We read property . . . once
Imagine you're a 1L with a property final coming up next week. You lost your book early on in the semester and so after a while you get around to ordering a replacement from Half.com. The book arrives and you're relieved now that you can learn about takings. You're less relieved when you flip it open, see the handwriting and realize you just paid for the same book twice.
According to a tipster this actually happened this semester. It sounds a bit like a tall tale, but if the unlucky 1L is a reader we'd love to hear your account. What's most interesting to us is that if the seller is a law student this sounds like a per se honor code violation. We could get to have one of those crazy honor trials. Does the Honor Committee have subpeona power? If you see a law student who looks real nervous this week, remember, it might not be exams.
UPDATE: The original email, after the jump.
So, you all remember my earlier emails regarding the whereabouts of my property book, right? Well, after an exhaustive search on my part produced nothing, I had been surviving with an older edition until about a week ago when I decided, "why not just buy a new one or a used copy of the new edition off half.com?" So that is what I did, and for around a $30 I purchased a near new 4th edition from half.com. A steal, right?
So I return from out of town Thursday to find it waiting at my door. Turns out the seller was located in Cville (though I didn't notice that when I bought it) so it did not take long to arrive. Upon opening the package I was delighted at how new the book looked on the outside, so i check the
inside. The highlighting looked strangely familiar, as did the notes in the margins (I think you all see where this is all going). That's right, I repurchased MY OWN book off half.com! Definitely story of the year for me.
Moral of this story: while the honor code is fantastic and all, clearly there seems to be someone going around picking up books laying around and selling them on ebay. I would like to assume that whoever was who fed this book to guy I ended up buying my book from (maybe it was the seller himself) was not part of the UVa Law community. However, we need to careful about where we leave our valuables. I am fortunate that this happened to me six weeks ago and not during finals time. So be careful, and don't let it happen to you now, as that would be a crying shame. Thanks for all your concern. Oh, and no luck with my hornbook and class notes yet though. Good luck with studying. I hope we all do very well!
Comments
Other AMAZING stories: http://www.snopes.com/info/top25uls.asp
Posted by: kb | April 22, 2008 10:37 AM
If the seller/thief is one of our own, get their info and honor code their ass. That kind of behavior is unacceptable, and that person should be gone.
Posted by: Outraged IL | April 22, 2008 12:15 PM
If it really happened, the 1L should be able to contact Half.com and get the seller information, and then proceed from there.
Posted by: AnonymousCoward | April 23, 2008 01:19 PM
I feel compelled to break my public silence. I am the 1L who repurchased his own property book on half.com. After realizing it was my book, I immediately contacted the seller by email, expressing my outrage. He profusely apologized, insisting that he gets his books from a number of sources including sales, recycle bins and "UVa contacts". I asked him for more information on the individual who gave him the book (assuming that it was not the seller himself who stole it). I was issued a refund immediately.
I am refraining from taking further action at this moment mostly because of exams, and also because I would like to see if my own inquiries turn anything up. I am inclined to believe that the person I bought the book from was NOT the person who stole it. I mean, if I stole a law book from UVa law, I would know better than to sell it to a kid who obviously attends UVa law and who obviously had to be replacing a stolen or lost book to be purchasing one this late in the term.
I appreciate your all's concern. Be careful with your things, and good luck on finals.
Posted by: 1L victim of the crime recounted above | April 23, 2008 06:51 PM
I don't get why you guys think this should be an Honor Code violation. Did the book have the guy's name/phone number on it? If not, how is the finder supposed to give it back? Do you have some sort of lost and found system for text books? What if the guy found the book, did a somewhat diligent search for the owner, and after not finding him, decided to sell the book? I see nothing wrong with that.
Posted by: dgdfg | April 23, 2008 09:24 PM
DGDFG-
I do not know how big (or how many) the 1L property sections are at UVa, but where I went to school, there was only three sections, one of which was a small section class. If you find a lost proprety book, it would not take that much of an effort to find who lost it.
Posted by: JamesT | April 24, 2008 09:34 AM
"Do you have some sort of lost and found system for text books?"
Yes.
Posted by: 2L | April 24, 2008 09:50 AM
dgdfg,
I don't know about you, but when I see law books lying around the school I just leave them alone, under the assumption that the owner has left it there on purpose. The lack of identifying markings doesn't matter, as the thief in question shouldn't have been touching the thing in the first place.
Posted by: Outraged IL | April 24, 2008 10:16 AM
My god. Please. Lost and found? There's only what, a dozen teachers max in any law school teaching Property 1 & 2 that semester.
Most honor codes implies the finder use reasonable means to return it to a rightful owner. In reality, this means: lost & found, academic officecritters, or the professors who teach the class.
I wouldn't doubt it was a janitor or someone who doesn't have to abide by the honor code, though. You will not find out unless you actually threaten lawsuit... and really, why bother? You got a refund of your money and the book you'll probably sell after exams anyways.
Posted by: John Galt | April 24, 2008 03:58 PM