The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • My Wardrobe Is On Notice – 1 Year Later

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    Ruth Carter

    A year ago, I wrote a blog for Unchaotic about my year-long process to clean out my wardrobe.  I tied a piece of yarn around every hanger in my closet.  When I wore a garment, I took off the yarn.  At the end of the year, the initial plan was to get rid of everything that still had a piece of yarn on it.  This plan was based on the idea that if I had not worn something in a year, I’m never going to wear it, so I might as well get rid of it.

    Initially, I was going to wait until the end of the year before I threw anything out, but as I started putting yarn on my hangers, I saw items that I knew I had not worn in a while and was never going to wear again so by the end of setting up my closet, I had at least 10 items that were already eliminated from my wardrobe.  Some of it went to charity and the rest went in the trash.  I did another similar wardrobe purge in June when I evaluated what I hadn’t worn yet.

    On New Year’s Day, I pulled everything out of my closet that still had a piece of yarn on it. There were about 30 things.  I spent a few hours trying each garment on, remembering why I bought it in the first place, and asking why I hadn’t worn it during the last year.

    There were two items that I did not wear in the last year that are wardrobe staples – my white oxford shirt and my black pullover sweater.  These are the type of thing that everyone should have in their wardrobe, and the fact that I did not wear them does mean that they do not have value in my wardrobe.  They could stay.

    I also realized that owning wrinkle resistant shirts has made me spoiled and so I did not take the time to iron my other shirts, and thus I did not wear my other shirts for a year.  The ones that I thought I would wear if I did my ironing could stay.  I had a few pieces that I didn’t wear because I assumed that they too big after I lost weight.  After trying them on, I saw that they still fit.  They could stay too.

    This project brought a personal issue to the surface that a lot of people have – I sweat regardless of the temperature.  This means I’m more likely to stain my clothes.  (It’s also one of the reasons why I didn’t wear my white oxford during the last year.)  I am one of those people who should never own a silk blouse because I will stain it the first time I wear it.  If I wanted to stop this from happening, I could pay a lot of money to have my armpits botoxed, or I can periodically throw out whatever I stain.  I’ll stick with the latter for now.

    I’m glad I did this project.  I feel like I decluttered my closet and have a clearer idea of my personal style.  The garments that I decided to keep despite not wearing them for a year still have their strings on them as a reminder that I should consider donating them if I continue to not wear them.

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  • Reflections on Police Authority & Public Pranks

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    Ruth Carter

    Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I am a law student. In accordance with ABA policy, this blog should not be viewed as legal advice. It is simply my experiences, opinions, and stuff I looked up on the internet.

    I took Criminal Procedure this semester to learn more about the legal implications of participating and planning flash mobs and pranks.  While I was studying for my exam, I started to reflect back on Improv AZ’s encounter with mall security and the police last spring and if we should have done anything differently.

    The stunt was simple – we had four agents wearing t-shirts that said “Coroner” across the front and back walk through a local mall carrying a stuffed fake body bag.  The purpose was to see the reactions on people’s faces as they contemplated if what they were seeing was real or a joke.  We were stopped and detained by security who called the local police.  The police spoke with us briefly, mostly struggling to understand guerilla theatre, and released us without citation.  Looking back, I think we could have done things differently.

    When a police officer suspects that a person has committed or is about to commit a crime, they can conduct a Terry stop to briefly stop the person to ask what they are doing.  They can also ask for identification.  If they suspect that the person is armed and dangerous, the police can protect themselves by frisking them for weapons.   If the police find no evidence to create a reasonable suspicion that a crime has occurred or is about to occur, they can’t detain the person any longer.

    Mall Cop
    Image by Mike_fj40 via Flickr

    Mall security, however, are just people.  They have a job to protect the interests of mall merchants and the safety of other mall patrons.  It’s reasonable for them to confront suspicious behavior, but they have no more authority than Joe Blow Average.  I remember from Torts class that when shoplifting has occurred, they can detain the shoplifter for a reasonable time until the police arrive.  That’s a situation where the police know that a crime has occurred.  I think there’s an argument that they don’t have this ability when they concerns about suspicious behavior.

    In some states mall security have government authority, but this is the exception, not the rule.  If they detain someone under the authority of their position without evidence of a crime, there’s an argument that they are impersonating a public servant or peace officer or committing unlawful imprisonment.  I think if we are stopped by mall security during a prank again, we will know that they can ask us questions within the scope of their employment, they can escort us off the private property, but without more than mere suspicion or dislike of our prank, we can probably keep walking if they try to detain us.  We also do not have to show them identification.  They can request it, but there’s no legal reason why we have to comply.

    We have only been questioned by police once in the two years that Improv AZ has been in existence.  We are very thoughtful about planning our pranks to be fun and lighthearted.  The last thing we want to do is take the police away from fighting actual crime.  However, if we are stopped by police again, we have to provide them identification – especially with the police being hyper-sensitive to illegal immigration.  The police can Terry stop us and ask what we are doing.  If the stop becomes a lengthy conversation, we can ask, “Am I free to go?” and if the police respond negatively, we can ask, “In what is this pursuant to?” and see if they can provide a valid reason for our continued detention.  If we have purses or bags, the police can ask to search them, but without at least reasonable suspicion of a crime, we can respectfully decline their request.

    I don’t want to give the impression that I am anti-police.  On the contrary, I support the police preventing and fighting crime.  I also support people exerting their Fourth Amendment rights.  It’s very rare for the police to be summoned to the scene of a flash mob for legal or safety reasons, and it’s important when that happens, that participants know what rights they do and do not have.

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  • MPRE Afterglow

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    Ruth Carter

    I took the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam – aka the MPRE – this past weekend.  It must seem ironic that future lawyers have to take a test of the ethics of being attorneys before we can be admitted to the Bar.  Given that we’re going to be entrusted with our clients’ money, property, and secrets, we better know what we’re doing.  About halfway through the test, the reality that I will hopefully be a lawyer a year from now was pretty humbling.

    I opted to take my test at Phoenix College instead of Arizona State University.  I took the LSAT there, and since that worked out well, I decided that that place has good mojo for me.  I wish I could take the bar exam there.  I also figured that there would be fewer of my classmates there, which would keep my stress down.

    pencils
    Image by hownowdesign via Flickr

    Besides showing a photo I.D. at the testing location, we also had to attach a passport photo to our admission ticket.  While I was at Walgreens taking my picture I debated between making the cracked-out-on-caffeine face or the sullen I-love-my-job face.  I told the clerk that it was for a test, not a passport.  He responded, “Well, as long as it isn’t for anything legal.”  I opted to play it safe and make the I-love-my-job face.

    Since our careers were somewhat riding on this test, a lot of people were nervous about not doing anything that would result in our scores being cancelled.  One guy in my room raised his hand and asked if it was ok if he got a cough drop from his pocket.  It was cute.

    Taking the MPRE proved to me that going to law school has made me more superstitious.  Before law school I would carry my grandfather’s handkerchief and wear my grandmother’s watch when I was nervous.  Now I carry my grandfather’s handkerchief, my grandmother’s watch, and my grandfather’s rosary with me – and I’m not Catholic.

    Speaking of Catholicism, a woman I met before the test had the best advice about what to do if you get stuck on a question.  She had practiced law in Colorado for twenty years and needed to take the MPRE to be admitted to the Arizona Bar. A judge told her, when in doubt, pick the answer that matches what a Catholic nun would do in the situation.

    When I’m working hard on a project, I have a tendency to put my elbow on the table, rest my head on my hand, and put my fingers in my hair.  This had a tendency to counteract my hair product and make my hair fluffy.  I had some major fluffy hair by the end of this test.  I’m glad I checked the mirror before I walked out of the building.

    On a related note, my sister took the MPRE this past weekend too, though I didn’t know about it until afterwards.  She is going to law school across the country.  Looking at us from an academic/professional perspective, you would never guess we were related.  I thought it was really cute that we took the same test on the same day, 2000 miles apart.  I hope we will celebrate passing MPRE scores for Christmas.

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