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No, I did not “read law books as a kid.” My last year in college I was filling up my schedule with Poli Sci courses to complete my second major. (The university was adamant that I could not escape with my degree after only three years.)

Anyway, there was this course available that was Constitutional Law, but for undergraduates. The Professor was a then-young man named William Muir. It sounded interesting, so I signed up. Muir had an absolute passion for the Constitution, and several of us in the class caught that passion. Instead of going to Ft. Lauderdale that Spring Break, I was in the library reading Supreme Court cases for a paper for Muir.

Led my class in Con Law there, and again in law school. Then just one month after I passed the bar and hung out my shingle, I was brought into a case that went all the way to the Supreme Court. From that point on, I was hooked. Until that point, I barely had a clue what I was going to do with my life, and I was then 29.

I never intended that. I never even intended to practice law. But that’s the way it happened. As the saying goes, “Life is what happens while you’re waiting for something else.”

BTW, I took the time to track down William Muir a few years ago, and thank him personally for the direction in my life that came from his work as a Professor. Thanks for asking that question. It pushed me through some ancient, and mostly favorable, memories. I try from time to time to encourage others to take up the two things I’ve done which are not easy, but are worth it. One is Con Law; the other is writing for publication.

John / Billybob