The good, the bad, and this...

Well it is not quite the ugly that you might be expecting but there are two recent developments in my quest which seem worth sharing with you. I’ll start with the negative…

It turns out that we are indeed two nations divided by a common language. A recent note from the university informs me that I did not submit my ‘university/degree certificate’ and I should do so in order to proceed with my application. After a bit of back and forth it turns out that this document is what many Americans would call a ‘diploma’. I have to say that it is a bit odd that they want to see that piece of paper considering (a) I’ve already sent transcripts and (b) I would imagine such a document would be rather easy to fake. Nevertheless, I am willing to comply and so off it goes today. Hopefully I will see it again.

Fortunately the other development is positive. Last night I picked up from my friend who is back from London two of the recommended legal books. Hurrah. So now I am the proud owner of two very heavy tomes to begin my legal library (I think I am going to need to reinforce my shelves actually if this keeps up). The book I am rather excited about is on criminal law written by Andrew Ashworth of Oxford. From my small scratches on the surface of criminal law, he seems extremely well-recognized in the field. In addition, from what I can tell, his views mesh with mine on some of the issues within the legal system which concern me (such as anti-social behavioral orders). I am looking forward to reading this one. The other book is about constitutional law and is twice the size of the already large criminal law book. The good feature of the constitutional law book is that it contains numerous extracts from first hand sources so I am glad I will be able to examine the subject matter directly.