Thursday, March 31, 2011
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Give Back
By Shannon
The post is late tonight because I spent an hour at the childrens' group home with the precious child I mentor eating pizza. I am amazed that in "serving" and "giving" we receive so much. Time spent with this child blesses me beyond measure. Even those who make public service a career like Ann and I do can still gain so much from a little extracurricular service like mentoring and volunteering. I highly recommend the experience to everyone. Here are some websites that can help you find the perfect opportunity:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://www.voa.org/
http://www.serve.gov/
The post is late tonight because I spent an hour at the childrens' group home with the precious child I mentor eating pizza. I am amazed that in "serving" and "giving" we receive so much. Time spent with this child blesses me beyond measure. Even those who make public service a career like Ann and I do can still gain so much from a little extracurricular service like mentoring and volunteering. I highly recommend the experience to everyone. Here are some websites that can help you find the perfect opportunity:
http://www.volunteermatch.org/
http://www.voa.org/
http://www.serve.gov/
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Friday, March 25, 2011
Public Defender Rant
By Ann
A public defender has a thankless job. I am a public defender but I am definitely not in it for the glory. I am always fighting an uphill battle and with less than half the resources than those bestowed upon my private counterparts or even the government. Nonetheless, I do what I can because I am motivated by deeply rooted personal convictions and thankfully, a lack of need for prestige and wealth.
Still, every once in a while I need to vent. Today is one of those "once in a whiles". The judge was a little late and the prosecutor and I came to an agreement. My client just needed to fill out the appropriate documents. I asked the secretary if we could fill them out. She took the opportunity to admonish me like a five year old and tell me that I could not be trusted to fill out papers with my client without judicial supervision because things "disappear."
That's right. This secretary implied that I would steal court papers if I was not supervised. So what that I had been working in that courtroom for the last 5 years. So what that she would give the same papers to private attorneys, police, prosecutors, etc. Apparently, I could not be trusted to do the same.
The prosecutor, a good friend of mine, laughed and told me that I am a leper, a pariah because of my status as a public defender.
No matter that I graduated at the top of my class in college. No matter that I graduated from law school. No matter that I am a licensed professional. No matter that I have worked in that courtroom for years.
I am a public defender and the public has that confused with a public port-o-potty. I have the unique privilege of taking abuse from clients, court staff, the police, the general public, and anyone else who happens to cross my path. I get to do this all while defending people who are usually less than helpful in their own defense.
So here is a famous rant by another frustrated public defender.
I couldn't have said it better!
A public defender has a thankless job. I am a public defender but I am definitely not in it for the glory. I am always fighting an uphill battle and with less than half the resources than those bestowed upon my private counterparts or even the government. Nonetheless, I do what I can because I am motivated by deeply rooted personal convictions and thankfully, a lack of need for prestige and wealth.
Still, every once in a while I need to vent. Today is one of those "once in a whiles". The judge was a little late and the prosecutor and I came to an agreement. My client just needed to fill out the appropriate documents. I asked the secretary if we could fill them out. She took the opportunity to admonish me like a five year old and tell me that I could not be trusted to fill out papers with my client without judicial supervision because things "disappear."
That's right. This secretary implied that I would steal court papers if I was not supervised. So what that I had been working in that courtroom for the last 5 years. So what that she would give the same papers to private attorneys, police, prosecutors, etc. Apparently, I could not be trusted to do the same.
The prosecutor, a good friend of mine, laughed and told me that I am a leper, a pariah because of my status as a public defender.
No matter that I graduated at the top of my class in college. No matter that I graduated from law school. No matter that I am a licensed professional. No matter that I have worked in that courtroom for years.
I am a public defender and the public has that confused with a public port-o-potty. I have the unique privilege of taking abuse from clients, court staff, the police, the general public, and anyone else who happens to cross my path. I get to do this all while defending people who are usually less than helpful in their own defense.
So here is a famous rant by another frustrated public defender.
Originally Posted: Tue, 26 Apr 10:49 PDT
Some Advice From Your Public Defender
Date: 2005-04-26, 10:49AM PDT
First, let me say I love my job and it is a privilege to work for my clients. I wish I could do more for them. That being said, there are a few things that need to be discussed.
You have the right to remain silent. So SHUT THE FUCK UP. Those cops are completely serious when they say your statements can and will be used against you. There�s just no need to babble on like it�s a drink and dial session. They are just pretending to like you and be interested in you.
When you come to court, consider your dress. If you�re charged with a DUI, don�t wear a Budweiser shirt. If you have some miscellaneous drug charge, think twice about clothing with a marijuana leaf on it or a t-shirt with the �UniBonger� on it. Long sleeves are very nice for covering tattoos and track marks. Try not to be visibly drunk when you show up.
Consider bathing and brushing your teeth. This is just as a courtesy to me who has to stand by you in court. Smoking 5 generic cigarettes to cover up your bad breath is not the same as brushing. Try not to cough and spit on my while you speak and further transmit your strep, flu, and hepatitis A through Z.
I�m a lawyer, not your fairy godmother. I probably won�t find a loophole or technicality for you, so don�t be pissed off. I didn�t beat up your girlfriend, steal that car, rob that liquor store, sell that crystal meth, or rape that 13 year old. By the time we meet, much of your fate has been sealed, so don�t be too surprised by your limited options and that I�m the one telling you about them.
Don�t think you�ll improve my interest in your case by yelling at me, telling me I�m not doing anything for you, calling me a public pretender or complaining to my supervisor. This does not inspire me, it makes me hate you and want to work with you even less.
It does not help if you leave me nine messages in 17 minutes. Especially if you leave them all on Saturday night and early Sunday morning. This just makes me want to stab you in the eye when we finally meet.
For the guys: Don�t think I�m amused when you flirt or offer to �do me.� You can�t successfully rob a convenience store, forge a signature, pawn stolen merchandise, get through a day without drinking, control your temper, or talk your way out of a routine traffic stop. I figure your performance in other areas is just as spectacular, and the thought of your shriveled unwashed body near me makes me want to kill you and then myself.
For the girls: I know your life is rougher than mine and you have no resources. I�m not going to insult you by suggesting you leave your abusive pimp/boyfriend, that you stop taking meth, or that your stop stealing shit. I do wish you�d stop beating the crap out of your kids and leaving your needles out for them to play with because you aren�t allowing them to have a life that is any better than yours.
For the morons: Your second grade teacher was right � neatness counts. Just clean up! When you rob the store, don�t leave your wallet. When you drive into the front of the bank, don�t leave the front license plate. When you rape/assault/rob a woman on the street, don�t leave behind your cell phone. After you abuse your girlfriend, don�t leave a note saying that you�re sorry.
If you are being chased by the cops and you have dope in your pocket � dump it. These cops are not geniuses. They are out of shape and want to go to Krispy Kreme and most of all go home. They will not scour the woods or the streets for your 2 grams of meth. But they will check your pockets, idiot. 2 grams is not worth six months of jail.
Don�t be offended and say you were harassed because the security was following you all over the store. Girl, you were wearing an electronic ankle bracelet with your mini skirt. And you were stealing. That�s not harassment, that�s good store security.
And those kids you churn out: how is it possible? You�re out there breeding like feral cats. What exactly is the attraction of having sex with other meth addicts? You are lacking in the most basic aspects of hygiene, deathly pale, greasy, grey-toothed, twitchy and covered with open sores. How can you be having sex? You make my baby-whoring crack head clients look positively radiant by comparison.
"I didn't put it all the way in." Not a defense.
"All the money is gone now." Not a defense
"The bitch deserved it." Not a defense.
"But that dope was so stepped on, I barely got high." Not a defense.
"She didn't look thirteen." Possibly a defense; it depends.
"She didn't look six." Never a defense, you just need to die.
For those rare clients that say thank-you, leave a voice mail, send a card or flowers, you are very welcome. I keep them all, and they keep me going more than my pitiful COLA increase.
For the idiots who ask me how I sleep at night: I sleep just fine, thank you. There's nothing wrong with any of my clients that could not have been fixed with money or the presence of at least one caring adult in their lives. But that window has closed, and that loss diminishes us all.
You have the right to remain silent. So SHUT THE FUCK UP. Those cops are completely serious when they say your statements can and will be used against you. There�s just no need to babble on like it�s a drink and dial session. They are just pretending to like you and be interested in you.
When you come to court, consider your dress. If you�re charged with a DUI, don�t wear a Budweiser shirt. If you have some miscellaneous drug charge, think twice about clothing with a marijuana leaf on it or a t-shirt with the �UniBonger� on it. Long sleeves are very nice for covering tattoos and track marks. Try not to be visibly drunk when you show up.
Consider bathing and brushing your teeth. This is just as a courtesy to me who has to stand by you in court. Smoking 5 generic cigarettes to cover up your bad breath is not the same as brushing. Try not to cough and spit on my while you speak and further transmit your strep, flu, and hepatitis A through Z.
I�m a lawyer, not your fairy godmother. I probably won�t find a loophole or technicality for you, so don�t be pissed off. I didn�t beat up your girlfriend, steal that car, rob that liquor store, sell that crystal meth, or rape that 13 year old. By the time we meet, much of your fate has been sealed, so don�t be too surprised by your limited options and that I�m the one telling you about them.
Don�t think you�ll improve my interest in your case by yelling at me, telling me I�m not doing anything for you, calling me a public pretender or complaining to my supervisor. This does not inspire me, it makes me hate you and want to work with you even less.
It does not help if you leave me nine messages in 17 minutes. Especially if you leave them all on Saturday night and early Sunday morning. This just makes me want to stab you in the eye when we finally meet.
For the guys: Don�t think I�m amused when you flirt or offer to �do me.� You can�t successfully rob a convenience store, forge a signature, pawn stolen merchandise, get through a day without drinking, control your temper, or talk your way out of a routine traffic stop. I figure your performance in other areas is just as spectacular, and the thought of your shriveled unwashed body near me makes me want to kill you and then myself.
For the girls: I know your life is rougher than mine and you have no resources. I�m not going to insult you by suggesting you leave your abusive pimp/boyfriend, that you stop taking meth, or that your stop stealing shit. I do wish you�d stop beating the crap out of your kids and leaving your needles out for them to play with because you aren�t allowing them to have a life that is any better than yours.
For the morons: Your second grade teacher was right � neatness counts. Just clean up! When you rob the store, don�t leave your wallet. When you drive into the front of the bank, don�t leave the front license plate. When you rape/assault/rob a woman on the street, don�t leave behind your cell phone. After you abuse your girlfriend, don�t leave a note saying that you�re sorry.
If you are being chased by the cops and you have dope in your pocket � dump it. These cops are not geniuses. They are out of shape and want to go to Krispy Kreme and most of all go home. They will not scour the woods or the streets for your 2 grams of meth. But they will check your pockets, idiot. 2 grams is not worth six months of jail.
Don�t be offended and say you were harassed because the security was following you all over the store. Girl, you were wearing an electronic ankle bracelet with your mini skirt. And you were stealing. That�s not harassment, that�s good store security.
And those kids you churn out: how is it possible? You�re out there breeding like feral cats. What exactly is the attraction of having sex with other meth addicts? You are lacking in the most basic aspects of hygiene, deathly pale, greasy, grey-toothed, twitchy and covered with open sores. How can you be having sex? You make my baby-whoring crack head clients look positively radiant by comparison.
"I didn't put it all the way in." Not a defense.
"All the money is gone now." Not a defense
"The bitch deserved it." Not a defense.
"But that dope was so stepped on, I barely got high." Not a defense.
"She didn't look thirteen." Possibly a defense; it depends.
"She didn't look six." Never a defense, you just need to die.
For those rare clients that say thank-you, leave a voice mail, send a card or flowers, you are very welcome. I keep them all, and they keep me going more than my pitiful COLA increase.
For the idiots who ask me how I sleep at night: I sleep just fine, thank you. There's nothing wrong with any of my clients that could not have been fixed with money or the presence of at least one caring adult in their lives. But that window has closed, and that loss diminishes us all.
PostingID: 70300494
- Copyright © 2011 craigslist, inc.
I couldn't have said it better!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Which came first?
By Shannon
Which came first the chicken or the egg?
Which came first the religious bull-in-a-china-closet or religious discrimination in America?
"Minn. legislator wants Jesus out of Senate Prayers" First I thought, "Come on!" However, when I read the story and understood that a Baptist preacher received an invitation that requested the prayer be non-denominational and he then proceeded to mention Jesus not once, not twice, but THREE times, I understood the Jewish legislator's desire. I wonder why Christians too often forget the Golden Rule. I'm not saying the preacher needed to deny his belief, but only to consider how he'd feel if a Muslim got up and mentioned Allah three times. Perhaps manners need to temper the passions of the bull-in-a-china-closet Christian.
In another story today, a parent is angry because Bibles are available upon request at his child's school in the Bible Belt. This time I could not side with the angry party. As long as Bibles are not forced on anyone, why can't a Bible be available in the school library? It is after all merely a book to those who do not believe.
The legislator, the parent, and the ACLU are arguing that Christ and the Bible are not allowed because of the First Amendment. First I thought, "Wait a minute. Freedom of Speech? That covers books!" Then I realized they meant the Freedom of Religion. They are in the same Amendment, but too many think that Freedom of Religion (or lack thereof) trumps Freedom of Speech. It doesn't. They are equal rights in the same Amendment. In fact, the "separation of church and state" is a relatively new concept in American jurisprudence. It is NOT found in the Constitution.
Which came first the chicken or the egg?
Which came first the religious bull-in-a-china-closet or religious discrimination in America?
"Minn. legislator wants Jesus out of Senate Prayers" First I thought, "Come on!" However, when I read the story and understood that a Baptist preacher received an invitation that requested the prayer be non-denominational and he then proceeded to mention Jesus not once, not twice, but THREE times, I understood the Jewish legislator's desire. I wonder why Christians too often forget the Golden Rule. I'm not saying the preacher needed to deny his belief, but only to consider how he'd feel if a Muslim got up and mentioned Allah three times. Perhaps manners need to temper the passions of the bull-in-a-china-closet Christian.
In another story today, a parent is angry because Bibles are available upon request at his child's school in the Bible Belt. This time I could not side with the angry party. As long as Bibles are not forced on anyone, why can't a Bible be available in the school library? It is after all merely a book to those who do not believe.
The legislator, the parent, and the ACLU are arguing that Christ and the Bible are not allowed because of the First Amendment. First I thought, "Wait a minute. Freedom of Speech? That covers books!" Then I realized they meant the Freedom of Religion. They are in the same Amendment, but too many think that Freedom of Religion (or lack thereof) trumps Freedom of Speech. It doesn't. They are equal rights in the same Amendment. In fact, the "separation of church and state" is a relatively new concept in American jurisprudence. It is NOT found in the Constitution.
The first place in which “separation between church and state” was ever mentioned was in a letter written by President Thomas Jefferson (TJ) on January 1, 1802, in response to a letter from the Danbury Baptists. The Danbury Baptists were a small minority religious group in Connecticut. They were fearful that history would repeat itself and they would be forced to change denominations as they had been in England. TJ assured them that they would not be persecuted or made to change denominations because of the “wall of separation between church and state.” The phrase was not mentioned again for 76 years and then it was used to uphold a conviction of Bigamy against a Mormon defendant. TJ’s letter and the phrase was not mentioned again for 69 years.
After that the phrase was used in:
1947 to allow subsidies for transportation to any accredited school even if it was religious,
1948 to disallow public school children from having religious electives,
1952 to disallow censorship of movies because they offended religious belief,
1961 to disallow religious tests of applicants for public offices,
1962 to disallow prayer in school,
1963 to disallow Bible reading in school,
1968 to allow the teaching of evolution,
1980 to disallow the posting of the Ten Commandments in schools (because they might obey),
1985 to disallow moments of silence in schools if motivation was to encourage prayer,
1987 to disallow the requirement of teaching creation when evolution was taught,
1989 to disallow nativity scenes in government buildings,
1992 to disallow clergy from praying at graduations,
1993 to allow animal sacrifice for adherents to Santeria
I am in favor of separation of church and state, but isn't it lunacy that the First Amendment has been mainly used in the past 52 years to discriminate against Christian activities while allowing something as abhorrent as animal sacrifice for a minority religion? Today Freedom of Religion seems to mean freedom of religions other than Christianity. Christians can’t put up a poster that says, “Don’t kill. Don’t steal.” Yet another religion has the right to kill animals as a form of worship. Lunacy!
Every person "ought to be protected in worshipping the Deity according to the dictates of his own conscience." ~ George Washington in a letter in 1789
"It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded not by religionists but by Christians, not on religion but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ." ~ Patrick Henry
“Let us with caution indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion.” ~George Washington in his Farewell Address
On February 29, 1892, the U.S. Supreme Court noted in Church of the Holy Trinity v. U.S., 143 U.S. 457, 471, that “this is a Christian nation.”
In 1952, the U.S. Supreme Court in Zorach stated, “We are a religious people whose institutions presuppose a Supreme Being. . . . When the State encourages religious instruction or cooperates with religious authorities by adjusting the schedule of public events to sectarian needs, it follows the best of our traditions. For it then respects the religious nature of our people…. To hold that it may not would be to find in the Constitution a requirement that the government show a callous indifference to religious groups. That would be preferring those who believe in no religion over those who do believe.”
Ann and I have known each other for more than 9 years. I don’t know if Ann will remember this, but I never forgot. Shortly after we met, someone made fun of me for being a Christian. Before I could respond Ann, a non-Christian, said sternly, “Leave her alone! She's free to believe what she wants!” I’m not saying you have to believe in God or in Jesus Christ, but do what Ann did and defend my right to believe. And Christians, let's be respectful to those of other faiths and to those who claim no faith at all.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The Human Spirit Gives Me Hope
By Ann
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| city-data.com |
This landmark is displayed in the center of Philadelphia. It expresses love in a city that is fondly nicknamed the “City of Brotherly Love.” Ironically, this city is known for its pandemic crime and poverty rates. There are ghettos and traffic congestion. But it is more than that. There are also musuems, cultures, restaurants, parades, sports, shopping, and it is home to a diverse population.
The landmark in the center of this particular city reminds me of the human spirit. We are more than just animals that evolved from apes. The human spirit is more than poverty. It is more than wealth. It is more than education. It is more than ignorance. It is more than yet it is less than palpable. And it is wholly indescribable.
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| pic found at myvisitingcard.com |
In Japan, volunteer technicians, soldiers, and firefighters work tirelessly to spray rods in the nuclear plant that threatens to devastate the world. They are known as the Fukushima 50 because they work in shifts of 50 and they expose themselves to lethal amounts of radiation in an effort to maintain the nuclear plant from a meltdown.
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| socialcapital.wordpress.com |
On 9-11, volunteer firefighters, police, medical professionals, and tradesmen responded to the world trade center. They responded from all over the nation in an effort to help. And I can remember just hours after the planes crashed that the lines to donate blood would extend for entire city blocks.
Today in court, a young man stood in court to be sentenced. He had participated in a crime over a year ago whereby he and two other young guys burglarized a home. While in jail, he asked me to file a bail motion. He wanted to get out to find a job, go to school, take care of his family, and pay child support. I had heard this story so many times and have not seen many people do the things while out on bail that they promise to do if they do get bail. Nonetheless, I file the motion and he got out. He pled guilty and asked for time before he was sentenced so he could take care of those things he had promised. In my skepticism I believed he was just putting off the inevitable.
He wasn’t.
He had a felony on his record, he was black with a beard down to his chest, and in this economy – he did the unthinkable. He got a job.
He started out part time mopping the floors in a grocery store. After weeks of begging, his boss gave him full time hours. He works six days a week from 8pm to 7 am.
He enrolled in school full time. He has to take remedial classes because he was educated in an inner city public school and comes from a broken home.
He takes care of his family and he pays his child support on time.
He was sentenced to probation. I think he is going to make it. Sure he is no Fukushima 50 but given his background and his lot in life- he might as well be. Because his motivation and his drive to overcome the adversity that he got himself into, it can only be explained by that intangible, indescribable, enigmatic entity known as the human spirit.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
My heart aches
By Shannon
I've been staring at this screen for awhile now. It's my day to post, but I can't seem to find anything to write... or perhaps more accurately, there is too much to write about and I am overwhelmed. I've found out this week that two long-standing marriages are ending and the end is devastating friends who are dear to me. My heart aches.
Then there's the victim of the cold case I'm still working on (see here for details). I watched a video of the victim taken by the police three months before her murder. I wanted to scream at the screen. I wanted to tell her to run from the path she's on. I wanted to warn her that her life was about to end and ask what she wanted her legacy to be, but I couldn't. The video was taken over 17 years ago and she is nothing more than ashes mixed with dirt in a field. I can't change the past and my heart aches.
Then there's Japan. I have a half brother living near Tokyo whom I've never met. I think I may finally have a lead on him. Of course electricity is still out in many places, so I cannot contact him. I wonder if he's okay. I wonder if he will accept my overture. I wonder if he could forgive me for our father's sins. My heart aches.
And don't forget Libya. Many of my friends and I have talked about the fact that we are not really sure what's going on and we suspect there are things the government is not telling us. This I know:
1. There have been too many deaths in Libya and throughout the Middle East.
2. We should have helped when the revolutionaries had the early momentum.
3. I woke up one morning and I didn't recognize my nation anymore.
a. Since when does France tell us what to do? Since when does France lead the free world?
b. My nation is divided against itself. I long for September 12, 2001 when we were not
divided by race or political ideology, but we were merely brothers and sisters who'd been
sucker-punched. Our vulnerability drew us together then.
I've been staring at this screen for awhile now. It's my day to post, but I can't seem to find anything to write... or perhaps more accurately, there is too much to write about and I am overwhelmed. I've found out this week that two long-standing marriages are ending and the end is devastating friends who are dear to me. My heart aches.
Then there's the victim of the cold case I'm still working on (see here for details). I watched a video of the victim taken by the police three months before her murder. I wanted to scream at the screen. I wanted to tell her to run from the path she's on. I wanted to warn her that her life was about to end and ask what she wanted her legacy to be, but I couldn't. The video was taken over 17 years ago and she is nothing more than ashes mixed with dirt in a field. I can't change the past and my heart aches.
Then there's Japan. I have a half brother living near Tokyo whom I've never met. I think I may finally have a lead on him. Of course electricity is still out in many places, so I cannot contact him. I wonder if he's okay. I wonder if he will accept my overture. I wonder if he could forgive me for our father's sins. My heart aches.
And don't forget Libya. Many of my friends and I have talked about the fact that we are not really sure what's going on and we suspect there are things the government is not telling us. This I know:
1. There have been too many deaths in Libya and throughout the Middle East.
And my heart aches.
2. We should have helped when the revolutionaries had the early momentum.
And my heart aches.
3. I woke up one morning and I didn't recognize my nation anymore.
a. Since when does France tell us what to do? Since when does France lead the free world?
b. My nation is divided against itself. I long for September 12, 2001 when we were not
divided by race or political ideology, but we were merely brothers and sisters who'd been
sucker-punched. Our vulnerability drew us together then.
And my heart aches.
That's all. I wish I had more for you today, but I have no words, no insights, no petitions, no commentaries, but I do have a lot of prayers driven by my aching heart.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Have We Lost Our Humanity?
On March 11, 2011 a natural disaster preyed upon an entire nation and destroyed the infrastructure of Japan. As of Sunday, 350,000 Japanese citizens are homeless. 10,000 people are presumed dead as a result of a devastating tsunami that ravaged the country and caused over 100 aftershock earthquakes in just one day. Entire towns are completely obliterated from the landscape. As if that wasn’t enough, the earthquakes compromised the entire world as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was at risk of melting down due to decreased water levels that exposed the plant’s fuel rods.
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| whitelocust.wordpress.com |
The Japanese have stoically and calmly responded to the devastation. There have not been reports of looting, violence, or riots. Without basic necessities and cognizant of the reality that supplies are dangerously insufficient to meet the crushing demand, the Japanese people politely stand in line and wait to get their chance to get into half empty stores. While there have been isolated incidents of looting by a few desperate survivors who are without any food or water, there is an inarguable lack of social disorder in the country. In fact, the Japanese have become the envy of the world in their responsible and humane response in the face of an unyeilding and deadly natural disaster. http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110320/wl_asia_afp/japanquakecrime
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| pic can be found at thedailybeast.com |
We had a natural disaster not too long ago and we did not react with as much fortitude. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed New Orleans and the media responded before the government. Our country was bombarded with construed and embelished media reports of looting, carjacking, murders, thefts, and rapes. Eventually, the victims were rescued and the government made a less than gallant effort to assist the displaced residents. Conversely, in Japan the response was overwhelming.
The government ensured that school buildings were reinforced for earthquakes because children are more vulnerable to injury. Here, the government neglected New Orleans as was emphasized in the epic failure of the levis in the city.
Our reaction to Katrina and the reaction to the Japanese reflected in one of our talking heads. http://www.addictinginfo.org/2011/03/16/rush-limbaugh-scoffs-at-japan-quake-refugees-for-being-responsible/.
In his radio show, this man makes fun of the Japanese resilience and the way school children have been recycling debris. Why would he do this?
I don't know. I do know that we as a nation have become less than humane in recent years. When a political party suggested that people without health care should have an option so they could go to the doctor, overwhelming numbers of Americans rallied against such a humane and progressive idea. When our own citizens were suffering the effects of Katrina, the media contrived the victims as savages in need of martial law. When our President was elected, an entire new political party was borne and became obsessed with falsely claiming he was not a US Citizen.
I don't know what the answer is. I do hope that we can change. If we become more socially responsible and progressive it does not make us socialists or communists. If we begin to care it does not make us weak or vulnerable. It makes us human and responsible and that's a good thing.
In his radio show, this man makes fun of the Japanese resilience and the way school children have been recycling debris. Why would he do this?
I don't know. I do know that we as a nation have become less than humane in recent years. When a political party suggested that people without health care should have an option so they could go to the doctor, overwhelming numbers of Americans rallied against such a humane and progressive idea. When our own citizens were suffering the effects of Katrina, the media contrived the victims as savages in need of martial law. When our President was elected, an entire new political party was borne and became obsessed with falsely claiming he was not a US Citizen.
I don't know what the answer is. I do hope that we can change. If we become more socially responsible and progressive it does not make us socialists or communists. If we begin to care it does not make us weak or vulnerable. It makes us human and responsible and that's a good thing.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Women Hate Women
By Shannon
A woman came into the office screaming because a fellow prosecutor did her very best and still lost a case against the man alledged to have sexually abused the woman's daughter. The woman began screaming that we should have told the jury that the defendant's brother is in prison in California because he is a child molester. She would not listen to why that was irrelevant. She pointed accusingly as she said we should have called her and the 13 year old victim at least every week since the trial. She could not see that hand-holding after the fact is not a luxury prosecutors have when we have a never-ending supply of victims. Then she screamed that we (I wasn't even there) were stupid because the jury had 7 men and "only" 3 women. I tried to explain that loading a jury with men in a sexual assault case is just good strategy. She told me I was an idiot.
"Ma'am I know it's hard to believe, but a male jury is the only way to go in matters like these."
She looked at me with murderous eyes.
"Women hate women, so..."
"She's not a woman!" the woman screamed as she towered over me. "She's 13!"
"Yes," I said. "However, women don't like 13 year olds much better..." Before I could explain why this is true, she began ranting again. She had not come for answers. She'd come to vent her anger.
I understood her point. She thought that it would be easier for a female victim to testify before a female jury. Perhaps. Unfortunately, trials are not about what is easiest... they are about justice. To have a shot at justice, comfort can't matter. Women judge other women extremely harshly - and not just female victims either. I have to look more polished than my male counterparts because when I speak the women on the jury are not hearing my words, they are judging my shoes, my suit, my hair, my weight, my breasts, my lack of a wedding ring, and they are mentally ridiculing me when I make a mistake. They judge victims the same way, but that judgement often ends with a silent pronouncement:
"She deserved it," they think, "for looking too sexy, wearing a skirt, walking just before dusk down that road, trusting that uncle, sitting in her father's lap and wiggling, etc."
No prosecutor can afford to have too many women on a jury when the victim is female over the age of 9.
Need more proof? Look back at Ann's post from yesterday. See that bully-judge's picture at the bottom of her post? Well, I looked at some of the news reports and some of the comments at the end of those reports. Some men blamed the victim because she was arguing with her lover over the phone and then went to his house where he alledgedly broke her arm. Almost EVERY women blamed her for the same reason. Almost EVERY woman said she got what she deserved because they'd heard she doesn't wear underware. (I'm not kidding.) The women found or made up reasons to hate her, but many men defended her. One man wrote that (I'm paraphrasing): "By this group's logic, next time my wife makes me mad I can hit her and then defend myself by saying that she should have known better than to walk within arm's reach."
I don't know what the answer is, but I do know this: We will never have a woman president until women stop hating women. We will never have justice for female victims over the age of 9 until women stop hating women. We will never have truly beautiful lives until we experience the strength, peace, wisdom, and love that we women can EXPERIENCE and EXERT when we stop hating each other.
The following video has profanity - I mean come on! It's Chris Rock!
So if you are offended by the F-word or the B-word, then skip the video.
"You would think that women would rule the world, but they don't! Why?
Because women hate women."
~ Chris Rock
A woman came into the office screaming because a fellow prosecutor did her very best and still lost a case against the man alledged to have sexually abused the woman's daughter. The woman began screaming that we should have told the jury that the defendant's brother is in prison in California because he is a child molester. She would not listen to why that was irrelevant. She pointed accusingly as she said we should have called her and the 13 year old victim at least every week since the trial. She could not see that hand-holding after the fact is not a luxury prosecutors have when we have a never-ending supply of victims. Then she screamed that we (I wasn't even there) were stupid because the jury had 7 men and "only" 3 women. I tried to explain that loading a jury with men in a sexual assault case is just good strategy. She told me I was an idiot.
"Ma'am I know it's hard to believe, but a male jury is the only way to go in matters like these."
She looked at me with murderous eyes.
"Women hate women, so..."
"She's not a woman!" the woman screamed as she towered over me. "She's 13!"
"Yes," I said. "However, women don't like 13 year olds much better..." Before I could explain why this is true, she began ranting again. She had not come for answers. She'd come to vent her anger.
I understood her point. She thought that it would be easier for a female victim to testify before a female jury. Perhaps. Unfortunately, trials are not about what is easiest... they are about justice. To have a shot at justice, comfort can't matter. Women judge other women extremely harshly - and not just female victims either. I have to look more polished than my male counterparts because when I speak the women on the jury are not hearing my words, they are judging my shoes, my suit, my hair, my weight, my breasts, my lack of a wedding ring, and they are mentally ridiculing me when I make a mistake. They judge victims the same way, but that judgement often ends with a silent pronouncement:
"She deserved it," they think, "for looking too sexy, wearing a skirt, walking just before dusk down that road, trusting that uncle, sitting in her father's lap and wiggling, etc."
No prosecutor can afford to have too many women on a jury when the victim is female over the age of 9.
Need more proof? Look back at Ann's post from yesterday. See that bully-judge's picture at the bottom of her post? Well, I looked at some of the news reports and some of the comments at the end of those reports. Some men blamed the victim because she was arguing with her lover over the phone and then went to his house where he alledgedly broke her arm. Almost EVERY women blamed her for the same reason. Almost EVERY woman said she got what she deserved because they'd heard she doesn't wear underware. (I'm not kidding.) The women found or made up reasons to hate her, but many men defended her. One man wrote that (I'm paraphrasing): "By this group's logic, next time my wife makes me mad I can hit her and then defend myself by saying that she should have known better than to walk within arm's reach."
I don't know what the answer is, but I do know this: We will never have a woman president until women stop hating women. We will never have justice for female victims over the age of 9 until women stop hating women. We will never have truly beautiful lives until we experience the strength, peace, wisdom, and love that we women can EXPERIENCE and EXERT when we stop hating each other.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
By Ann
Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!
In major cities all over the world, parades are parading, people are wearing green and partying, fountains and lakes are dyed green, and others are sitting in mass. Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is celebrated on March 17 every year. It started as a Catholic holiday and has evolved into an International secular celebration of Irish culture.
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| pic can be found at dcist.com |
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| pic can be found at clickercompany.com |
The Leprechaun
A leprechaun is a two feet tall Irish Fairy. He has a pot of gold and if you catch him, you can force him to tell you where it is, but if you look away- even for a second, the leprechaun vanishes and so does the pot of gold- forever! http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/shamrock.htm
Snakes
Myth: Saint Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. Reality: Snakes never existed in Ireland because it’s surrounded by icy waters that are too cold for snakes to emigrate. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/03/110316-saint-patricks-day-2011-march-17-facts-ireland-irish-nation/
The Legal System
Myth: The American Judiciary is Just and Judges are Fair
The reality is that the system is imperfect and a majority of judges are judgmental bullies. Some even take their role in the courtroom so seriously that they cannot have normal, healthy relationships with people. This is likely because in the courtroom, a judge has the power of contempt. That means that if he or she makes a determination that you are in contempt (an intentional ambiguous term that simply means you did something to anger the judge) and you can be fined and/or sent to jail. This contempt power makes people cower and shake in the courtroom. Unfortunately, some (not all) judges forget that the respect and deference they enjoy is out of fear rather than genuine respect and they buy into their own narcissistic delusions of grandeur outside of their courtroom.
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| pic found at ydr.com |
For example, the above picture is that of a Pennsylvania judge who agreed to an 8 month protection from abuse order against his former lover. He and she got into an argument and he allegedly broke her arm. The attorney general is investigating and criminal charges may be coming. He is of course still sitting on the bench, judging other people’s lives and holding people in contempt.
In honor of Saint Patrick’s Day and in celebration of all things Irish, I felt today would be an appropriate day to expose this judge for the bully that he is.
Slainte!
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Someone should, but who will?
By Shannon
Today's post is not about the law or politics or current events. It's about a cold case murder that has now been solved. I am about to take the case to trial as I discussed in a prior post.
Almost two decades ago two people were murdered. They were not good people by most people's standards, but they were still people. The man had a wife, ex-wife, girlfriends, and children. The woman had parents, an ex-husband, and was likely having sex with her divorce lawyer to pay for the divorce. Both victims were drug addicts, drug traffickers, and the woman was a stripper. She was 29 years old when she died. She would have been 47 later this year.
It's normal to be consumed with a case when preparing for a trial, but this one has consumed me in a different way. This time it's the female victim who has captured me. When I went to the decades old crime scene yesterday these victims, who I know only through twenty year old pictures, came back to life in my mind. As I walked through the story, I saw them and imagined her fear. As I walked the last twenty paces of the woman's life, I stepped into her shoes. I wondered if she thought during those last twenty steps that she'd like a chance to do it all over. Probably not. She didn't know they were her final steps. As I looked at where she'd been disposed of I wondered if she'd died immediately from her wounds or how much she'd suffered.
I'm only a few years older now than she was when she died. I had so looked forward to my 30th birthday. She never reached hers. I worry about fine lines appearing around my eyes. She never had the chance to cultivate any. I frown in the mirror at the gray hairs appearing in my hair. She will never have a gray hair.
I feel connected to her and I think that is partly because someone should still grieve for her. Someone should care about justice even after almost two decades. The male victim's family is involved in the prosecution and still outraged at his murder. His family is demanding justice. But her family... her family wrote her off a LONG time ago - even before she died. They demand nothing of me or my office. Normally we would embrace a little silence from victim's families, but it's just so silent for her. I am sad for her. Sure she was living a lifestyle that almost guarantees a short life span, but she didn't die from an accidental overdose or suicide. While these two murders changed the lives of all the conspirators and turned them into law abiding citizens in the last two decades, she didn't have a chance to turn it all around. She was murdered in cold blood with malice aforethought.
Sure she and I would never have been friends. We're from two different worlds, two different class stratas, and two different families. However, shouldn't SOMEONE still weep for her? Shouldn't SOMEONE be pushing for justice even after all these years? Shouldn't SOMEONE? The answer is yes and so I will shed a few tears for this woman I'll never know and with whom I wouldn't have been friends with even if I had known her and I will demand justice.
Today's post is not about the law or politics or current events. It's about a cold case murder that has now been solved. I am about to take the case to trial as I discussed in a prior post.
Almost two decades ago two people were murdered. They were not good people by most people's standards, but they were still people. The man had a wife, ex-wife, girlfriends, and children. The woman had parents, an ex-husband, and was likely having sex with her divorce lawyer to pay for the divorce. Both victims were drug addicts, drug traffickers, and the woman was a stripper. She was 29 years old when she died. She would have been 47 later this year.
It's normal to be consumed with a case when preparing for a trial, but this one has consumed me in a different way. This time it's the female victim who has captured me. When I went to the decades old crime scene yesterday these victims, who I know only through twenty year old pictures, came back to life in my mind. As I walked through the story, I saw them and imagined her fear. As I walked the last twenty paces of the woman's life, I stepped into her shoes. I wondered if she thought during those last twenty steps that she'd like a chance to do it all over. Probably not. She didn't know they were her final steps. As I looked at where she'd been disposed of I wondered if she'd died immediately from her wounds or how much she'd suffered.
I'm only a few years older now than she was when she died. I had so looked forward to my 30th birthday. She never reached hers. I worry about fine lines appearing around my eyes. She never had the chance to cultivate any. I frown in the mirror at the gray hairs appearing in my hair. She will never have a gray hair.
I feel connected to her and I think that is partly because someone should still grieve for her. Someone should care about justice even after almost two decades. The male victim's family is involved in the prosecution and still outraged at his murder. His family is demanding justice. But her family... her family wrote her off a LONG time ago - even before she died. They demand nothing of me or my office. Normally we would embrace a little silence from victim's families, but it's just so silent for her. I am sad for her. Sure she was living a lifestyle that almost guarantees a short life span, but she didn't die from an accidental overdose or suicide. While these two murders changed the lives of all the conspirators and turned them into law abiding citizens in the last two decades, she didn't have a chance to turn it all around. She was murdered in cold blood with malice aforethought.
Sure she and I would never have been friends. We're from two different worlds, two different class stratas, and two different families. However, shouldn't SOMEONE still weep for her? Shouldn't SOMEONE be pushing for justice even after all these years? Shouldn't SOMEONE? The answer is yes and so I will shed a few tears for this woman I'll never know and with whom I wouldn't have been friends with even if I had known her and I will demand justice.
Pic from www.pirata.com
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Women's History Month- Forget Your Place!
By Ann
30 something – never married- no kids- attractive- articulate-lawyer and single!
Sounds like a great catch. Until you mention that the lawyer is a female. That’s when things get tricky. A strong, educated, self –reliant woman makes people a little uncomfortable. A woman is able to be passionate, extreme, and even an activist – so long as she knows where she stands and when she stands there she does it on shaky high heels.
For example, we as a society are eagerly willing to celebrate and almost canonize a strong woman like Erin Brokovich, she is fiery, sexy, outspoken and she knows her place. She has no education. She wears sexy clothes. She has three children to support and she relies on a man to keep her head above water. As long as she knows her place and that place is dependent on a man, then she will be praised for her work and she will even have a movie made about her. Of course, the female attorneys in the movie are portrayed as dowdy and nerdy because they clearly refuse to be put in their place.
March is women’s history month. Of course, it started out as only a week because women’s history wasn’t even taught in school curriculums. Nonetheless, our history is rich with women who refused to be put in their place, despite harsh repurcussions.
Alice Paul and Lucy Burns were pioneers in the suffragist movement. They along with 33 other women were arrested for obstructing the sidewalk in front of the White House when they were peacefully picketing. They were thrown in jail, beaten, choked, tortured, and fed worm infested food for months. Finally, Lucy Burns went on a hunger strike and for weeks she was held down and force fed liquid until she would vomit.
Women Faced Opposition in the Practice of Law
“You can’t be shining lights at the Bar because you are too kind. You can never be corporation lawyers because you are not cold-blooded. You have not a high grade of intellect. I doubt you could ever make a living.” - Clarence Darrow (to a group of 19th century women lawyers).
In 1875, the Wisconsin Supreme Court denied Lavinia Goodell admission to the state bar on the grounds that “[n]ature has tempered woman as little for the juridical conflicts of the court room, as for the physical conflicts of the battle field. Womanhood is moulded [sic] for gentler and better things.”
Then in the 1950s Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor graduated from Stanford Law but no law firm in California was willing to hire her as a lawyer due to her sex, although one firm did offer her a position as a legal secretary.
It made me think of Hillary Clinton’s concession speech where she boldly stated:
"Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it has about 18 million cracks in it and the light is shining through like never before."
In 2008, Hillary Clinton ran for President and the newspapers and the mainstream talked incessantly about her suits, her hair, and her marital problems. I suspect it was because our society wasn’t ready yet for a woman to be so self reliant so as to be a leader.
Not yet. But we’re getting there.
Not yet. But we’re getting there.
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