C'Maughan! Are You Kidding?!

Well, it has certainly has been awhile since my last post. There's a little bit to catch up on.

School ended back in May. I was pretty worried about the finals this time around. Some of the classes this semester were harder than last semester and there were more finals. After my Civil Procedure final I thought for sure that I had failed for sure. I never had more anxiety over a grade than for that class. However, it ended up being pretty good. I pulled an A- in the class. I was shocked.

It's funny how finals works for me. In both semesters so far, my best grades have come from the classes I thought I did the worst in and my lowest grades have come from the classes I thought I nailed. Go figure. Anyway, this semester ended up being really good for me. Supposedly the second semester GPA's typically drop for everyone. However, my GPA went up from last semester! I'm hoping this will increase my rank a spot or two. At the very least, I'm hoping to maintain a top-ten spot. I'm confident that will happen, though. The ranks are supposed to be released this week, so we'll see.

After school got out, the three of us loaded up a trailer (with the help of my dad, Dennis (my brother-in-law, and Braxden (my nephew) and moved back to Tremonton for the summer. It has been nice to be home and be around the family again.

The main reason for moving back is because I have an externship here with the Box Elder County Attorney. I have been working there for about a month now and it has been AWESOME! I've been able to accompany them to drug court, district court, justice court, and juvenile court. They've had me doing some research, writing jury instructions, and writing summary review of pending cases on appeal.

Perhaps the coolest part of theexternship so far is being able to attend and help out with a murder trial. Let me give the background:

26 years ago, May 26, 1984, there was a 21-year-old kid, Brad Perry, that was working the night shift at a gas station in Perry, UT. He had recently returned from his mission and was engaged to be married. Two guys (possibly more) entered the store and began to argue with him about $10 change. It got heated, so he picked up the phone to call the police. One of

the guys, Glen Griffin, grabbed the phone out of his hand and whacked him across the head. The othe

r guy, Wade Maughan, grabbed his feet. Glen then

grabbed a screwdriver off of the counter and proceeded to stab him a few times. They dragged him to the back storage room and bound his hands with an electrical cord. Just then, a couple of USU college students pulled up to get gas. Glen quickly ran outside and offered to pump their gas (even though it was a self-service station). After he got done doing this, one of the students started to walk toward the store and

Glen hurried and cut him off. The student stated he needed to buy some cigarettes, and Glen offered to go inside and get them for him. The student handed him a $5 bill and Glen went in the store. He returned with the cigarettes and four $1 bills which he handed to the student. The two students were pretty suspicious by this time and took

the money and hurried and left. As they did so, they noticed some fresh blood on the bill. They placed the bill on the dash and drove quickly to find a pay phone where they called the police. When police arrived they found the gruesome scene. Brad Perry laid in a pool of blood in the back room with his hands bound and stabbed multiple times. Even worse, someone had taken a metal soda container and smashed his head with it. Unfortunately, at that time, they couldn't figure out who had done it. So the case laid unsolved for years...until 2005.

The police decided to run a DNA test on the bloody dollar bill (DNA technology was not available at the time of the murder). They discovered it belonged to Glen Griffin, so they arrested him, tried him, and ultimately convicted him to life in prison without parole. They then discovered, through a series of contacts, that Wade Maughan was likely involved that night. So they tracked him down, interviewed him, and he confessed. They charged him with murder and the case proceeded to trial. That is the trial I got to sit in on.

After 2 1/2 weeks, the trial was left to the jury to decide Wade's fate. Over this period of time I got to become very good friends with the family of Brad Perry. Also, I got to be involved in the trial strategy of the prosecution. It was pretty interesting to be involved in everything, instead of being just a passive observer. Unfortunately, the judge read the jury's verdict - NOT GUILTY. They decided that Wade's confession was coerced and therefore he was not guilty. I'll spare you the details, but I think they probably got it wrong. There's no question that the confession was a little unusual, but I still think there was enough to convict him. But I guess that's how the judicial system works. The prosecution couldn't prove it beyond a reasonable doubt. In any case, it was really cool to be a part of that.

My mom is the County Attorney's secretary so I get to work with her. That's pretty neat. It has been really fun to be around all these attorney's and schmooze with the judges. I look forward to going to work everyday.

As for Heidi, she is back working two days a week for Dr. Murdock again. It will be nice to get a little extra cash. Trey has LOVED being in Tremonton around the family again. He is talking A LOT now and is getting cuter everyday.

Well, I'll wrap up now and post again when I have more to say. Hopefully soon!

March Madness

Spring is in the air, school is winding down, and this can only mean one thing: NCAA basketball is well underway and the NBA playoffs are just around the corner! It is officially my absolute FAVORITE time of the year! In my best Dick Vitale voice: "You gotta love it, baby!

My bracket is basically busted (thanks Kansas and Georgetown *sigh*). I took a big gamble on St. Mary's going all the way to the Final Four and I'm hoping they come through for me! It could mean big money! We entered a pool with a bunch of people in my class. So, if the stars align, I could be back in business!

I'll quit talking about basketball, but first let me just remind everyone to cross your fingers for the Jazz, too! They've played great since the start of the year and could make some noise in the playoffs if they get their stuff together. Here's hoping Utah can show they are a contender!

Well, despite a whole lot of basketball watching (Heidi is thrilled about that), believe it or not, I am still in law school. Things are still going well. I can't believe the end of my first year is just six weeks away. I'm well over half way there. It seems like it just started, but sure enough, here we are. That means that I will be applying for a transfer soon too. I might end up only applying to BYU, however. I've been looking into the possibility of applying to BYU, Utah, and UNLV, but the last two don't seem that feasible.

For IN-STATE tuition at Utah it costs $17,950 (before books). If I can get residency here at the University of Wyoming it would only be $9,966. However, the possibility of obtaining residency is still unclear. Some say it is near impossible, others say it is almost guaranteed if you do it right. UNLV is close to $30,000 out of state and there's no way to get an out-of-state tuition waiver. BYU is only $10,280 for LDS students. I will probably still apply at the U and BYU, and just see what happens, if/when it happens. I'm happy here in Wyoming (the school, not the state or city...just so we're clear). We'll just roll with it, I guess.

Right before Spring Break I took a multiple choice Torts exam. Not as easy as I thought it would be! I think it took a lot of people by surprise. The average score was a 67%, the high was 87%, and the low was 47%. I was right in the middle, so I'm not too worried about it. He grades on a curve anyway, so realistically I got like a B (and it is only worth 25% of my overall grade). Plus, Torts never has been my strong subject. So I'll take a B.

In other somewhat-related law school news, a few weeks ago Jared and I went and watched the Wyoming legislature in action over in Cheyenne. It was pretty cool! I've never done that before. He used to be a reporter at the Capitol so he know everyone there. We saw the governor as we were walking by and he invited us in to sit down and chat with him. We also got to go visit with a couple of the state legislators. Kinda cool to see that stuff in action.

The picture to the right is a view from the main floor. The whole building was beautiful, and the woodwork was amazing. There is kind of a cool story about the stairs. The architect who did all the wood work was a very religious guy and made some statement that "Only God's creations are perfect." He then took one of the balusters holding up the banisters on the stairs and turned it upside down so it would be imperfect. Jared pointed out the baluster that was upside down to me. I would have never noticed it, but now that I know it is there, that story is pretty cool.

Anyway, in other news, Heidi and Trey are still doing great! We were able to come back to Utah last week for Spring Break. It was so fun to spend a whole week with them not doing anything in particular. We actually had the opportunity to fly in an airplane with my old boss, Tom Greer (owner of Greer's hardware). He took us up in his private airplane and took us over to the spiral jetty and over Tremonton. We got to the runway and Tom started turning up the engine, preparing for take off. All of a sudden we heard Trey, over the headset, say, "One, two, three!" Hilarious. He did pretty good once we were up in air, except at one point when he started getting a little restless and started throwing a fit. I had Tom dive the airplane down a little bit (enough to make your stomach drop -- Heidi screamed!). Trey didn't make a peep after that! Tom even let me fly the plane for a little while! The whole experience was pretty cool.

As for Heidi, she's been doing amazing at trying to lose weight. She's stayed consistent and determined. I haven't got an update on how many more pounds she's lost, but I'm sure it's some! I know it is hard to stay motivated for this kind of thing (I couldn't do it!), so I've been so impressed with her.

Well, I think that is all I can think of, for now. I guess I'll sign off and we'll see what happens in the coming weeks!

Hearts Turn To Clovers

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted. I guess that's why Teri mentioned that I haven't posted in awhile. Ooops! A lot has happened this past month, too. Let's see...

I gave my oral argument a couple weeeks ago. We were given a case from Colorado about a teacher that left ten days before the school year started (in violation of her employment contract) and therefore had her final paycheck withheld. Me and another student each had to prepare a twleve minute argument and get up in front of the judge (my teacher - a district court clerk) and present it. The difficult part about it is that the judge interrupts your presentation and asks questions (which may or may not pertain to what you're talking about). The trick is to answer the question without losing your flow. It seemed to pose some problems for others in the class that went before me. We had to present our arguments in the district courtroom, which added to the apprehension. I was nervous (who wouldn't be) but had done multiple practice arguments with Jared beforehand. Fortunately, when I went in there and gave my argument, I delivered it just how I had practiced. It felt so comfortable and natural! While I was standing up at the podium delivering my argument, I realized that I am doing exactly what I should be doing. It was a cool feeling. I can't wait to do it for real now.

A couple days later we got our grades back. I got 26/30 (one of the highest in the class). I could have got higher but I didn't stop speaking on time (oops!). In the days following, everyone in the class got to meet with the professor to discuss how we did. When I went in to talk to him he asked if I had much public speaking experience. I told him that I had nothing formal. He then told me, "You have what the rest of us wish we had. It just came natural to you. That was the best oral argument I've seen in the last two or three years." I thought that was pretty nice of him to say. A further pat on the back came from Britney. The other day she pulled me aside and told me that when she went in for her meeting with the teacher, he told her that I was "a natural" and "that is the standard everyone should be trying to meet." As if that wasn't enough, another student in my class (actually, it was the lady I argued against) said that my teacher also told her I was a "natural." So, anyway that's enough stroking my ego for now. Oh, wait. Not quite yet...

So, here's another cool bit of information. The law school had a competition to design the new online library catalog logo. As many of you know, I have had some experience in creating logos for other people and business, so I decided to submit something. I found out the other day that my logo had WON! Here's the link: http://uwadmnweb.uwyo.edu/LawLib/logocontest.asp. I've actually changed the colors for logo, so here's the updated one:

The logo will ultimately end up on the online catalog website, which is here: http://uwcatalog.uwyo.edu/search~S2 I did get a prize for winning, but it wasn't much. A cool bag, popcorn, popcorn bowls, a water bottle, and two DVD's (A Civil Action and Paperchase). So anyway, that's kinda cool too.

As for basketball, we lost our first two games but won our third one. We went to the playoffs and won the next two games (one by nearly 30 points). Our last game was the most horrifically refereed game I've even been in. But I'll save my complaining. I am pleased with how far we did get. We were one game away from the championship.

But enough about that, let me give an update on the two people more important than me!

Heidi has been working like crazy to reach her weight loss goal. I've never seen her so determined! She's been averaging a loss of two pounds per week! Incredible. She's been working so hard I'm really proud of her. She's lost almost ten pounds so far! A couple weeks ago we got to travel home for Heidi's cousin's wedding. While there we got to see her uncle Jason and Aunt Teri. They looked incredible! Lots of hardwork and discipline helped them shed some pounds and it totally motivated Heidi. So thanks to those two for not only being good motivators, but for being good people altogether!

Heidi has also been keeping up with her Young Women's calling and it is really bringing her out of her shell. She's given a couple of lessons so far (something I never thought I'd see) and has done an incredible job! She's been given multiple compliments, so I know she's done good and I'm proud of her.

As for Trey Bug... He is talking A LOT more now! He's starting to put sentences together now. Today I came home for lunch and as I was getting ready to leave Trey was in his high chair. He waved his little hand at me and said, "Bye dad-dy. Love you." Cute kid! Heidi has taught him to count to five and his vocabulary is expanding every day.

His hair was starting to get long again, so Heidi and I decided to take matters into our hands. I busted out the clippers and went to work. I thought he'd be scared, but surprisingly, he didn't mind. In fact, he giggled when I tried to clip the back of his neck. It looks good again!

Well, I guess that's all I can think of to write for now. It's half way through the semester already (crazy, right?). Things are going to be getting crazy from here on out so I should have more to write about. The question is, will I take the time to do it? I guess we'll see...

Nine

Well, I have some good news to report from the land of Frostbite. We received our class rankings last week and I'm happy to say that I am ranked #9 out of 83. I was pleased. They ask the top ten students to write for Law Review, which is a VERY prestigious thing if you get published (in fact, some court decisions have cited Law Review articles!). I'd like to do it, but I don't think I'll be able to. My goal is to transfer after this year, and if that ends up happening (keep your fingers crossed) then I don't want to devote a bunch of time to writing an article only to not see it through. So I don't think I will.

Anyway, the semester is starting off pretty good. I enjoy all my classes, more or less, and I think I have a better grasp on how to study and prepare now. The schedule is a lot more kind to me as well. No more 8:00 classes (except Tuesdays) and the work load toward the end of the week gets significantly lighter. So no complaints there. I won't get another vacation until spring break in March, but I guess I'll live.

I celebrated my birthday on Sunday! Big 27. Weird. I spent it the best way I could imagine - with Heidi and Trey. We went to Fort Collins on Saturday and shopped for some new slippers for Trey, to no avail (however, Heidi found him some "Melmo" slippers right here at KMart in Laramie). We went to the mall and just let Trey run around for an hour, which he LOVED! After that, we went and ate at Coccina's Italian Grill. It was pretty good! Sunday, we just did our usual and relaxed all day. Not a bad birthday at all. Thanks to all of you who posted a birthday greeting...and shame on all of you who didn't! I kid. If anyone is guilty of that, it's me!

Last Thursday we hung out with Jared (my best law school buddy), Ellen (his wife), Tony (my other good law school buddy), and Sam (yet another law school buddy). We all went over to Jared's house and had pizza. It was pretty fun and the conversation never died. Of course, Heidi and I were mostly distracted from preventing Trey from breaking the decorations! This Friday we invited Josh and Miri (from our ward - he's a 2L) to come over and eat pizza and play Wii. So that should be fun too.

I was invited to participate in an intramural basketball team with a few guys in my class and a few of my professors. Most of the guys are NOT good, but it's all for fun anyway, right? We had a game last Wednesday and we lost by 10. However, I had 17 points, so I can't complain too much. The refs sucked, but what's new? I'll spare you the details. One of the professors who is playing is Prof. Wilson who is from Utah, went to the University of Utah, is a member of the church, and served a mission. I'm hoping to get in good with him so he'll write me a letter of recommendation when I apply to transfer.

As for Trey and Heidi, they are doing well! Heidi is perfect just the way she is but apparently she disagrees with me so she's been working out really hard. I don't know if she wanted me to mention this, but she has lost three pounds in two weeks! I'm really proud of her and know she can reach her goal (whatever that goal is?)! I just want her to be happy!

Trey is the funniest, cutest little kid I could have ever hoped to have as my son. He has figured out what toenail clippers are for and Heidi caught him trying them out! He's become a big fan of Elmo and loves to play with his two stuffed Elmos. Here's one last funny story about him. The other day I came home from school and picked him up to hold him. In the meantime, I was really mad about our neighbors (I can't remember what it was now...it could have been a NUMBER of things...**sigh**). I was talking to Heidi and was venting to her. As I was yelling and complaining about them, Trey grabbed my cheeks and turned my head to him so I would make eye contact and then he started yelling at me! He was trying to get me to settle down! As soon as I quit yelling, he stopped holding my cheeks and gave me a big cheesy smile. Kids sure know how to correct their parents, don't they! What a kid.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. We're just counting down the days until we're outta here! At least the weather hasn't been that bad lately! Knock on wood. Till next time...

Officially a 11/2L Law Student -- Hello, 2010!

Ahh...the three week break was great. Now it's back to work.

After two rigorous weeks of law school finals last month, Heidi, Trey, and I headed to Utah for an extended break. It was great to get back to the state. There is definitely a different feel. Utah is so much cleaner, happier, and aesthetically appealing. We got to spend ample time with family this year. It was nice.

It was fun to see Trey experience Christmas this year. He had plenty of toys and clothes from St. Nick to keep him happy. In fact, he was enthralled with his Mr. Potato Head. Go figure that that would be the golden nugget of Christmas.

Trey aged about four years upon receiving his first hair cut! He was pretty unsure about it and he wiggled a lot, but I thought he cooperated surprisingly well. The curly hair in the back was cute, but out of control. It was time. I'm glad we did it too, because he looks even cuter now!

Another cool thing about our trip, is I got to meet the attorney's that I'll be interning for this summer at the Box Elder County Attorney's office. They were all upbeat and interesting guys. I can't wait to be apart of that office and contribute. Should be fun and interesting!

Our time in Utah, not surprisingly, flew by and before we knew it, it was time to go home. I thought it would be weird to be back in town and our apartment, but just as Heidi predicted, it was like we never left. We arrived on Sunday, the day before school started.

On Monday I returned to school to reconvene with my old classmates. Again, not much was different. It was back to business as usual. I'm excited for my classes this semester. I have all new teachers (except one) and I got rid of a particular professor I couldn't stand. So all in all, I was pretty stoked. Here's a list of this semester's classes:

• Civil Procedure
• Torts II
• Constitutional Law
• Contracts II
• Property II
• Appellate Advocacy

I'm hoping to have a strong semester and finish at the top of my class so I can transfer back to Utah! I finished far better than I expected last semester. I thought it would be a disaster. I probably shouldn't reveal the exact details of my grades online, but suffice to say I think it might be enough to put me in the top ten. I was talking with a 2L student who remarked that my GPA was above average and in his class would have easily put me in the top ten. I hope he's right. So now I just have to keep up the pace and dedication and hopefully we'll be home in no time.

Well, it was good to see all of our family and friends on our trip and we were saddened to leave you all behind. We are especially grateful and forever indebted to both of our parents. They have done so much to watch out for our well-being and success and we can't thank them enough. We appreciate them all for putting up with us over the break. Well, I guess I better wrap this up and finish up some things for class tomorrow.

Ciao.