Justice Sarah Beth Landau
@JusticeLandau
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Following
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Texas 1st Court of Appeals. Frmr public defender. Intern program co-chief. Recovering DJ. Get it right, keep it tight. Running for re-election 2024!
Houston, TX
Joined October 2017
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Phoebe Bridgers just described Houston’s weather as “being inside a vape” and I can’t argue.
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Judges can choose to be part of the problem of attorney mental health or part of the solution. Arbitrarily denying well-founded continuances/motions for extension does not make you rigorous or serious, it makes you unkind. 1/
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Job applicants: half the judges on the court are women, the chief judge is a woman, and the chief staff attorney is a woman. This has been the case for years. Addressing your application to the "Gentlemen" only is not putting your best foot forward.
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I call the Supreme Court as a new Assistant Federal Public Defender bc I need an extension on a cert. petition and I know Justice Scalia, who oversaw the Fifth Circuit, did not grant them. But we had had a hurricane and we were locked out of our office.
#appellatetwitter
1/
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This is exactly how I wound up accidentally talking to Justice Scalia.
Lawyer: “So just call the federal district court and ask what they prefer here, since it’s not in the local rules.”
Me out loud: “Ok, yeah, I’ll take care of it.”
Me in my head: “Am . . . Am I allowed to just CALL a FEDERAL COURT? Feels fake idk.”
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I was mistaken for a staff attorney today. Before I joined the court, I was mistaken for a probation officer, a legal assistant, a court reporter, a translator, an investigator, or a witness. All while sitting at counsel table. So what I'm saying is I got an assumption promotion.
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I just had someone refer to me as “that red-headed staff attorney” and the deputy and I had a good chuckle about it. I can only assume that the older, white-haired male staff attorneys are presumed to be judges.
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Has anyone considered that Daylight can take care of herself and does not need saving?
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Adoption finalized (remotely)! As our delightful attorney put it,”Cut the tags off him, he’s all yours.”
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Justice Scalia never admitted it was him on the phone. I eventually put my heart back in my chest and picked myself up off the floor and went on with the post-hurricane business of representing people who could not afford a lawyer. 7/7
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I could not be more jazzed about Simone Biles but the public finding out she was married at our courthouse has led to a truly daunting number of wedding requests!
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One thing no one told me before I became a judge is that sometimes the law is so divorced from reality that you not only cannot do the right thing, you are forced to do something that cannot possibly be right. It is the hardest part of the job.
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Some personal news, as they say. Welcome, Lenny!
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Some people have asked how we wound up adopting a baby in Louisiana. In short, adoption is hard, especially if you are not Christian, and especially-especially if you are not white and not in your 30s. 1/
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I would not hesitate to hire staff attorneys with pass/fail transcripts for this semester of law school.
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If you need to get married for insurance or other emergent reasons and have a license, message me and I’ll make arrangements to marry you.
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He hangs up. I still have no idea whether my petition will be denied on the merits or what I am supposed to do with this conversation because I am wondering if Justice Scalia can disbar me from the Supreme Court or if I can just live under my desk for the rest of my life. 6/
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All this to say, people should not blithely suggest adoption bc it is insanely expensive & only truly available to some people and the country needs better parental leave and healthcare and childcare policies because this is nuts. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 16/16 <fin>
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I can't get an answer from the Clerk's office. Somehow, I decide to call chambers. Phone rings.
Court: Yello?
Me: [introduces self nervously, explains situation]
Court: OH, PUBLIC DEFENDER? A HURRICANE, EH?
Me: [making a horrible realization] Justice Scalia? 2/
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I think I could teach a whole semester of legal ethics just using a few seasons of Suits.
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Just swore in a Texas lawyer working in New York! If you just passed the bar and need someone to swear you in, message me and we’ll get it done.
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JS: FILE YOUR PETITION, PUBLIC DEFENDER. JUST FILE IT.
Me: Ok, thank you. I am filing it under the assumption an extension is not required. Or is it? [I am so tired.]
JS: I DON'T KNOW HOW MANY WAYS I HAVE TO SAY THIS. FILE THE PETITION.
Me: Thank you. I'm sorry to bother you. 5/
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I am so sad to see my staff attorney (and former student) leave for grad school! We will miss her! But she brought her son, who said on the way over, “I’m going to hug the judge!” And he did!
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Is it even Thanksgiving if no one filed a mandamus and requested emergency relief at 4:55 p.m. the day before?
#appellatetwitter
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My husband commissioned this cartoon update of our favorite wedding photo for our anniversary. He’s the best.
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“Clearly” really is a tell that what follows will not be persuasive facts or controlling law.
#appellatetwitter
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I've never understood why some judges deny extensions with really sniffy language, esp. when the attorney is in the hospital, arranging a funeral, or discovered an issue. Unless it will blow a statutory deadline or it harms the other side, just grant and let ppl do their best job
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At this point, am terrified I have created a situation where I will be required to write a letter of apology to a sitting Supreme Court Justice, but I cannot hang up until I have gotten what I called for.
JS: PUBLIC DEFENDER, FILE YOUR PETITION.
Me: With a motion for extension?3/
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There was no reason to add stress to an awful situation just to show you were the one in charge. This kind of behavior adds to attorney burnout and makes it harder for attorneys to zealously represent their clients. A little kindness goes a long way and is actually strength. 3/3
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JS: DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT, PUBLIC DEFENDER. FILE YOUR PETITION.
Me: Is the Court granting me this extension telephonically [also ex parte]? Do I note this conversation in the petition or file a separate motion noting it?
[Totally sure I will have to write an apology letter now.]4/
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So a month after the election, we got some bad news. Harris County “finally” rejected my husband’s and my ballots and we did not get to vote, as it turned out. 1/
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Helpful hint: the “prayer” for relief in your brief should probably not invoke Jesus Christ.
#AppellateTwitter
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I remember judges who seemed to relish setting hearings for days when we were furloughed (i.e. closed and not getting paid) because of the sequester. Why do this? Everyone already took a 15% pay cut to avoid layoffs, why lord your power over people who just doing their jobs? 2/
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In honor of my husband who should be celebrating his 50th birthday but is instead mourning his father’s passing I want to share the unlikely story of how we met. 1/
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Also, I’ve seen inside parental-termination cases and some of them involve things my parents used to do on a regular basis, consequence-free. I do not want to become a parent at the expense of someone who is a good parent but doesn’t have the resources to fight the state. 3/
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Having a legit case of the Mondays. Found out that the ransomware attack on the Texas appellate judiciary went as far as my external drive, which held 15 years of my work spanning over 700 appeals. I don't think there's any way to get my own criminal appellate law library back.
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Having oral argument but no daycare means it’s a good thing you married the right guy.
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A special kind of sad when you figure out something the court has been doing wrong for over 10 years, you spend dozens of hours documenting it for a concurrence, then no one files a motion for en banc rehearing to give the court a chance to fix it.
#appellatetwitter
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I just realized that this fall marks the 20th anniversary of my first court appearance. It was an oral argument at the Second Circuit. At the time, I did not realize how completely weird that was. (thread) 1/?
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Remembering that this was the point in my 2L summer that I realized I in no way wanted to be a transactional lawyer as I had planned and was sort of lost because I thought litigators had to be confrontational extrovert jerks to succeed.
#appellatetwitter
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I come home every day exhausted because doing the right thing takes time and is frequently not intuitive. I’m grateful for the opportunity to try to get it right every day.
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I can’t even count how many hours we spent just trying to vote. All for nothing. For people to trust the government and the electoral process, the process has to work. It cannot be this onerous. Someone without a dog in this fight needs to investigate and it must be fixed. 9/9
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In honor of Day of Civility in the Law (4/16) what is your favorite story of civility or professionalism? One of mine is when opposing counsel and I were both at our first 5th Cir. argument, v. nervous. When no one filled the water pitchers, he gave me a bottle.
#AppellateTwitter
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When my future husband said his dad was the Noam Chomsky of Pakistan, I thought it was just a strange pickup line. As it turned out, he was not just trying to get my attention and nine years later, I’m devastated to report that his lovely father is gone. /1
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For those who interned for a court during law school, what about the program made it great?
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@theothermoore
It was 100% my first instinct but it is easier to be brave when it's for someone else's benefit. Also, what if he would have called right back? That would be even worse!
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I am sending my high school interns on a scavenger hunt: criminal court, civil court, family court, juvenile court, probate court, Fifth Circuit argument, suppression hearing in federal court, Commissioner’s Court (spoiler: not an actual court), public auction on public transit.
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I am hiring a permanent junior staff attorney with 3+ years experience! The First Court of Appeals now has a remote work option for up to two days a week. Please RT and come work with me.
#AppellateTwitter
#AppellateJobs
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We won the case, Jackson v. Mann, 196 F.3d 316 (2d Cir. 1999), and it’s been cited 265 times, and as recently as March. 12/12 (end)
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My husband is the sweetest kindest person I know. Fiercely loyal, absurd dad jokes at the ready, going the extra mile on a dime. Best mama (yes, that’s what the baby calls him) ever. 50 years is a good start.I can’t imagine a life different or better than this improbable one. 🩵
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Criminal appellate practitioners: If the state responds to your brief in a meaningful way, you should file a reply brief to deal with the state's arguments and give the court the most complete picture of the facts and the state of the law.
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To me, RBG was proof that *this* was for you not just them. The first female professor at my law school, an effective litigator despite not fitting the mold, the first Jewish woman on the Supreme Court, it showed me there was space in the law, on the bench, for someone like me.
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State court: Hm, the roads might be icy, maybe we should have arguments remotely early next week.
Federal court: All flights are cancelled tomorrow because of the oncoming tropical storm, you say? Well, you should probably start driving now.
#appellatetwitter
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The ability to access federal court records without charge is a huge win for access to justice, among other things.
The Open Courts Act passes! By voice vote!
Free PACER, here we come...!
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Periodic reminder that student interns at the court are not there to churn out work or make the judge's life easier (though sometimes that lagniappe happens). Instead, they are law wizards in training, there to learn from judges and attorneys.
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I probably won’t be able to sleep because I am bananas excited about jury duty tomorrow! ⚖️
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If law/judicial conferences wanted to be more welcoming, they would offer childcare referrals! I spent so much effort (and an insane amount of money) to attend a conference. 1/3
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Are any judges contemplating remote internships for summer? If so, can you let me know what your program looks like?
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A small addendum: I realize there are other groups for whom adoption may be extra hard or impossible and I do not mean to diminish those difficulties. I hope others with those experiences will tell their stories.
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“Why not just adopt from the foster system?” This is a great option for some people, but probably not those who regularly have parental-rights-termination cases before them and would have to recuse, creating more work for their colleagues. (Me, I’m that person). 2/
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So delighted to announce that through the magic that is
#AppellateTwitter
, I have hired a fantastic new staff attorney! Having two staff attorneys here (first time since March 2020) for training is a dream. Thanks to all who RT'd and otherwise spread the word! Welcome Leo!
I am hiring a permanent junior staff attorney with 3+ years experience! The First Court of Appeals now has a remote work option for up to two days a week. Please RT and come work with me.
#AppellateTwitter
#AppellateJobs
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My intern told me that my draft opinion was concise, easy to understand, and fun to read, so I can go home happy.
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Ah the first wave of coronavirus extension requests.
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So nearly three years after we began our “adoption journey,” (euphemism, ahoy!) we are here. With a perfect little dude who is cooing in his sleep. But had I known how hard it would be, I might have just carried a baby myself against medical advice. 15/
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Are you a law student looking for a Houston summer internship starting Monday? My intern had to drop out so I’ve got an open spot for June 5 to 30. Please message me if you are interested. (Sorry, it is unpaid, but you may get externship credit.) Please spread the word!
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@MichaelN1756
@5thCircAppeals
I also think unnecessary cruelty by judges models poor behavior to lawyers and makes it less likely that experienced lawyers will mentor and instill the values the profession claims to adhere to. It can be a vicious cycle.
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The Lenster got to officiate intern graduation. He wore a bow tie.
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I have a question. Why do all my baby’s outfits have pockets and it’s like a special treat if mine do? What are his pockets for? His baby keys and baby cell phone? His baby ID badge? Dog treats? I’m so confused.
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I cannot miss another judges meeting even though I’m still on maternity leave because the last time I wasn’t there (because we had to take the Lenster to the pediatrician) and I got put on two search committees.
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Me, when a brief has hyperlinked the record and the cases.
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My dermatologist told me that sunscreen can’t really prevent sun damage and my whole life feels like a lie.
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Some outtakes from the photo shoot! Not gonna lie, I’m kind of excited to have a pic that looks like me and not my unwell older sister! 📸: ER
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If you are a young lawyer, a woman, or a person of color, making an unpopular argument, have an unpopular client, or some combination of these, it is extra helpful to be the most prepared, follow all the rules, & be the most professional you can be. Let them misunderestimate you
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Juneteenth will always be extra special to me because it’s the day our adoption was finalized. Happy Juneteenth (and cut the tags off day as our lawyer memorably called it), Lenster!
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Law students! If you are interested in interning at the Court of Appeals in Houston this summer, keep an eye on our website. We’ll be posting for internships very soon.
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Intern oral arguments maintained our 100% safety record. No one died! Everyone did great.
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Suggestion as we cruise toward the end of summer clerk/intern season: when you give feedback on written work product, do it sitting next to your law-wizard-in-training, line by line. I learned this “live grading” trick from
@kvukadin
when I taught Appellate Litigation. 1/2
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I can’t believe that 45,000 people and counting have seen my job posting!
#AppellateTwitter
folks are the best. Though I am sad to lose my wonderful attorney to an educational opportunity, I am hopeful we will find someone amazing. Teamwork makes the dream work!
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Happy Holidays from the First Court of Appeals!
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Also, the best outcome when the department gets up in your family business is that the child is returned to you. If I am trying to become a parent, this best outcome is also personally heartbreaking. I think I would prefer to be a foster parent who is a safe, temporary stay. 4/
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How’s your return to work going, Landau?
Not great, Bob.
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This scarcity leads even nominally secular agencies to make decisions about taking on clients that mirror the preferences of their boards and leaders. To put it gently, it is not a meritocracy. The result: we could not find one single agency who would take us. 6/
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To say that I am disappointed really does not scratch the surface of how I feel. We drove three hours to pick up our (very late) mail-in ballots from our attorney’s office while we were trying to obtain custody of our son and get permission to leave the state of Louisiana. 2/
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No one is at court to enjoy or object to my Friday court fit!
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Excellent judicial energy!
I'm not sure I can say it any better than the excellent Federal Magistrate Judge Andrew Edison.
I too do not want anyone to work the next two weeks, and hope that you can spend as much time as you can with family and friends.
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@JohnQBarrett
Unclear. I think I filed a motion to file it out of time at the same time as the petition (i.e. 30 seconds after he hung up). Petition denied. I’ll never know why.
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Did you know there’s basically a Keurig for baby formula? A device that blends the powder and water, dispensing it at the temperature and in the amount of your choice, minimizing burpy bubbles? Amazing.
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I think I inadvertently packed the baby a Coke Zero for day care. How is your Wednesday going?
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I spent over an hour writing a paragraph. It's a good paragraph, it does what I needed it to do in a tight space and I think it's clear. I would like the caterpillar to butterfly writing process to be shorter though.
#appellatetwitter
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Future me would probably like a word with current me who apparently has a pathological inability to say no to papers and CLE presentations because they are safely far enough in the future to not feel real.
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Happy fifth anniversary to this delightful character who unhesitatingly said yes to me running for office upon returning from our honeymoon. Life rarely goes according to plan, but if you're lucky, it takes you somewhere amazing.
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@TxAppellateAtty
I did not. I was a terrified new Assistant Federal Public Defender who was locked out of the office after Hurricane Rita and wanted one day’s grace to file a cert. petition. Reasonable minds can differ but I think Justice Scalia would agree with me about contractions being meh.
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If I was worried I was a recovered federal sentencing nerd, that concern was alleviated when I sketched out what Tiger King’s guideline range would be and potential objections using the correct manual that I happen to have in my home library.
#stillgotit
#nerd
#TigerKing
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