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Who am I? Why this Blog?
I’m Dr. Jonathan L. Kramer.
In August 2016 I completed my Doctor of Law and Policy (LP.D) degree at Northeastern University in Boston. I received my doctoral hood in September 2016. I was a member in the 8th Cohort of that unique program.
I set up this blog at the suggestion of one of the LP.D program leaders whom I truly respect, Professor Neenah Estrella-Luna, Ph.D. Early in the LP.D program she strongly recommended that each Cohort member track their progress and stand up to the scrutiny of peers, just as we do when we publish or present papers.
I took Professor Estrella-Luna’s suggestion to heart, and this blog allowed me to chart my personal journey from a highly-educated lawyer and masters-level blob to highly-educated lawyer and doctoral-level researcher blob.
At least that was my initial goal…
In real life, I’m a practicing telecom law attorney licensed in California and New Mexico, as well as a radio frequency engineer. My law firm has five attorneys, four staff, and two dogs working in offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, and in our covert office on a Southwest Airlines jet (minus the dogs).
I have earned the following academic degrees:
Associate of Science (AS) degree (honors) Los Angeles Trade Tech College. Los Angeles, California.
Juris Doctor (JD) degree (cum laude) Abraham Lincoln University School of Law. Los Angeles, California.
Masters of Law (LL.M) degree (with distinction) Strathclyde University. Glasgow, Scotland.
Doctor of Law and Policy (LP.D) Northeastern University. Boston, Massachusetts.
Having completed my Doctor of Law and Policy degree, just for fun I might go after a few more professional licenses.
My current goal is to become licensed as a Real Estate Broker in California. Done that!
Who knows?
Accountability
I am personally accountable for my education and the work I put in to that education. Because of that, I’ve decided to be transparent about my grades, whether good or bad (but better good than bad).
Q1 – Summer 2014:
Law and Legal Reasoning 1
(LWP 6120) Grade: A
Law and Policy Concepts 1
(LWP 6401) Grade: A
Research Methods
(LWP 6424) Grade: A-
Q2 – Fall 2014:
Law and Legal Reasoning 2
(LWP 6121) Grade: A
Law and Policy Concepts 2
(LWP 6402) Grade: A-
Qualitative Methods
(LWP 6423) Grade: A
Q3 – Winter 2015:
Law and Legal Reasoning 3
(LWP 6122) Grade: A
Law and Policy Concepts 3
(LWP 6403) Grade: A
Quantitative Methods
(LWP 6420) Grade: A
Q4 – Spring 2015:
Law and Legal Reasoning 4
(LWP 6123) Grade: A
Evaluation Research
(LWP 6404) Grade: A
Economics for Policy Analysis
(LAW 6410) Grade: A-
Q5 – Summer 2015:
Methods & Theory Appl Research
(LWP6425) Grade: A
Political/Moral/Ethical Dilemmas
(LWP6431) Grade: A
Doctoral Research Design 1
(LWP6500) Grade: A
Q6 – Fall 2015:
Public Policy Theory & Practice 1
(LWP6450) Grade: A
Doctoral Research Design 2
(LWP 6501) Grade: A
Q7 – Winter 2016:
Public Policy Theory & Practice 2
(LWP6451) Grade: A
Doctoral Research Design 3
(LWP 6502) Grade: A
Q8 – Spring 2016:
Public Policy Theory & Practice 3
(LWP6452) Grade: A
Doctoral Research Design 4
(LWP 6503) Grade: A
July 2016: My final GPA after all program coursework is 3.958 on a 4 point scale. I can live with that.
Year: 2014
Research and Self Reflection
I’ve recently run into a major problem conducting research: I’m perceived as representing only one interest group (local governments) so some potential research subjects won’t talk with me.
I’ve always believed that while I primarily work with local governments, my viewpoints have always been ground in law and technology, rather than in paychecks. I know that my clients would agree with this since I’m often the first person to tell a government when they’re going down a wrong path. All that said, public perception is everything, and something I have to live with.
I suspect my research goals will have to be altered to accommodate my basic need to be able to make data.
Is there privacy in one’s trash put out for collection?
It depends.
If you put your trash at the curb then you have no expectation of privacy in 50 states as to the feds snooping around in it. In 49 states you have no expectation of privacy for similarly-placed trash.
If you’re going to commit a state crime and put evidence in trash, move to New Hampshire and put your trash in opaque bags out on the curb. Under a state supreme court decision opaquely bagged trash is off limits to state and local police.
Live free or die, but know that you can place tape over that phrase on your license plates.
Why this blog?
This blog is very personal: It’s intended as an instructor-recommended way of tracking my personal growth as I progress through Northeastern University’s Doctor of Law and Policy program.
Please understand that I’m not posting to this blog for anyone other than myself. That means that if you’re snooping around you might not understand why I wrote something, or what I wrote about.
I start this blog with an admission: I am a highly-educated blob. I have three degrees: An Associate of Science degree; a Juris Doctor degree; and a Masters of Law degree. I am admitted to two bars: California and New Mexico. I have served as an expert witness or trial advisor in north of 40 cases. I have a 20-page 24-page 25 page 31 page CV that even convinces me that I must be smart. Now that I have completed my first quarter in this doctoral program, I wonder how much smarter I’ll have to become to keep up with the really smart cohort members and complete the program. Luckily, I’m goal driven, so ‘Gentlemen and Gentleladies, start your engines.’