Memorizing the Constitution Forum

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nmoor1501

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Memorizing the Constitution

Post by nmoor1501 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:09 pm

How helpful do you think it would be to memorize the text of the constitution for Con Law I? My professor seems to enjoy quoting by including "Art. III, Section 2, Clause 4". For the test, would being able to directly and accurately cite the constitution be valuable?

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GATORTIM

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by GATORTIM » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:11 pm

you definitely should

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reasonable_man

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by reasonable_man » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:12 pm

nmoor1501 wrote:How helpful do you think it would be to memorize the text of the constitution for Con Law I? My professor seems to enjoy quoting by including "Art. III, Section 2, Clause 4". For the test, would being able to directly and accurately cite the constitution be valuable?
Know it line by line or don't show up for the test.

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patrickd139

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by patrickd139 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:15 pm

reasonable_man wrote:
nmoor1501 wrote:How helpful do you think it would be to memorize the text of the constitution for Con Law I? My professor seems to enjoy quoting by including "Art. III, Section 2, Clause 4". For the test, would being able to directly and accurately cite the constitution be valuable?
Know it line by line or don't show up for the test.
This. You might want to come up with a more relevant adjective than 'helpful.' Like, 'necessary' or 'requisite.'

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whuts4lunch

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by whuts4lunch » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:24 pm

would it be a bad idea to memorize the constitution as an 0L?

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nealric

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by nealric » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:26 pm

Roflcopter. You guys are cruel.

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pany1985

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by pany1985 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:27 pm

Wait, there are people entering law school who haven't already memorized the Constitution?

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nmoor1501

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by nmoor1501 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:30 pm

Why is there no straight answer out of anyone around here? Guess everyone wants to act like a law school professor.

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Cleareyes

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by Cleareyes » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:30 pm

whuts4lunch wrote:would it be a bad idea to memorize the constitution as an 0L?
Yes. Because this implies that you didn't memorize it as a -1L

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pany1985

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by pany1985 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:34 pm

I guess nobody told them that the ConLaw final at every law school in America is to reproduce the Constitution from memory, including all the parts that aren't actually written in the Constitution

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GATORTIM

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by GATORTIM » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:36 pm

I'm actually surprised they still keep a written version of the Constitution around...I memorized it when I was 2, taught by my great grandfather who also had memorized it...

sckon

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by sckon » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:36 pm

nmoor1501 wrote:How helpful do you think it would be to memorize the text of the constitution for Con Law I? My professor seems to enjoy quoting by including "Art. III, Section 2, Clause 4". For the test, would being able to directly and accurately cite the constitution be valuable?
The fact that you are asking this now means you are eons behind.

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nmoor1501

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by nmoor1501 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:38 pm

sckon wrote:
nmoor1501 wrote:How helpful do you think it would be to memorize the text of the constitution for Con Law I? My professor seems to enjoy quoting by including "Art. III, Section 2, Clause 4". For the test, would being able to directly and accurately cite the constitution be valuable?
The fact that you are asking this now means you are eons behind.
How so?

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XxSpyKEx

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by XxSpyKEx » Mon Feb 01, 2010 6:53 pm

I think the better question would be whether you need to read the constitution at all for Con Law. Hint: it's the same answer as the one to your original question.

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TTH

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by TTH » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:07 pm

I'm seriously thinking about memorizing the Constitution for French 102. Should I also do the Articles of Confederation?

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XxSpyKEx

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by XxSpyKEx » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:13 pm

TipTravHoot wrote:I'm seriously thinking about memorizing the Constitution for French 102. Should I also do the Articles of Confederation?
Some girl in my con law class last semester memorized the articles of confederation. She started asking questions to clarify certain sections during the review session and the prof pretty much just nicely called her an idiot and told her that wasn't going to be on the exam.

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by sckon » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:14 pm

TipTravHoot wrote:I'm seriously thinking about memorizing the Constitution for French 102. Should I also do the Articles of Confederation?

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reasonable_man

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by reasonable_man » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:20 pm

XxSpyKEx wrote:I think the better question would be whether you need to read the constitution at all for Con Law. Hint: it's the same answer as the one to your original question.
Agree.

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by BobSacamano » Mon Feb 01, 2010 7:48 pm

reasonable_man wrote:
XxSpyKEx wrote:I think the better question would be whether you need to read the constitution at all for Con Law. Hint: it's the same answer as the one to your original question.
Agree.
Just wondering, why do you guys feel this way?

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apper123

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by apper123 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 8:50 pm

If you don't have the constitution of the US and every country in the EU (including both oral and written constitutions) memorized by 2 years prior to your 0L year (note, not 1L year, 0L year) then don't even consider lawl school.

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by ToTransferOrNot » Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:30 pm

XxSpyKEx wrote:I think the better question would be whether you need to read the constitution at all for [strike]Con Law[/strike] any reason in your legal career. Hint: it's the same answer as the one to your original question.
FTFY

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pany1985

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by pany1985 » Mon Feb 01, 2010 9:40 pm

If you ever hope to run for president, you'll need to have a pocket copy

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Also if you ever want to be on the Daily Show

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Also if you want to have a mysteriously hot wife

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macattaq

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by macattaq » Mon Feb 01, 2010 10:39 pm

Can't be bad to have it memorized. Plus, if someone misquotes it, you can smack them down. But for the test specifically, I'd say it won't hurt, and will probably help you move through the test faster.

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mac.empress

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by mac.empress » Tue Feb 02, 2010 12:22 am

Can't even begin to get Cs if you don't know the Constitution of at least 3 countries. For comparative purposes, of course.

Come off the internet and go study now!

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Nazrix

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Re: Memorizing the Constitution

Post by Nazrix » Tue Feb 02, 2010 3:18 am

nmoor1501 wrote:How helpful do you think it would be to memorize the text of the constitution for Con Law I? My professor seems to enjoy quoting by including "Art. III, Section 2, Clause 4". For the test, would being able to directly and accurately cite the constitution be valuable?

Our exam had a short MC section closed book (for a top school this was like the only time this happened) and some of the questions were literally "Article I, Sec X, Clause Y" is: A.) , B.), etc., and the MC answers had different spelling/punctuation, but literally almost the same wording, some answers turned on knowing whether "judge" or "people" was capitalized or not.

If it can happen here, i could imagine a prof trying to make their point by forcing you to memorize the precise words of certain things, especially when it matters....especially in cases of "the privileges AND immunity" clause vs. the "privileges OR immunuties" clause...but also in dumb cases where punctuations/commas could matter to some judges... but I doubt you can memorize the entire thing, just memorize the parts you're supposed to. like the entire BoR.

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