Share
Ipse Dixit
From the Archives 109: Elijah, The Court is Yours (2018)
In 2017, University of Kentucky College of Law students Barrett Block and Zach Atwell composed a song titled "The Court is Yours," based on Nas, "The World is Yours" (1994), for an assignment in Professor Joshua Douglas's Civil Procedure class. The song was performed and recorded by Elijah. Here are the lyrics:
[PR] Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
"It's yours!"
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
I pray to Ace, watching The Paper Chase ‘til I’m charged
Then writin in my FRCP, the words in the margin
Behold the law I'm spitting, procedural posture
Understandable smooth wit that litigants win with
The plaintiffs play me for lame, they won't act right
But with Douglas’ Civ Pro knowledge I attack and fight,
Improper jurisdiction on my person, rehearsing
Perry Mason rule 12 b 2, cursing
My domicile, and contacts they beguile,
I ain’t availed the forum state a trial
Whether long arm or due process, there’s no jurisdiction
I call it, the rules make the court's power fiction
I’m waving, but never waiving jurisdiction
I'm out for precedents to represent me (Say what?)
I'm out for precedents to represent me (Say what?)
I'm out for good precedent to represent me
[Chorus: Nas, Pete Rock]
[PR] Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
[PR] Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
"It's yours!"
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
To my man Burnham, God bless your life
"It's yours
To International Shoe, God bless your life
Crazy baby mamas tag us with service papers when we in Cali
Beef with state tax, dudes flipping shoes in the alley
Minimum contacts, panic attack-the court’s caught me
Rudkewicz called quits on paying dues to BK Flor-I-day,
-when you’re contacts a contract, ya can’t get away
caught by a jurisdictional lasso, you’ll pay
This Calder test hits like a tec paining my neck,
Having to inspect my effects in the forum, what the heck?
Traditional notions of fairplay and justice
Violate them and ya get jurisdictional ruckus
Express permission to a court is an admission
Even if penned in a ticket or missive outside your intuition
I ain’t clowning, look to Carnival,Left frowning from venue selection
-must read contracts with stiff discretion
"It's yours!"
[Chorus: Nas, Pete Rock]
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
[PR] Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
"It's yours!"
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
[Nas] Yo, the court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
"It's yours!"
[PR] Break it down
[Pete Rock cuts and scratches "It's yours!"]
Kulko’s baby mama trying to rob him of his commas
buying his kid’s ticket not enough for Cali drama
Explodin’ Audis caused the Robinson’s real trauma
But VW couldn’t see their cars in Okla hamma
Owning stock / east to west / in peace I can rest,
Shaffers stock in state outside the courts test,
BM Squibb and Daimler, I’m here to call fib
general jurisdiction, a state must be yo crib.
J. Mac’s machine caused a big fiasco
No jurisdiction for slicin’ Nicastro
When the police seize your gambling stash
Walden says no suit in the state you’re ‘boutta crash
To my boys with that global distribution like Asahi
And feds finna grill ya in court like you’re mahi
They can’t sue thee, just your intermediary
I got civ pro down so well -it’s scary
"It's yours!"
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
[PR] Whose court is this?
[Nas] The court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
"It's yours!"
It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
[Nas] Yeah... the court is yours, the court is yours
[PR] It's mine, it's mine, it's mine
Whose court is this?
"It's yours!"
Break it down
More episodes
View all episodes
843. Jennifer Brinkley on Dorothy Kenyon
38:58||Season 1, Ep. 843In this episode, Jennifer L. Brinkley, Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Dayton School of Law, discusses her new book, "Justice Was Her Calling: The Fierce and Fascinating Life of Dorothy Kenyon," which is published by the University of California Press. Brinkley begins by describing who Kenyon was and explaining why she became interested in Kenyon's life and career. She describes Kenyon's early life and how Kenyon became involved with the suffrage and women's rights movements. She reflects on some of the challenges and struggles Kenyon faced as a result of her advocacy. And she explains how Kenyon's work provided the legal basis for many important victories of the women's rights movement. Brinkley is on LinkedIn.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.842. Mark Satta on Masterpiece Cakeshop & Queer Rights
48:36||Season 1, Ep. 842In this episode, Mark Satta, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Law at Wayne State University, discusses his new book, "Let Them Buy Cake: Gay Weddings and the Coordinated Campaign against Queer Rights," which will be published by Oxford University Press. Satta begins by describing what happened in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, 584 U.S. 617 (2018), and related litigation that followed it. He explains why these cases are so important and what they tell us about the rule of law in a liberal, democratic society. And he places them in historical context, identifying the broader ideological dispute they reflect and what they can tell us about First Amendment doctrine. Satta is on Twitter and Bluesky.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.841. Judge Beverly Martin on the Article III Coalition
32:28||Season 1, Ep. 841In this episode, the Honorable Beverly B. Martin, a former United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit and a former United States District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, discusses her role in the Keep Our Republic Article III Coalition of retired federal judges.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.840. Aram Sinnreich on the Law of Sampling & Racial Injustice
39:10||Season 1, Ep. 840In this episode, Aram Sinnreich, a Professor and Graduate Director of the Communication Studies division at American University’s School of Communication, discusses his new book chapter, "Music Sampling Law as Regulatory Vacuum and Check on Black Cultural Power," which will be published in the Oxford Handbook on Sampling in Popular Music, forthcoming from Oxford University Press. Sinnreich begins by describing what sampling is and how it has evolved over time. He explains how copyright law affects sampling, why the legality of sampling is uncertain, and how that uncertainty causes and was caused by racial inequity. He then reflects on how the courts can and should reinterpret sampling law to mitigate those racial inequities. Sinnreich is on Bluesky.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.839. Mike Plante on Louis Sher & Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964)
47:20||Season 1, Ep. 839In this episode, Mike Plante, a filmmaker, producer, and programmer, discusses his new book "Sensation Cinema: The Audacious, Defiant History of Louis Sher and the Art Theatre Guild," which is published by Sticking Place Books. Plante begins by describing his own background in independent film and how he became interested in Louis Sher. He explain who Sher was and how he came to create an empire of independent movie theaters in the 1950s. He the describes the circumstances surround the arrest of Sher's employee Nico Jacobellis for projecting Louis Malle's The Lovers, and how Sher litigated the case all the way to the Supreme Court and won, prompting Justice Stewart's famous line, "I know it when I see it." Plante is on Twitter This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.838. Richard Heppner on Gamifying Civil Procedure
33:59||Season 1, Ep. 838In this episode, Richard L. Heppner, Jr., Associate Dean for Faculty Scholarship and Associate Professor of Law at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University, discusses TAG!: The Jurisdiction Game, his new board game based on the rules of civil procedure. Heppner begins by explaining why he decided to create the game and how he developed the rules. He describes how he used the game in his civil procedure classes and how it can help students learn how to understand and apply the rules of civil procedure. The game is now available for purchase! Heppner is on Bluesky.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.837. Lisa Ramsey on Trademarks & Free Speech
51:18||Season 1, Ep. 837In this episode, Lisa P. Ramsey, Professor of Law at the University of San Diego School of Law, discusses her new book "Trademarks and Free Speech: Conflicts and Resolutions," which is published by Cambridge University Press. Ramsey begins by explaining what trademarks are, what they protect, what kind of rights they create, and why they exist. She identifies how trademark law comes into conflict with the First Amendment and free speech, and how the abuse of trademarks can exacerbate the conflict. And she describes some ways in which trademark law could be changed in order to advance its legitimate purposes while minimizing conflicts with the First Amendment. Ramsey is on Twitter and Bluesky.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.836. Anna Law on Migration & Citizenship
41:41||Season 1, Ep. 836In this episode, Anna O. Law, professor of political science and the Herbert Kurz Chair of Constitutional Rights at CUNY Brooklyn College, discusses her new book, "Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship: African Americans, Native Americans, and Immigrants," which is published by Oxford University Press. Law's book tells the story on migration to colonial America, the early American republic and the United States during Reconstruction. She explains that the conventional story of open migration controlled only by the federal government is misleading, because state and local government imposed considerable burdens on migration and migrants. She describes those laws, how they affected migration policy, and how they are still with us today. Law is on Twitter and Bluesky.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.835. Jerry Edwards on the Early History of the First Amendment
42:35||Season 1, Ep. 835In this episode, Jerry Edwards, Associate Professor of Law at West Virginia University College of Law, discusses his draft article "The Reconstructed First Amendment." Edwards begins by reflecting on why the original understanding of the First Amendment is important in this historical moment. He then explains how the understanding of the First Amendment at the time of its ratification was very different from the modern understanding, and how that original understanding persisted long past the ratification of the 14th Amendment and Reconstruction. He also discusses how his historical observations might affect current debates over the interpretation of the First Amendment. Edwards is on Bluesky.This episode was hosted by Brian L. Frye, Professor of Law at Tulane University School of Law. Frye is on Twitter at @brianlfrye and on Bluesky at @brianlfrye.bsky.social.