Tag: law

Inspired

maydaygaskarthLeave a comment

I always go to the movies purely for entertainment. I’ve never gone to a movie where I’ve left inspired about my future.

But after watching On the Basis of Sex on Saturday, I couldn’t wait to be a lawyer.

The movie was based off the life of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She was the top of her class at both Harvard’s and Columbia’s law schools, but she wasn’t allowed to practice law in New York City solely on the basis that she was a woman during this time.

The story followed her through her first case following a male who wanted a care giver tax deduction, but the law stated that only women or widowed men could be care givers.

This case was the spark that started a series of changes in laws contributing to giving women their rights, many cases won by RBG herself.

Photo Credit: Rottentomatoes.com

Ginsberg went from a lawyer fighting sex-based discrimination against people who wouldn’t listen to being a Supreme Court justice with a 96-3 vote from Congress.

If that’s not inspirational for a young female and aspiring lawyer, then I don’t know what is.

Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I would make up cases and make my family act as the other lawyers and defendants. I went to a mock trial program at UCLA over the summer and most of my daydreams lately have been about excelling in law school.

I’m pretty sure I’m more excited for law school than I am for college.

Watching that movie made me excited for my future, excited to live in NYC, and excited practice law and work on influential cases.

So, thank you RBG. I hope to follow in your footsteps on the path you’ve helped create.

Street Art Revolution

callmemaybe32Leave a comment

I have always loved art, but not so much in a gallery, while I appreciate it, what really gets me happy is street art.

Street art is one of those things that you always have to appreciate.

I’m not saying all the ugly gang tags on the side of a bridge, but when you see something that someone has taken time to do, and invested more than just money into you have to stop and think about it.

Street art is an ever growing movement.

When people see actual street art and call it graffiti, it actually isn’t correct.

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My First Mock Trial

rangerthecatLeave a comment

On Thursday in my Law and Society class, my class had our first mock trial. We were introduced to the idea of it the week before, and were given a whole packet of information about the case and the testimonies of witnesses. We read over it all to get a better understanding of the case.

The basic outline of the case was playing off the story Hansel and Gretel.

In this incident, they walked into a Gingerbread House shop, owned by Ms. Crueller, with the hopes of finding a job. But then, they broke some gingerbread houses, and were was a misunderstanding where Ms. Crueller ended up in her hot oven with burns on her arms, and the children ran away. Ms. Crueller pressed charges on these children, including aggravated battery, criminal mischeif, and petit theft.

We were broken into teams of the defense and prosecution; I was on the side of the defense, and was acting as an attorney. I gave the opening statement, and also cross examined the prosecution’s witnesses. There were 2 other attorneys on my team, one of which did direct questions to our witnesses, and another that did more cross examination and the closing argument. There were also 3 people acting as the witnesses, Hansel and Gretel Schmidt, and also a local shop owner that knew Ms. Crueller and met Hansel and Gretel, and thought they were good kids.

I was so intimidated in the beginning – I absolutely hate public speaking. It made it much worse, also, after the opposing team’s attorney gave their opening statement. It was much longer than mine, and he was much more confident. But I did put in hard work and effort on my own statement, and I knew it wasn’t bad in the slightest. So, I gave my opening statement, and the the questioning began.

The part I really enjoyed was the cross examination. The fact that I could, in a sense, prove my points without any cooperation from the other side was very pleasing. Also, there were many points brought up in the prosecution’s direct questioning that sparked questions of my own, and ended up helping me in my questioning and proving my client’s innocence.

There was one HUGE problem that occurred, though. A witness on my team decided to lie, and made a false statement that, in the end, lead him to incriminate himself. Despite that one mishap, everyone preformed so well, and it was a really great first mock trial. To be honest, I was impressed with my own performance, and the performance of the others on my team.

In the end, the jury that we had came to the verdict of not guilty on the charges of aggravated assault and criminal mischief, but guilty of petit theft. Which, in my book, is nothing to complain about. We did a much better job of defending than I thought we would.

Never though I’d say it, but I am SO extremely excited for the next mock trial, and beyond that, our FINAL mock trial even more. Our first one was such a success, and I can only imagine what we are going to be like on at the end of the year, when we’ve had even more practice.

Censorship and privacy,Is it really necessary?

frog3Leave a comment

Internet privacy and censorship is an issue that has caused much controversy in recent times. With the astronomical growth of the Internet in the last decade, cyber bullying has become an unprecedented problem. Proponents for the removal of online anonymity have argued that cyber bulling would end if people would have to take responsibility for what they say.

A major problem with cyber bulling is the anonymity of it. For example, if a child bullies another child in person, the child can tell school administration and get the problem sorted out. If a child is bullied on lets say Facebook, it is much more difficult to catch the bully.

A fourteen year old boy killed himself on September 9th at about 2 o clock on an early Sunday morning. He was being bullied for his homosexuality, via the popular blogging site Form Spring. It also happened to be suicidal awareness month.Gay Pride

A very recent issue that has reached attention is Internet censorship. This bill is being debated in Congress right now. What it will do is outlaw “illegal pirating of movies, music and other copyrighted material.” This could be a very big deal to many people.

Many people illegally download copyrighted material on a daily basis. It will be interesting to see the backlash that comes from this bill if it is passed.

Justice Against Me

vabenissimoLeave a comment

I want to take my behind-the-wheel driving test.

But, my visa expires on my graduation date, June 3, 2011. And, DMV requires the test takers to possess visa that guarantees the next sixty days of entrance to America. So, here goes the conflict. As I will be entering my college located in California in fall 2011. I will be released with a new visa that covers the days after June 3, 2011. Because my sister is having an annual grand performance in South Korea, I fly back on June 3, 2011 immediately after the graduation. So, I must take the driving test before I leave.

Currently, I am scheduled for an appointment for next week.

By the way, why would DMV allow people to make an appointment without checking these major qualifications in the first place? What if I went to DMV after getting a permission from my high school with much difficulty and be notified that I cannot take the test? Are you kidding me?

So, I made exactly eleven calls to the DMV office, Sacramento, and NIF (nonimmigration Information Form) Office of my college for a solution.

At some times, I was put on hold for exactly 26 minutes 23 seconds. Thankfully, I was well-trained for such incidents when I applied for “Sogiorno” or residence in Italy, where everything is just “relax, and take it easy. Things will happen some day at some time. But, no one knows when.”

My college recommends me to bring my letters of acceptance along with a completed form of NIF which should pretty much prove the delivery of my visa soon, very soon. DMV, finding this problem out of their hands, gave me a number for the main office in Sacramento. When I called several times to Sacramento, my calls were, okay, I do not even go there. To simply put, the experience was horrid.

No matter how many times I explained how I am a high school senior graduating on June 3, 2011 and transitioning into my college in fall 2011, they suggested me to fill out Optional Practical Training (OPT). Well, I called my college to request the completion of this form. Then, they spoke that I ought to have complete some kind of program and practically completing the form as an entering freshman is an impossibility. Suprise!

Now, I am going to enter the DMV office with my letter of acceptance and completion of my visa request in my hand just like the NIF office of my college suggested. And, if the DMV office refuse me to grant such opportunity,

Something is wrong. I mean,

Something is VERY wrong in the system.

Just because I am a young adult gradually experiencing the “practical” reality, I will not let my complaints for such ridiculous system slip away. If California set up to ensure the legitimacy of the test takers, then am I suppose to forgive this insanity and let myself kneel down to the law set for the benefits on only one population and not for the other? Should I be submissive to these laws with ironical respect, or not? Maybe I need an answer to this question more than to provide a solution to my visa problem.

Surely, my future looks bright with this justice by my side.