Based on a true story
Darcy, like the rest of us, was excited about her first year of law school. She sat in the second row, opposite of me, and watched the teacher intently. Her arms were folded, sometimes in her lap, or sometimes her hands would rest on the table next to her Macbook Air. The professors were all fond of Darcy, because she would only answer when she really knew the answer to a question. Unlike many of the gunners, who longed to hear themselves speak, and who were often wrong, Darcy thought about the question, and often waited for others to speak before she would tell the professor the correct answer.
The teachers perhaps pitied Darcy in a way, because of her predicament. You see, when she would put her hands on the table in front of her, with her arms crossed, you could see that she had no hands. Nobody asked her where they had gone to, or how they were lost. Instead, she had two big shiny hooks for hands that gleamed under the light of that big classroom.
I'll remember in property class we were speaking of animals. We had just finished one of the most crazy cases on property dealing with animals, Pierson v. Post. I remember that Darcy was called upon during this case. Mesmerized by her, I sat intently, listening to her words. I still remember exactly what she said to this day:
In order to obtain title to a ferae naturae (wild animal) a person must take it. The “first to kill and capture” is the superior rule of law. Had Post mortally wounded the animal, it would have been sufficient to show possession since this would have deprived the animal of its natural liberty. However, the plaintiff was only able to show pursuit and therefore acquired no property interest in the animal.I could not help but notice that her voice was beautiful as she spoke. She radiated confidence as she stated each word. She grasped the case almost as well as the professor. I could tell that he tried to challenge her, but to no avail. However, what I remember most about that day, October 17th 2010, was when another classmate, let's call him Rod Thompson, raised his gunner hand, and proceeded to ask one of the most idiotic of questions. "Can a person obtain title to another person if he captures it?"
The professor was obviously not impressed by the fact that this young man did not actually think before he sputtered his ridiculous question. "What do you think?" the professor asked.
"I... I... Well, no, that would be slavery."
The professor then asked the class what they thought about it. Most agreed that it would be slavery.
A few months later I was chosen to explain another case to the class, this one dealing with lost property. The case was Armory v. Delamirie. Since the case was so short, I just read the whole thing. It went like this:
Finder of a jewel may maintain trover.The plaintiff being a chimney sweeper's boy found a jewel and carried it to the defendant's shop (who was a goldsmith) to know what it was, and delivered it into the hands of the apprentice, who under pretence of weighing it, took out the stones, and calling to the master to let him know it came to three halfpence, the master offered the boy the money, who refused to take it, and insisted to have the thing again; whereupon the apprentice delivered him back the socket without the stones. And now in trover against the master these points were ruled:1. That the finder of a jewel, though he does not by such finding acquire an absolute property or ownership, yet he has such a property as will enable him to keep it against all but the rightful owner, and consequently may maintain trover.2. That the action well lay against the master, who gives a credit to his apprentice, and is answerable for his neglect.3. As to the value of the jewel several of the trade were examined to prove what a jewel of the finest water that would fit the socket would be worth; and the Chief Justice directed the jury, that unless the defendant did produce the jewel, and shew it not to be of the finest water, they should presume the strongest against him, and make the value of the best jewels the measure of their damages: which they accordingly did.
I remember looking over at Darcy to see if she approved. By this time I thought she was so smart. I just knew that she would take the CALI award for property, and perhaps for the rest of the courses. "Why did she not go to Yale, Stanford, or even Harvard?" I wondered. Why was she here? The professor was not impressed by my reading the case verbatim, but it was correct and he could not scold me for being right. "Indeed," he said, looking at me. I could tell he was conjuring quite a challenge for me. I remember thinking to myself: think logically like a vulcan. Think logically like a vulcan.
"Now, tell me, if you were to lay something down and leave the room, and if you were to return the next day, looking for that item, would it be lost, or would it be mislaid?"
I went blank. What would Spock say? I was terrified. I never liked being called on in class. I never liked being the center of attention. I was sweating, and I realized that a vulcan would not worry about it, I had been called on, and I could not change that now. Instead I should focus on the question. Being right or wrong is irrelevant. The point is getting through the class. You are being challenged, and most of the challenge is in your mind.
"I think it would be lost," I said. Little Darcy smiled at me, and I knew I was right.
But I was only half right. "It could be either," the professor said, "it depends on other factors."
This was the typical response to the law school game. Often no matter what you say is right or wrong. If I was to say "it could be either," I would have heard, "no, it was clearly lost." I was done. But Darcy wanted to speak, and up in the air went her shining hook hand.
"Yes," the professor said, smiling.
"This is kind of a personal question," Darcy said, blushing.
"That is fine," the professor said. Generally he did not care for personal questions. The gunners would sometimes ask questions such as "my grandfather bought some property and there's a ton of mice loose in one of the barns. Are those mice his or does the federal government have constructive possession over the mice?" in which the professor would respond, "well, we went over wild animals, and as the case law states, the animals are owned by nobody until they are captured or deprived of their natural liberty. However, the government might try to claim ownership of some animals, but probably not mice in a barn."
Darcy continued. "My hooks, if I was to lay them down and leave, would they be considered a part of me, or just a chattel?"
I wish I would have asked her to the barrister's ball, but I was too shy. And I figured she had to be taken. She never spoke of a significant other, but her emerald green eyes and her pouty red lips seemed out of my league. I was too shy to ever approach her and speak with her. I knew she could tell I liked her though. I always watched her speak and always sent smiles her way.
The year eventually came to an end, and as such, so does my tale. I remember us all sitting there in class while the professor went over last year's exam. He was telling us what he was looking for and what he did not want to see on the exam. I was nervous, as this would be the first exam I would be taking in law school. I was excited as well, as property was my favorite class. Further, I wanted to prove myself and do great on this test.
I knew I would not see Darcy on test day. She had a disability that was obvious. And I knew that the professors allowed concessions to be made for those with disabilities. I was told that one of those concessions was six hours to take a three hour exam. I also heard a couple of the other people in class were taking advantage of that particular concession.
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| Darcy is the girl in the blue, on the right side of the picture. |
It was a cool day when I arrived at my school to take that exam. I walked up to the room, with my books and laptop in hand (open book test). I sat down and got myself ready. I usually sat in the front of the room, but for test day I would sit in the back. As I was getting myself ready, I noticed Darcy walk in and sit down. She tried to open her laptop, but was unable to do it very well. Usually the girl she sat next to would help her, but she had yet to arrive. I watched as she tried to open it to no avail. I decided to make my way down there and open it for her. I didn't say anything, but she thanked me and smiled, looking up at me with those beautiful eyes of hers. I smiled back, probably blushing. I wanted to ask her why she was not taking the test with the added time. I knew she wanted to be like everyone else though. She did not want to be seen as disabled, but as a person who had surpassed the challenges of the setback she had been dealt in life. I was impressed.
The test began. I typed furiously. The question was about wild animals. Perhaps it was for Darcy that the professor wrote it. I sometimes looked down to see Darcy trying to hit the keys with her hands. I could hear the noise of her hooks hitting the keyboard, but I did not let it distract me. I let nothing distract me. As the hours passed, I looked down towards Darcy and saw that her screen was barely covered with text, and that the words seemed misspelled.
I must have typed 10,000 words on that exam. At least it felt like it. When I was done, I left the room, not speaking to anyone about the exam. I went home and prepared for my upcoming exams.
Next spring I found out Darcy was in the bottom of the class and had took a leave of absence. I never saw her again.
