The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1844-03-04
A CIRCULAR TO STUDENTS OF Law
IN THE UNITED STATES


TN ths war ie2l, under The auspices of,ho BniseI-
i shy 81 Msryiani established 40 lbs cay OF Bat
usnofs Las School, under the Denomination OF ihe
Aafylsnt las Institute. This e-iabl'shneni eonu-
nuej la successful operation nearly eleven seafs, nav
inU Tscfivs q udeas from eseea OF The States, and
\ Gsin l~o foseign counires. Owing 10 the pressure
81 az elsss pTacies, simultaneously w1ih the du-
tiss ~hch The Insgiuiion issolssd esolssd, Ia the
yssr lo O. abandon not ny the practice OF my ever
apd long chsfshej profession, bal also the Law lnsii-
tuis sni &C. health and ease sought the more genial
climates ~ tnrepc. Fnding. al this Time, my heahh
lsfifrty rsiafsd and With q no abatement whatever
n ny fssi shi o., ioo 70 that great srienee, which
ID ths eOabtfy Of al othcrs needs TO be nsih0dieaLy
aaa saf.iuiiy siuiiei--sud seeking, moreo,er indus
t.als asa csaausd cccuf Atfn, essential 20 happ
ssss itoj thai kso~s iafs rcsols ed 10 Zee ta
hlish ths lss Loot iuiioa-sn have selected Phiia
al,Ais a. ne ,iacs sls ton a. dosg have
ttoagh hsi % eis 10 M ua,an slo'Js such vanous
snd - o. ,ojseemrnis Ga az the purh,a,s OF the
f.ah Siuien-sne that Ia cen worthy
sccuory " preserved And SET ~Hh every requisite
sriuior
rhs hsguua spp iea,ions made to me from dis
ases H. frer asion, Ia fssafJ 10 che payiie-
uisTs a ny eniofIrss ihduos me 90 anicipal. similar
inqunise noe-snd, a. mr,t al ,ueh 40 advance, |
| sg~ address thls Cssaia1 40 that ! can offer 10
ssI ianss,en aud, Tsobahs ali that may be rcqui
sas
I Tbs IsstHu,oa deJ,caisi sons 10 law studies,
and thsif e.gnsif ADD auxiliary toics, h spacious
sSa heaui,fui hu iding ~ South Finh street
dsnis The TaaBs aIs ~ suitably iufu she'd supplied
18th an esiensiss lao AMI miscellaneous library
"a, Issosdsnii y gaaciio, every conceivable snd APP
proved f'ru stadrn are admitted at any tine
thfoug huni ne ycaf-caurscs ~ suiy and The re-
gnltit' bniks utr supplied a. exactly 10 .f.et the
wants and scNs ~ ih, student atc. ftnr az he may
hesign ~ pfauios hs profession thsi m the country
90 ga come Of ihs magiimt cities. The laws OF every
STATE W tie union sto IN s0mc degree dNcit up,n-
Prsciic, b. constantly died eih me rg--but the
deep ani radical 81 paftns a. vel az Of audsas
D. carefully avoided 4 aiiuds 20 lho TO erroneous no.
upn tha Law students 10 be made mere mechanical
Hil'a''n aherHsyl 'afnirg praoiies by roic and
Jealous ul book ka0cisdg, - brins TO ta,o, ,fioal
/ ih,s naschissous srrof must inevitably degrade the
science snj profession, aud s gross mistake since
no practising aioTnfy god and lastrg une
who was not also de,Ily yers,d Ia the TeasOts and
theory OF the law. | therefore cannot acquiesce in
and never Will yicid To- the yugar error Of putting
raoitos before and abIye thoory-i l. an unnatural
nrersson oi the ssiabl,shed oder OF naurean gao.
ran, and siovcny way Of urging young men on TO at
templs far beyond the powers Of the human ind
Tor " he grounds and Of the scirnce be not
Vel known, The practice cannot be well known.
But the efrr, To which 1 50 earnestly allude il |
lou ded upo another, which Is equally false and
row. Vital stud,nts learn the practice only In
praesng iGoycrs Office On III, MIR. ~ az g,n.
efa roll, ~. be very last place IN Win he ever
does or can learn the praciice-anj tbs be made
extremely manifest whst Is practice distinguish |
ed from theory Take a single example-and ca iplo
diSce OnIhts ne f1toFy or a law POINT says 10 the
student # lends his watch aud Il sells a. or r.. |
fuses To return H. may bring wha, called an ac-
ton of Trover and Conversion. Nov frOrer means
binding, and conversion means Apr pratlug II 10 his
own use and here, again, the student leains two
other Meoreticaf law polnis-ylz that the find ng
a verbal fiction not at ali material or 10 be-
p,opsd and secondly that the conversion by the de-
trndant 10 his oicn consists ~ the WITHHOLD
ing the properly from the plaintiff although 1t should
be clearly proved that be IN no way useu the
hat lint
| to Withhold 4 from the painful
Now all this theory nut be learnt aud a good !
deal more before the practice comeand that praciice
on the plaintiff par con lists Of thorough knoa ledge
of h. forms preodcais-and on the defendant. pan
OF the like knowledge 10 the formula Of the pleas
fjonders, e.. There are therefore books Of pTeot.
dents these books unfold every practical proceeding
~haie'eri IA every action kaoSn t. the lae-pro |
gressl'ely from Tie importation Of the rrii 10 the incl
return upDn the trtcuion. These formula OF wrls
returns 10 wrts-aVpearaIc cs-hai.-impailance. |
continuance implnucing Of JnIIes -risl--,n. |
ceptions-Sefdict- judg ment-th'cuuOn-r.turn OF |
exccuiOn-ur, on the other hand, trial--sr ap-
peal &c Ac,-are all st forth the ipteeed nfs so
that he who Knows mosi Of ptsctdeais knows most |
Of practice but siIl, these presidents them
selves be- understood, without previous thsortfeaI
knovledge The question, then reso tsc toto the
Cannot law student be well GROUNDED ia all the
yie edsnts iaio ssusu who never saw pr actising
! lawyers Office Aud Why not On the CONTRARY
cannot he learn far OF practice by tie iud- |
cious and careful study Of all he formula which he
never docs IN practising law,ers Office Than by
whiting, rather oopy,ag tho SIMPLE and occasion.
al dec sfst ons pleas &C which he master, ufiice
assigns 10 the student T. Il not unifrrly the G 90 |
that all really difficult and responsible business Of this
sou Is done by the master himself without ever reach
ing The eye Of the siudent-or Il II does only to me-
| chanicaly copy A gam; Who can dit nguish be.
tween real cut IN court, and fictitious one IN VII Oh
one student prepares the Wnt another the return
! another he decafaiiIn- some other tie pea, Nc
| n H.. - D
Aud VI hat prevents these students making record of
the whole AMI then comparing all wnh c r. flied r.
cord om sope court of justce IN like action An
| this surely may I've done Law lnsinution-and far
tef-moIe quiet and with more time than IN bu-i.
offices here many precious hours are often lost H.
| useless messages-'onR sakt-'ianscr bing tttsrs-
copying (not dorising) dcclsi atoms, pleas replica
tons &c 80 generally the sol. workmanship a. the
ma.t,r Of the office. and very seldom thai Of the
student confess hat all this l. 90 my mind extreme
y plain and has long is6ed of ths popular and
serious error which has placed young IN Offices
where luile either OF theory practice IL eArn This
surely Is not always the casebu II j. too oen such
as'many responding students have found and as uthefs
| have BEEN compelled to confess, that thy never
learned much OF theory or Of practice until alsr h1
came 10 the bar bot al which tiue Il wAf found y,rS
uphill aud atduous work, and sometimes not accom-
nj shed even TIN, ugh whole life OF toll Doubt,s.
there are macy noble exceptions 10 he correctness Of
these remarks but siil | aver II ~ fact that m,
r1pef,s nee has never made acquained with An,
young aicyr, who, Va candid cunsrfsaiiJn, was MOI
will ~ 20 confess tlat hls legal education had been
very hap-hazard-and that practice any really val
liable and abidiHg extent the last thing a student
can ever hope tor N practising h~yer'- flee
| After extensive practice Of seven and tsent, |
years all Of the courts and devotion 10 the tns-
rests Of lar students, dunna much ofthai peoJ NAV
not be too much to say that practice ca never be- Il
ightofn this Instu n and that noth nq but uscLa,.
cal Of legal education unworthy 4 an en-
hghtened lawyer could ever palronise the inu
nation that such Inst utinn only adopted lor
the incubation ofthc sciees, and not Of the Of our
| urO mt tp.d A,