Visit to the Cambridge , England Summer Program

As I write this, I am a bit jet-lagged but incredibly excited by my visit to Cumberland's summer program at Sidney Sussex College at Cambridge University in Cambridge, England. First, the facilities are first rate. Second, the substantive program is outstanding. I am convinced it is one of the finest summer programs of any law school in the country. Professor Bo Cole deserves a tremendous amount of credit for all the effort he has put into making the program such a success. 30 students are being exposed to important international law issues including 4 Brazilian students who are participating in Cumberland's Master of Comparative Law program

One of the highlights of the trip was a visit to London with the faculty and students to see the Royal Courts of Justice and Parliament. This visit is a scheduled part of the program. I had the opportunity to observe an argument in one of the courts of appeal on a sentencing issue. England has developed something akin to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The basic argument was that the sentence was too harsh. The argument exposed me to the real way the English have with words. The essence of the barrister's argument was that his client was a scum bag and deserved a tough sentence but not as tough as the sentence the judge gave him. His words, however, were much more polished than that. He told the court "Your honors, my client is a bit cheeky and deserves a sentence that is robust but not this robust."

Adrian Jenkala, the British Barrister who teaches in our program, arranged for us to visit and lunch at the Grand Hall of the Middle Temple Inn of Court which is the Inn of Court to which he belongs. The Hall was magnificent and I learned a tremendous amount about the Inn of Court system.

Another highlight of the program was an address to our students by Loreta Raulinaityte, a graduate of the Cumberland class of 1998. Loreta, who is a Lithuania citizen , is a high ranking official in the European Union. She was able to update our students on the EU which is now a powerful force in Europe.

Following our visit to London, I spent time with the judges in the Cambridge County Court. Judge James Taylor allowed me to sit in with him on some small claims court cases. I was very impressed with the English system for handling pro se cases. We definitely have some things to learn from their system.

I want to close with a personal note. On the flight back, I watched "The Bucket List" which is a movie about two old men facing death starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. There was a poignant series of lines in the movie which really stuck with me. Morgan Freeman is talking to Jack Nicholson about how you measure success in your life and he related a story about an Egyptian's entry into heaven. According to lore, the Egyptian Gods asked two questions to people seeking to enter heaven. In order to be admitted, you had to answer both questions affirmatively. The first question was "Have you had joy in your life". The second question is "Have you given joy to the lives of others".

Have a great week.