MinnLawyer Blog

Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Richard Posner has written nearly 40 books on jurisprudence, legal philosophy and several other erudite topics. But, despite his stellar reputation and credentials, the legendary jurist still apparently has a thing or two to learn about Minnesota law schools.

An alert reader pointed out to me that, in an opinion issued earlier today, Posner made a mistake in referring to the number of law schools in our state. The case — Wiesmueller v. Kosobucki — involved a challenge to Wisconsin’s bar admission rule exempting grads of Wisconsin’s two law schools from having to take the state’s bar exam in order to be licensed in Wisconsin. Some grads of those pernicious out-of-state law schools cried foul, challenging this “diploma privilege” policy as discriminatory against out-of-staters. They, unlike Wisconsin law grads, would have to practice elsewhere long enough to waive in or spend the time and effort of preparing for and taking the Dairy State’s bar, they pointed out.

The District Court judge threw out their suit, finding that they had failed to state a claim. But, in an opinion authored by Posner, a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit reinstated the lawsuit. The out-of-state law grads should be allowed to make their case, the panel found.

Making the point that Wisconsin schools don’t offer any special instruction in the intricacies of Wisconsin law, Posner wrote:

“Wisconsin law is no greater part of the curriculum of the Marquette and Madison law schools than it is of the law schools of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Virginia, the University of Texas, Notre Dame, the University of Chicago, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Northern Illinois (which happens to be within a stone’s throw of Wisconsin, as are the three law schools in Minneapolis).”

What’s readily apparent to us and our astute reader is that Posner got the number of law schools here wrong. There are four law schools in Minnesota (which is the figure he most likely meant to use), two of which are in Minneapolis (the U of M and St. Thomas).

Admittedly, three is a good compromise figure between two and four. Posner’s miscue puts me in mind of the counting sequence for the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch in Monty Python’s Holy Grail.

“First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin, then shalt thou count to three, no more, no less. Three shall be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, neither count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out.”

(Click here for the YouTube video of the hilarious Holy Hand Grenade scene, a personal favorite.)

However, as far as Minnesota law schools go, the number three represents nothing but the number of law schools in Minnesota prior to 2001, when the University of St. Thomas School of Law became the state’s fourth.

Perhaps this is Posner’s way of agreeing with those who maintain we have too many law schools here in the Land of 10,000 Lawyers, err … Lakes.

UPDATE (7/10):  The opinion has been removed from the 7th Circuit’s website and we’re told is in the process of being corrected.