Sherwood v. Walker this week would've been just another case in the semester's rush of cases, except for the memorable first line:

Replevin for a cow.

For those of you who don't have deep knolwedge of archaic legal procedure, replevin is basically a lawsuit for specific performance for a chattel--i.e., I want the thing, rather than what the thing is worth. This contrasts with a trover, which is a suit for money.

I remember this, because we encountered these terms back in September, and I made up the following rhyme to the tune of a Pittsburgh's-Own-Tommy James song:

Replevin and trover
Over and over
Object's replevin;
Damages, trover

You might look at this as a clever little rhyme to remember something useful; you'd be correct, if needing to know what "replevin" or "trover" means had been useful on any law school exam since 1927.

Mostly, though, the point here is that I decided "Replevin for a Cow" is the most poetic phrase I've ever heard (or at least this side of "cellar door"), so I had to do something with it. (Go to the link above to follow along.)

Replevin for a Cow

Because they thought Rose 2 was barren
She was a big bargain, but wherein
It turned out she's with calf
The court took the deal back;
The mutual mistake, it lied therein.