I'm surfacing from my several-hour dive into the wondrous mysteries that are personal jurisdiction, and it occurs to me the reason many, including myself, find the general subject of Civil Procedure to be so tiresome.
In all the other classes, at the heart of the cases were people. Particularly in Torts and CrimLaw, it was easy to relate to persons involved with the cases. CivPro seems to be much more distant in that respect. Not that there still aren't people involved at the heart, but the opinions just don't get into that. The fact summaries for other cases focused on what happened to bring the suit into court. Who was harmed? Why? What do they want? What will happen if they don't get it? So far in CivPro, the facts are about who served who, and where. That doesn't make for a great emotional investment in the people involved.
Maybe I should start making things up. Not too much, of course, but just enough to make it engaging. For example, maybe International Shoe Co. actually sold "devices of a personal nature." That would be why they had commissioned salesmen and just mailed the merchandise to the consumer. It would also explain why the salesmen "rent permanent sample rooms, for exhibiting samples . . . or rent rooms in hotels or business buildings temporarily for that purpose." International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 314 (1945).
Yes, that will do nicely.
And yes, I know exactly how important and useful it is to know this stuff cold. And I will. I just may have to work a little harder.
