01.29.08
Thanks, yet again, St. Anthony . . .
I am not the neatest individual, but I generally know where things are, and have a rather uncanny sense of recognizing when something is missing or out of place. When something is missing, I regularly ask St. Anthony for a bit of help in finding it or suggesting where to look. This is now probably a weekly petition for help with little things in my ordinary life. I have prayed to St. Anthony for years (on an “as needed” basis!), and one of St. Anthony’s best finds was my lucky fountain pen from high school that I misplaced and then found randomly in a field that I rarely visited and where I do not remember ever using the pen. The pen subsequently got me through my law school finals, and I think even the bar exam, before disappearing again a few years back.
Anyway, today I lost something rather important. I promised St. Anthony that if he helped find it, I would write a blog post in gratitude! Needless to say, after a frantic search (and some immature self-castigation on my part) the item appeared in a place already checked (per St. Anthony’s modus operandi). Thanks to the helpful saint for another great find.
St. Anthony of Padua lived from 1195-1231. He became the patron of lost articles after a boy stole his psalter (containing his notes for preaching) and St. Anthony prayed for its return. The boy was on his way out of town when he became compelled to return the book, which he did. Artists often depict the saint with a lily or the Child Jesus (as above) because the Child appeared to him, as witnessed by a third party and recounted after his death. St. Anthony is also depicted facing a crowd of eager fish because of an incident when preaching to a town full of heretics who would not listen to him; he proceeded to the sea, where he preached so eloquently that the fish stopped and popped their heads out of the water to listen to him. The heretics were accordingly more receptive and persuaded! (Fuller versions of these stories are available here.)
Word in Context: fulgurous
Here’s a nice selection from Judge Ferdinand Fernandez’s collection. (Judge Fernandez is a Bush I appointee, whom I had not known of before noticing this selection.)
We do have to give deference to counsel’s choices and determinations, but our ultimate decision will depend upon the facts and circumstances of the particular case before us. In the constellation of refusals to have mitigating evidence presented, however, this case is surely a bright star. No other case could illuminate the state of the client’s mind and the nature of counsel’s dilemma quite as brightly as this one. No flashes of insight could be more fulgurous than those which this record supplies. Landrigan was not willing to merely express his opinions to counsel and, once having given those indications about his feelings, recede into comparative silence as counsel went about the business of conducting the proceeding. Quite the contrary; Landrigan took an actively aggressive posture, which ensured that counsel’s attempts to place mitigating factors before the sentencing court would come a cropper. Each of counsel’s feints in the mitigation direction brought a statement from Landrigan that painted an even bleaker picture and made matters even worse.
Landrigan v. Stewart, 272 F.3d 1221 (9th Cir. 2001). Fulgurous comes from the Latin fulgur for lightning, and accordingly means characteristic of or resembling lightning. I also note the phrase “come a cropper” is an idiomatic expression meaning to fail (or to fall from a horse). Finally, for those legal beagles out there, I note that the Ninth Circuit vacated this opinion, reheard it en banc, and reversed in part. The Supreme Court then reversed the en banc panel, and following the mandate the Ninth Circuit vacated its en banc opinion.
For a description of a fulgurous field, see the post below.
