Some of you have questions about this CNN video report on a 19-year-old who's about to graduate with a 4.0 GPA from the University of Michigan and head off to law school. Here are our thoughts on Nicole Matisse:

* She's amazingly attractive. Most of those child-prodigy spelling-bee-winner types have thick glasses and an overbite.

* Surely the most pressing question: With a 4.0 GPA from Michigan, why is she going to fourth-tier Wayne State University Law School? Surely she could have gotten into most, if not all, of the top 10 (or 14, or whatever Georgetown is insisting is the cream-of-the-crop number these days). And at 19, she's old enough to venture a bit further from home.

* What's up with the typing demonstration? Is words-per-minute now the definitive measure of otherworldly intelligence?

* When asked to name her easiest college class, she responds: "Behavioral Neuroscience." Showboating, anyone? We stopped liking her at that point in the video.

* How funny is that Wayne State law student being interviewed outside the school? "There's a good chance I was in the entirely wrong classroom for that test." The reporter then asks the young man how the prodigy will be regarded at the law school next year. Gee, a 19-year-old hottie brainiac--she'll probably struggle.

* The reporter's final comment is a new low in pathetic summings-up: "She won't be 19 forever. Next February, she'll be 20." This just in: The year after that, she'll be 21.

We recently blogged about Kiwi Camara -- the young, brilliant, controversial legal scholar -- and his mysteriously disappeared job offer from George Mason University School of Law. Camara is a legal Doogie Howser who was 16 when he entered Harvard Law School. At HLS, he caused an uproar after dropping the N-bomb in a group outline. He has apologized repeatedly and profusely for that mistake; but it continues to dog him, years later.

The Washington Post originally broke the story about Camara's GMU appointment falling through. But their story may have been erroneous, at least in one respect. The Post reported:

At George Mason's law school, the faculty had authorized [Dean Daniel] Polsby to hire Camara as an assistant professor, but the dean wanted to first see what students, alumni and others thought. He scheduled a town hall meeting for last night, but the meeting was nixed after Camara's application was withdrawn.

We contacted Camara for comment. He explained:

I was never instructed to withdraw my application, and I never did so. My candidacy was ended by George Mason...

Also, there was a week's lapse between my job talk and when the faculty voted me an offer (to be precise, voted to authorize the dean to extend an offer). Surely they would have investigated before, rather than after, voting me an offer -- and especially before going public and thereby triggering the recent media coverage.

Indeed. This is all very strange.

More discussion, including an interesting mini-scoop from Camara, after the jump.

Yesterday we issued a request for information about what really happened between controversial legal scholar Kiwi Camara and George Mason University School of Law. GMU was on the verge of hiring Camara, until something weird happened.

Today one of you emailed us the video clip below, and asked: "Could it be because of this video?"

Seriously, we're pretty sure this video -- a promotional spot for the debate team Camara coaches, and NOT a homemade sex video -- had no impact upon Camara's job search. But it's still weirdly amusing. And we don't think that Camara, of all people, should be caught on camera saying "Yo whassup!" in an accent reminiscent of the "jive talk" scene from Airplane.

Kiwi Camara Acts A Little Weird [Google Video]

Earlier: Kiwi Camara and GMU Law: What Happened Here?

Today's Washington Post has an update on controversial legal scholar Kiwi Camara (at right). Camara, you may recall, is the legal Doogie Howser who was 16 when he entered Harvard Law School. At HLS, he caused an uproar after dropping the N-bomb in a group outline. (That's the Cliffs Notes version; Google him for more.)

From the Post:

Camara, a native Filipino who grew up in Hawaii and enrolled at Harvard Law School at age 16, had been on track to become an assistant professor at George Mason University's law school. But his candidacy was derailed after the law school's dean, Daniel D. Polsby, publicized the possible appointment so he could hear what students had to say before making a final decision.

But Camara's appointment wasn't scuttled because of the town hall meeting. That meeting never took place:

At George Mason's law school, the faculty had authorized Polsby to hire Camara as an assistant professor, but the dean wanted to first see what students, alumni and others thought. He scheduled a town hall meeting for last night, but the meeting was nixed after Camara's application was withdrawn.

Why was Camara's application withdrawn? Did it have anything to do with his controversial past? A tipster tells us no:

It has come to my attention that the derailment of Kiwi Camara's appointment as associate professor at GMU did not occur because of his checkered past. Rather, there appears to be an independent reason, but insiders have refused to reveal what that is. I am not sure if it is worth soliciting info on this from the abovethelaw readership, but I thought I would pass it on to you.

Yes, it is worth soliciting info on this. If you know what REALLY happened with respect to Kiwi Camara and GMU, please email us (subject line: "Kiwi Camara"). Thanks.

P.S. Take a spin through Camara's official website, which is a trifle self-important and/or oddly amusing in places.

Racist Writing as a Teen Haunted GMU Candidate [Washington Post]
K.A.D. Camara [official website]
Kiwi Camara [Wikipedia]