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First Space Lawyer Graduates
PHPNerd writes "Over at space.com is an interesting article about the first space lawyer. He graduated from the University of Mississippi. 'Any future space lawyer might have to deal with issues ranging from the fallout over satellite shoot-downs to legal disputes between astronauts onboard the International Space Station. The expanding privatization of the space sector may also pose new legal challenges [...] "We are particularly proud to be offering these space law certificates for the first time, since ours is the only program of its kind in the U.S. and only one of two in North America," said Samuel Davis, law dean at the University of Mississippi.'"
a new breed of lawyers
- Human knowledge belongs to the world
In the states I've looked up, "specializing" as a lawyer means nothing. Every lawyer is on 100% equal footing with regard to the law. The "family law" lawyer has exactly the same legal standing as a "criminal defense attorney", wether the trial is a messy divorce or a murder trial.
While I suppose it's good to have specialized training in law for a specific field, this just seems silly. I mean, I'm sure there have been lawyers before (working for NASA, Lockheed, Boeing, etc,) that have "specialized" in space law. Who cares if the diploma lists "space law", really?
Another non-functioning site was "uncertainty.microsoft.com."
The purpose of that site was not known.
In space, no one can hear you sue.
[comment deleted due to space copyright]
-Space Lawyer
I suppose if a woman spends six months with two guys on the International Space Station, and three months after she lands on Earth she gives birth, a Space Lawyer could help determine paternity. Also if a Russian pilot dings the body work on the International Space Station with his Soyuz and denies it on the collision report, a Space Lawyer would come in handy there too.
on Jedi mind tricks.....
Specialization has, for most professions, been a way for the industry to differentiate between its own members. It is not a government-recognized title. For example, a medical doctor can legally perform brain surgery without the 7 year neurosurgery residency. More than that, someone who has completed the 7-year training and *fails* the neurosurgery boards can legally perform brain surgery.
:)
Many HMO clinics/etc, as a cost-cutting measure, will actually hire 'radiologists' and other specialists who have been unable to pass their boards. This is because, while they are legally allowed to practice whatever medicine they want (assuming they have their state license to practice medicine), they will work cheap 'cause anyone who checks their credentials will likely turn them away.
On another note, always check your physicians credentials
I shouldn't be, but I am. I know that you refer to a lawyer by their specialty, i.e. a "patent lawyer" is a lawyer who specializes in patents, not a lawyer who themselves is patented or was created by a patent.
But is it really all that much to ask that the world's first "space lawyer" actually be from space? Or live there now? I don't care what they specialize in, they just have to have a law degree and either hail from or emigrate to outer space.
I'll be writing my congressman about this.
The enemies of Democracy are
Disputes between citizens of different countries are already resolved on the high seas by maritime law. Dumping too.
Space law just sounds like a degree cooked up by one of those internet universities that send you a pdf degree.
Engineering is the art of compromise.
... kill it now before it breeds! I say we take off & nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.
but when are they going to send all the other lawyers in space?
I'm sorry, this just reminds me of Heinlein's use of the phrase "space lawyer" as the SF generalization of "latrine lawyer."
Except that John C. Stennis, as in the John C. Stennis Space Center, is from there (I actually met him by chance at a nursing home in Madison near the end of his life). And Fred Haies on Apollo 13 was from Biloxi, Mississippi. So it's not _totally_ unprecedented for someone to from Mississippi to be associated with space...
"Hello, beautiful. I'm a space lawyer." There's no way a tax attorney could compete with that.
because everyone who bought "property" on the moon will need to sue their real estate agent.
How do you get a process server to the ISS?
I just have to wonder... what does the Space Lawyer uniform look like? Was it designed by Zapp Brannigan?
Does it make you happy you're so strange?
Weren't their fees already.. astronomical?
Inaccurate. This is not the first "space lawyer." It is the first "space law certificate" from a law school to a graduating law student. There are a multitude of "space lawyers" already.
And just to be nitpicky, just because this person graduates from law school with this certificate doesn't make them a "space lawyer." Graduating from law school doesn't make you a lawyer. Passing the bar makes you a lawyer, and the certificate doesn't mean a damn.
I'm sorry, this just reminds me of Heinlein's use of the phrase "space lawyer" as the SF generalization of "latrine lawyer."
Heinlein, a former naval officer, was expanding on the navy slang "sea lawyer". A derogatory term referring to someone who tries to use rules and regulations to shirk responsibilities and/or make excuses for their failures. They are generally not the most popular of shipmates.
The State of Mississippi was for many years among the poorest and most litigious states in the entire United States. There have been some recent attempts at reforms which seem to be bearing fruit, but it is not surprising that a new innovation in lawyers and lawsuits has come out of the State of Mississippi. The Wall Street Journal had a recent article describing the litigious history of Mississippi.
Don't critique that which you do not know.
The University of Mississippi School of Law "offers the only dedicated aerospace law curriculum in the nation from an American Bar Association-accredited law school, and requires courses on U.S. space and aviation law, international space and aviation law, and remote sensing; participation in the publication of the Journal of Space Law; and independent research. The National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law was founding in 1999."
The faculty and staff look very well experienced: international treaties, UN, regulatory exp.; aerospace, aviation, & remote sensing legal work; governmental, public policy groups and private sector.
Curriculum from the National Center for Remote Sensing, Air and Space Law :
Remote Sensing Law: "Remote sensing is a valuable technology in science, foreign policy, national security, and commerce. This course provides an overview of international and domestic remote sensing law and identifies issues in the United States and the international community."
U.S. Domestic Space Law: "This course covers the most developed body of domestic space law in the world: that of the United States. It addresses the nation's civil and military programs and offers a wide variety of commercial activites: launches, remote sensing, and satellite communications, among others."
International Space Law: "This course provides an overview of current international space law in U.N. resolutions and treaties and customary law. It identifies legal theory and principles used in the advancement of civil, military, and commercial space activities."
Journal of Space Law (practical): "The Journal of Space Law is an academic review of national and international scope, focusing on the many aspects of space, remote sensing, and aerospace law. Research, writing, and editing assignments, and other duties necessary to the operation of the Journal of Space Law. One hour credited for each term of participation to maximum of 4 hours. Limitation: credit not available if enrolled in the Mississippi Law Journal."
RTFA before uninformed commentary. HTH.