Page 34 - Tacoma-Pierce County Lawyer Magazine - September October 2018

"Curiosity is one of the permanent and certain characteristics of a vigorous intellect."
Johnson: Rambler #103 (March 12, 1751)
"Among the lower classes of mankind there will be found very little desire of any other knowledge than what may contribute immediately to the relief of some pressing uneasiness, or the attainment of some near advantage."
Johnson: Rambler #118 (May 4, 1751)
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER EDITORIAL
CURIOSITY TAKES MANY PATHS
All too o en we confuse verbal skills with intellect. One of the books I o en refer to is the “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. It is in its h edition now. e rst one I bought as a lawyer was the third edition. With each version the list of mental illness grows, but people seem to me much as they were when I started out thirty years ago.
It is a helpful reference for criminal, family and personal injury work. e DSM 5 diagnosis is primarily based on behavior.
e checklist of behaviors associated with a mental illness
can make for interesting cross examination of a psychologist whose diagnosis does not match up with the person’s reported behavior. I have some familiarity with the book but am careful to not confuse my occasional ability to pronounce a word correctly with a working knowledge of psychology. Another book I refer to from time to time is “Techniques of Crime Scene Investigation,” by Barry A.J. Fisher and David Fisher. It is now in its eight edition. It is useful not only for the information it imparts but also as a guide to more in-depth books on particular topics such as blood splatter and DNA. Books are like water buoys, they can point you in the right direction but o en do not tell what possible cross currents and hazards lie underneath. A crime technician demonstrated this to me one day in open court by demolishing a line of questions I had created and developed from my various source books.
e Math on Trial CLE that Nigel Malden presented was a well attended CLE put on by the Friends of the Library. A second Math on Trial CLE will be scheduled for some time
in November. is one hour CLE will be at the County City Building. e donation requested is only een dollars. Sandwiches and cookies will be provided and there will be a drawing for the book “Math on Trial”. You must be present to win. e book and the CLE present examples of smart lawyers armed with a small amount of knowledge making major mistakes.
Alex Trebek suggested once that writers, teachers and lawyers as a group did well on Jeopardy because they shared the common trait of curiosity. Many of the lawyers I know are always learning new things, whether it be a deeper knowledge about their particular eld of interest, or in other matters.
is could perhaps be a Jeopardy question - is Roman building material is considered by many the most durable of building materials. e answer/question is “What is concrete,” if that were a Jeopardy question. e principles of underwater construction were well known to Roman builders.
Roman concrete is far more durable than modern concrete. Modern concrete when exposed to saltwater deteriorates within decades, Roman concrete does not. I remembered that as I
was on my way to Home Depot to buy some concrete to put
in a mailbox post. I compared that to my absolutely useless knowledge about modern concrete. I also realized that I would have far greater problems than soggy mail if saltwater ever reached my mailbox, none of which I could solve. Fortunately my neighbor, whose wife was tired of looking at my old mailbox, does know a thing or two about concrete.
One of the most common complaints of pro see litigants is
that they are not respected by the courts. Lawyers, on the
other hand, who are opposed by a person representing him or herself o en complain that judges grant continuances to a pro se that would never be granted to a lawyer. When I speak to people representing themselves I o en ask them what they do for a trade. Many are in the building trades. I tell them of my limited skills and repeated trips to hardware stores to complete a simple project. My mailbox installation took ve trips. 1. Purchase of the box and post, bracket, and super-quick-drying cement. 2. Return of the bracket because the post came with one. 3. Return of the super-quick-drying cement because its ten second drying time was just unreasonable. 4. Purchase of some two hour drying cement. 5. Purchase of additional cement because I hadn’t bought enough. 6. Return of the bag I did not use. I wish I could say this was unusual, but it was not. My aim
34 PIERCE COUNTY LAWYER | September/October 2018