Happy Friday! And welcome to the 335th  legal ethics quiz!

I have a friend whose birthday is 3/5. She follows this blog.

. . . .

. . . .

Her heart just stopped as she panicked that today’s intro would be about her.

Nope!!

I toyed with various ideas for today’s intro.  Each was too forced.  And, as we encounter the unofficial end of summer, there’s no need to burden myself or my readers with a half-hearted attempt to concoct a story when one does not readily come to mind.  Moreover, because the weekend is meant to be one of the most relaxing of the year, I’m taking a break from the typical quiz. Instead, I’ve crafted questions very loosely related to both summer and the law.

Enjoy the long weekend.

Onto the quiz!

Rules

  • None.  Open book, open search engine, text-a-friend.
  • Exception:  Question 5.  We try to play that one honestly.
  • Unless stated otherwise, the Vermont Rules of Professional Conduct apply.
  • Please do not post answers as a “comment” to this post.
  • E-mail answers to michael.kennedy@vtcourts.gov
  • Team entries welcome, creative team names even more welcome.
  • I’ll post the answers & Honor Roll on Monday,
  • Please consider sharing the quiz with friends & colleagues.
  • Please consider sharing on social media.  Hashtag it – #fiveforfriday

Question 1

Last summer, I shared the story of my first ever appearance in court.  I was doing my internship at the Office of the Chittenden County State’s Attorney. A defendant had been charged with ­­______ While Intoxicated. The defendant was arrested and charged after Vermont State Police (VSP) stopped the defendant to perform a safety check.

Defense counsel moved to dismiss, arguing that VSP had no basis to stop the defendant. I helped with the response and was allowed to argue it.  My argument was that because a branch of the federal armed services also had jurisdiction over the defendant’s route and could’ve stopped the defendant for any reason or no reason, the defendant had no reasonable expectation that VSP wouldn’t do the same.  The judge disagreed and granted the defense motion.

0-1 before my career officially began! Story of my life.

Anyhow, what summertime activity properly fills-in-the-blank that’s above? That is, the defendant was charged with ________ While Intoxicated.

  • A.           Mowing
  • B.           Hiking
  • C.          Boating
  • D.          Setting Off Fireworks

Question 2

Flashback to the summer of 1977. Imagine that you were a criminal defense lawyer assigned to represent a client who, in real-life, was an alleged serial killer who dominated that summer’s headlines. At one of the crime scenes, police discovered a letter in which your client referred to himself by a particular name. 

Now, flash forward to 1999.  Spike Lee produces and directs a movie that is a fictional account of the effect of your client’s crime spree on a group of friends who lived in the Bronx. The title of the move, which starred Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, and John Leguizamo, is a play on your client’s self-appointed moniker.

Two questions designed to elicit the same answer:

The name of the movie is Summer of _____.

Or, if you’re not a movie buff, here’s how I’ll phrase the question.

Because of your client, many states have since passed laws that prohibit convicted criminals from profiting from their crimes. Such statutes are often referred to as “Son of ___ laws.”

(the same name fills in each blank.)

Question 3

According to the American Bar Association, music copyright law is “unique, costly, difficult, and complex.”  Thus, with the duty of competence in mind, be careful before jumping in.

Imagine you are either competent to practice music copyright law or, consistent with Comment 4 to V.R.Pr.C. 1.1, you accepted a particular representation knowing that the “requisite level of competence could be achieved by reasonable preparation.” The representation you accepted was related to the copyright dispute between Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo.

The dispute involved similarities between Rodrigo’s 2021 hit dejà vu and a song that Swift released two years prior. As far as I know, Bananarama never alleged that Swift’s song infringed on the rights to a hit song that Bananarama released in 1983.

Fill in the blank: the common name of the Taylor Swift and Bananarama songs is __________ Summer.

  • A.           Boys of.
  • B.           Cruel.
  • C.           Hot Girl.
  • D.           I Know What You Did Last.

Question 4

Category: New England Summer Vacation Spots.

The United States Supreme Court takes a summer recess. Last month, the Supreme Court Historical Society posted Still at Work: How the Justices Spend Their Summer Months. The post includes this anecdote:

  • “Justice William J. Brennan would drive to _______ in the summer, and he had to book a car ferry a year in advance. He never missed those ferry rides, but there were occasional Terms of the Court in the 1970s when he missed the last couple of days of issuing the last opinions of the year from the bench.  His clerks reviewed and summarized the cert petitions in DC until Brennan returned on Labor Day, sending Court business to _______ for Brennan to work on.”

Name the New England summer vacation spot. (it’s the same for each blank)

Question 5

The answer has nothing to do with summer. Rather, this is a standard Question 5.

Justice Jackson recently made headlines for a dissent in which she charged a majority of the United States Supreme Court with having played a particular game. The game is from a comic strip and is named for one of the comic strip’s two main characters.

Last November, I dedicated the intro to a Friday quiz to the comic strip. I noted that Younger Me often wanted to be one of the characters. I also noted that my mom probably empathized/sympathized with the character’s mom. Then, I shared my single favorite strip from the entire series. Here’s the dialogue:

  • Title Character 1:  I saw a sign on restaurant door that said, “no shoes, no shirt, no service.”
  • Title Character 1: But it didn’t say anything about PANTS! If I went in wearing shoes and a shirt but no pants, they’d have to serve me!
  • Title Character 2:  They’d probably serve you with a court summons.
  • Title Character 1: (while removing his pants) C’mon. Let’s see if mom will take us out for dinner.

Returning to Justice Jackson’s reference to a game from the comic strip, the game’s only permanent rule is that players can never play it the same way twice.

What’s the name of the comic strip?

Bonus: what’s the name of the game?