Vimpa

The humeral veil worn by an acolyte in a pontifical liturgy is called a vimpa.

The Inherent Dangers of Cows

In Mississippi, the presence of a cow upon a public highway creates a rebuttable presumption of negligence on the part of its owner. Miss. Code Ann. 69-13-111 (2001); Miss. Dep't of Transp. v. Johnson, 837 So. 2d 108 (Miss. 2004).

The Burden of Proof

Ei qui affirmat, non ei qui negat, incumbit probatio.

He who asserts must prove, not he who denies.

 - Julius Paulus Prudentissimus, 2d century A.D.

Thoughts on Duty

An individual owes a duty of care to another individual when it is reasonably foreseeable that the other individual lies within the zone of danger of the first individual's actions according to ordinary understanding.

Quaeritur: Does Wile E. Coyote owe a duty of care to the Roadrunner, given that the universal understanding of reasonable people is that no action undertaken by Wile E. Coyote is injurious to the Roadrunner?

Holes in the Limitations Period

Be careful, when mustering old authorities regarding limitations periods: they were retroactively tolled during the late unpleasantness.

"[A]t all events, possession has been adverse since the date of the deed, as set forth in the answer, eleventh August, 1855, and more than 20 years have elapsed since then to the date of filing this bill, excluding time from sixth May, 1861, to first January, 1867."

Burns v. Headrick, 85 Tenn. 102, 2 S.W. 259, 261 (1886).

Stradivarius, Doyle, and the Restatement

Law school exams are notorious for predicating questions about the legal ramifications of certain acts on events from the news, films, or literature, not infrequently amplified to provide more shocking details. It appears that the editors of the Restatement (Second) of Torts were not above showing their professorial stripes.

6. A is a violin expert. He pays a casual visit to B's shop, where second-hand musical instruments are sold. He finds a violin which, by reason of his expert knowledge and experience, he immediately recognizes as a genuine Stradivarius, in good condition and worth at least $50,000. The violin is priced for sale at $100. Without disclosing his information or his identity, A buys the violin from B for $100. A is not liable to B.

Restatement (Second) of Torts § 551 cmt. k, illus. 6.

We had a pleasant little meal together, during which Holmes would talk about nothing but violins, narrating with great exultation how he had purchased his own Stradivarius, which was worth at least five hundred guineas, at a Jew broker's in Tottenham Court Road for fifty-five shillings. This led him to Paganini, and we sat for an hour over a bottle of claret while he told me anecdote after anecdote of that extraordinary man. The afternoon was far advanced and the hot glare had softened into a mellow glow before we found ourselves at the police-station. Lestrade was waiting for us at the door.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The Adventure of the Cardboard Box" in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894).

Advent

n., The time when Catholics stop to remember that the Church began in 1963 (or the 1880s) and that their ancestors never told small children that saints or mythical figures dispensed rewards and punishments during the octave of Christmas.