Is It Wrong To Analyze The Trayvon Martin Shooting?


Is it wrong to analyze the logic of arguments related to the Trayvon Martin shooting?

One commenter thinks so. My response:

In December 2010, I wrote about the logical fallacies surrounding the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. A commenter responded, "There is a point where LSAT logic holds no relevance in this argument..."

Being an LSAT tutor, I believe logic is always relevant, whether it's finding a flaw in an argument, a weakness in it, or a principle underlying it. And, fine, I'll admit that I live and breathe this logic stuff.

So a little part of me died inside when I got a somewhat-similar comment on this week's blog post analyzing the logic surrounding the Trayvon Martin case:


Law School Diaries: Introducing Elle Woods

I'm pleased to introduce LSAT Blog's new law student columnist, "Elle Woods." She's a 1L at the University of Pennsylvania Law School (ranked 7th in this year's U.S. News rankings).

Each week, she'll be writing about her life in law school.

Please give her a warm welcome in the comments, and be sure to leave comments with your ideas and questions for her future columns.

(Read more Law School Diaries.)


Logic and Games

* In fake news, Scalia is unable to name all 9 Supreme Court justices. [The Onion]

* In real news, he compared reading the entire Affordable Care Act to cruel and unusual punishment. [Huffington Post]

* Heart-warming story: a 56-year-old mom goes to law school while fighting breast cancer and attends same university as her son. [Daily Tar Heel]

* Northwestern Law is limiting its tuition to the rate of inflation for next year. The bad news: it's going to be $53,168.

* Law schools with the biggest enrollment increases (despite the decrease in LSATs administered). [US News]

* After recent cheating scandals, new rules will make it harder to cheat on the SAT and ACT. (The LSAT already requires you to submit a photo.) [NYTimes]

* You know the case of the woman who sued McDonald's for giving her hot coffee, but have you heard  about the woman who sued McDonald's for turning her into a hooker? [Above The Law]

* A great critique of the Daily Show's reporting as compared to that of the mainstream media. [The Atlantic]


Deciding Where to Apply to Law School Video

LSAT Blog Deciding Where to Apply to Law School Video
The below 8-minute video gives some great general advice on deciding where to apply to law school. It covers various considerations, including:


LSAT Logic and the Trayvon Martin Shooting

LSAT Blog reader Julie wrote the following LSAT-style analysis of the Trayvon Martin shooting. Please feel free to discuss her analysis, and the Trayvon Martin case itself, in the comments.

If you'd like to write a post for LSAT Blog with your own analysis of the Trayvon Martin shooting or any other real-life situation, please email me. I'd love to feature you!


Logic and Games

* These aren't really LSAT-style questions, but multiple choice questions about law school and lawyers can still be funny. [Boston Globe]

* Law deans and a law professor discuss the ‘Law School Bubble'. [ABA Journal]

* An argument for letting cameras into the Supreme Court. [The Atlantic]

* Prostitution in brothels has been legalized in Ontario, Canada. [National Post]

* Good op-ed on technological innovation and press censorship. [Jurist]

* Apparently, helping online bank thieves find accomplices isn't legal. [Ars Technica]

* Racists may not enjoy the Hunger Games movie. [Jezebel]

* A look at those who *still* refuse to cave in and get smartphones. [NYTimes]



Logic of Real Arguments by Alec Fisher | Excerpt

The following excerpt about analyzing arguments is from Professor Alec Fisher's The Logic of Real Arguments.

Logic and Games

* College senior Jesse has one law school acceptance (and a string of rejections), but still has some solid reflections in this week's column on getting into law school. [Inside Vandy]

* What happens when a 35-year-old man retakes the SAT? (or, what happens when a grown man/woman has to take a standardized test to enter law school?) [Deadspin]

* Law schools that lead to the most and least debt. [U.S News]

* A judge dismissed a lawsuit by law students against New York Law School over employment stats. [ABA JournalAbove The Law]

* The Supreme Court lays out new standards for plea bargains. [Associated Press]

* Is there a constitutionally-protected right to record the police? Or does doing so violate wiretapping laws? [ABA Journal]

* Private businesses compete with federal prisons for contracts. [NYTimes]



LSAT Blog: Media Coverage in NYTimes and Others

Apparently, I wasn't the only one interested in the fact that LSAT tests administered are at a 10-year low.

The New York Times picked up the story the next day, quoted me, and was kind enough to throw in a link to LSAT Blog. The story hit #3 on the most-emailed list. A bunch of other media outlets covered it, too.

Fewest LSATs Administered In Over 10 Years


For updates, see my series of posts on recent trends in law school admissions.

For context, see this article in the New York Times. (It was inspired by this blog post!)

***

The Law School Admission Council just released the number of February 2012 LSAT-takers, and it's low. In fact, fewer students sat for the February 2012 LSAT than for any LSAT administration in over 10 years.

What's more, the number of LSATs administered in this past admission cycle as a whole was the lowest it's been in over 10 years. In the biggest percentage decrease ever, the number of LSATs administered this cycle dropped by over 16%.

This is a major turn of events. The tide is turning, folks.

Logic and Games

* How the screenwriter behind My Cousin Vinny got the idea for the movie. [ABA Journal

* One law school reported their graduates' employment rate to be 80.6% when it's actually 32.9%. Surely a typo. Funny how mistakes like this always tend to be in one's favor.

* Jurors in the Tyler Clementi/Dharun Ravi case say that digital evidence convinced them of Ravi's guilt. [NYTimes]

* Gawker headline commits a correlation-causation fallacy in assuming that because poor reading skills and poor health are correlated, that poor reading skills cause poor health. Perhaps a 3rd variable (low income?) is responsible for both. [Gawker]

* Human fossils hint at a new species. [BBC]