Osler's Razor

I'm used to having a lot to do, but this Spring semester is going to be a little crazy. Here is what I have going on:

1) Teaching Criminal Law

In ten years at Baylor, I never got the chance to teach a first-year lecture class (Brian Serr ably handled that), but now I am getting my shot at it. I'll have about 90 eager St. Thomasites ready to learn all about homicide and conspiracy.

2) Teaching Criminal Practice

This is just about my favorite class to teach, and the the first one I ever taught. It's an intense walk-through of the actual tasks a criminal lawyer performs. I've had the chance to teach many amazing people in this class, from David Moore in 2000 to Rita Berg last year at St. Thomas.

3) Commutation clinic

Last fall I started the first federal commutation clinic in the country, and it is continuing into the Spring. I've got a great bunch of students, and their work thus far has been pretty interesting.

4) The Trial of Christ

We're really pushing this project into overdrive this Spring. There is now a home page for that project, and here is part of our schedule:

January 15—Trial of Christ, Fourth Presbyterian, Chicago, 12:30 pm.
February 7—Trial of Christ, Episcopal Divinity School/Harvard, 7 pm.
February 24—Osler/Bishop Death Penalty presentation, Belmont University, Nashville
February 25—Osler/Bishop presentation to Tennesseans for Alternatives to the Death Penalty conference, Nashville
February 26—Osler/Bishop presentation at St. Henry’s Catholic Church, Nashville
February 27—Trial of Christ, Carson-Newman College, Jeffersonville, TN
March 18—Trial of Christ, St. Henry’s Catholic Church, Nashville
April 5 (Maundy Thursday)—Trial of Christ, Crossings Community Church, Oklahoma City, OK

4b) Other Speaking gigs

Other than the Trial of Christ, I also have a lot of speaking to do at various conferences and such. For example, in the third week of January (our first week of classes) I have four interesting events: On Wedenesday the 18th, I'll be speaking at St. Mary's Episcopal Church in St. Paul, on Thursday the 19th I will be presenting here at St. Thomas with Andrew Densemo, on Friday the 20th I am on a panel at the annual PFLAG conference, and on Sunday the 22nd Susan Stabile and I will quarrel over creedalism in front of the confused parishoners of Christ Episcopal Church in Woodbury, Minnesota.

5) Symposium

On April 20, we are hosting a symposium on commutation issues, with some great guests, and I am working to coordinate that.

5b) RALS conference

I'm currently the head of the association of Religiously Affiliated Law Schools, and we have our big bi-annual conference this May at Touro Law School. Lots of planning to do for that.

6) TYLA Team

I'm coaching a mock trial team, and I'm still amazed at the talent I am finding at St. Thomas. These guys are going to be good.

7) Academic writing

I've got one article coming out (on narcotics interdiction strategies), another being placed, and am finishing up a third (suggesting a radical revision of the sentencing guidelines).

8) Other writing

I don't think I'm going to slow down much on the short-form writing-- I finished two op-ed this week, one for CNN and the other for the St. Thomas alumni magazine.

9) Blogging

Oh, yeah. I'll still be here. Every day.