chattering and threatening to use the gavel.
SB 36 creates a state digital database for prescription drugs, which seems pretty basic. However, the debate raged on for almost two hours, which just goes to show you what can happen when a party’s investment in resisting the nanny state clashes with their desire to criminalize substance abuse problems as much as humanly possible. I thought it was interesting that the sponsor for this bill (1) told stories from his home district that inspired the bill (about kids who died after drinking while taking oxycotin and xanax recreationally) and (2) made it clear that it was originally a House bill that had been amended by the senate and sent back (because it illustrated the battle between the chambers to own particular bills). It was also funny that he mentioned that doctors don’t have to be afraid of those “crazy trial lawyers” because doctors who do not participate in the database are explicitly not liable for failure to participate. And by funny, I mean less “ha ha” and more “totally irrational,” since the triumphant rise of SB 210 shows us that tort reform is a relative term, and doesn’t apply when the goal is to make it even more difficult for women in Georgia to access the abortion to which they have a right under the Constitution. But I digress.
From the Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
A blog by Jena Jolissaint, 2L
Crossing Over
Wednesday was day 30 of the 2011 legislative session in Georgia, also known as Crossover Day. This day marks the deadline for bills to pass in at least one chamber and be sent to the other in order to live through the 2011 Legislative session, and it was a long one. Several pieces of legislation that have been maligned on these digital pages over the past few month have been banished to the strange depths below the Capital, where they will feed on rodents and taunt the good bills that got sucked down along with them. However, others lived to haunt us during the next 10 days of session.
From the Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
A blog by Jena Jolissaint, 2L
Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Hot Health Care Bills by GSU's very own HLA Students
Here are some highlights from the past couple of weeks at the hill:
HB 47 passed out of committee (boo) but, then again, SB 17 passed out of the Senate and is making its way through the House quicker than that cute animated paper scroll that charmed us all on Schoolhouse Rock. And by “all,” I mean those of us who rejoice when GSU makes those “Best Place for Non-Traditional Students” list.
In other news, steam is coming out of my ears over one of the latest anti-choice bills, ole Bobbie Franklin’s HB 1. Like past bills intended to define personhood as beginning at conception and criminalize abortion, it is unlikely to get very far in its current state given that it (1) includes highly inflammatory language, (2) criminalizes physicians, (3) and only includes an exception for instances in which the physician is trying to save the fetus as well as the mother, i.e. the bill treats the life of the fetus as equal in importance to the life of the mother and would render a physician’s decision to perform an abortion to save a woman’s life equivalent to the crime of murder. There are also no exceptions for rape and incest, which have generally been required by all but the most extreme conservatives in order to push anti-choice legislation forward.
From the Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
A blog by Jena Jolissaint, 2L
The Nanny
With the recent decision in Florida, it would seem like the Hill People would lay off of health care legislation and rest easy knowing that health care reform may never come to Georgia. But the hills have eyes (groan), and in the House those eyes are focused on eroding consumer protections with the (triumphant) return of Matt Ramsey’s attack on minimum mandates.
From the Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
A blog by Jena Grace Jolissaint, 2L
Sausage Fest 2011
No, this blog is not about bromances or porn. Instead, it begins with a little story about my dog, Delia. Before you roll your eyes, this story has a point, one deeply relevant to the subject of my blog this semester, so indulge me.
From the Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
A Blog by Jena Jolissaint, 2L
MEMORANDUM OF NAWWWWWW
To: 1Ls
From: The Desk of Dr. Jolissaint, Student
Date: October 13, 2010
Re: Don’t do everything you’re told.
QUESTION PRESENTED
WHETHER A FIRST-YEAR LAW STUDENT CAN OR EVEN SHOULD TRY AND ACTUALLY TAKE EVERY PIECE OF ADVICE HEAPED UPON HER IN LAW SCHOOL LIKE SO MANY FREE HIGHLIGHTERS AND SLICES OF PAPA JOHN’S PIZZA
BRIEF ANSWER
No way. There is no magical secret to doing well in law school, and anyone who says differently is probably trying to sell you a used Nutshell book. To follow every piece of advice given to you by Professors, 2 & 3Ls and well-meaning legal professionals, you’d need a nasty coke habit, a pathological lack of interest in social interaction, and the abilty to bend space and time to your will.