What aspects of the stages in a capital case are designed to protect the rights of the accused? Do you believe that this system is sufficient to guarantee that only the guilty are convicted?

Preliminary Hearing

A criminal hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to prosecute an accused

person. If sufficient evidence exists, the case will be bound over for grand-jury review or an

information will be filed in the trial court.

Hearing on Pre-trial Motions

A judicial session held for the purpose of deciding issues of fact or of law, sometimes with

witnesses testifying, before the trial begins.

Prosecution’s Case

The government, which has the burden of proving the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable

doubt, offers evidence in an effort to convince the jury that the defendant committed the offense.

Pondering thoughts

The email which was read to the class first period today really stuck with me all day. In it it stated that all participants of extra curricular activities were going to be drug tested before their seasons and randomly during the season. Of course this sparked a lot of frustration among different members of the class, most of whom agree that many of the sports teams at DHS would be at risk of losing members. Good news though....the whole email was made up by our teacher in order to get us thinking about our rights to privacy.

I think that the school as well as the community have turned a blind eye to the issues that exist within Deerfield. There is a drug problem. Listening to everyone talk about homecoming and what they did over the weekend at school today emphasized this issue very heavily.

Reflecting on the death penalty (late blog post)

A really important issue I discovered and have really noticed throughout this unit is how unfair the judicial system and the people involved in it are and can be. With studying the death penalty over the past coupe of weeks I've found misrepresentation to be a reoccurring factor many times. Along with that is the unfair advantage money causes throughout the system. Whether a conviction is decided racially or not the system is set up in a way that screws over minority's. And when those people get themselves into trouble or involved with criminal activity, they aren't able to provide themselves with a representative that is capable, educated, and willing to represent them and take on their case. Because these people can not afford to pay someone to help them the state provides them with someone to defend them in court. What I've noticed is that those state appointed defense attorneys have no idea what they are doing or just don't care to do much to help the person they were appointed to defend.

Thank God It's Over

As important and necessary as I view the election and being able to elect our representatives and those in government...I hate election season. With all of the negative adds continuously showed on what seems like every Television station except for HBO. Even some of the adds on Youtube were political ones. What bothers me most about election season is the media and the attack adds. The attack adds bothered me more so than the media did this year because that seemed to be the only kind of campaigning the politicians were doing...talking smack about one another. It's annoying. What's bad about the other candidate shouldn't be something that you focus on or use as an answer to a question. The focus of these campaigns should be more focused on all the positives that each candidate can bring to his position and to the people he or she is going to represent.

Saturday Night Live was so spot on here!!

 

I have now watched this video clip 3 times and it just gets funnier and funnier each time. But as funny as this is and as much as we laugh at it, at the end of the day it's a sad reality. As Americans we take so many things for granted and seem to always find something to complain about. And although this is just a parody and might be a tad bit extreme the small little things we complain about don't even begin to compare to the hardships and struggles that others around the world deal with. As I've gotten older and more mature I have come to realize that it's important to enjoy what you have, not what you don't have. I've found myself taking a more positive approach to life. No matter what happens, it could always be worse. "It could always be worse" I've decided to take on as my life motto. When I told my mom this the other night she said "Well that's not a very optimistic outlook." But what I explained to her is that it is not pessimistic in any way but it keeps one centered, grounded, and maintaining a more realistic look on the situation. In the end we both concluded that it's a neutral saying, not pessimistic nor totally optimistic.

Why I Should Be President of the United States of America

In the heat of the current presidential campaign I have come to realize the sad truth we are forced to deal with everyday. There is an unbelievably large amount of stupid, irrational, selfish, good for nothing people in this world, and some of them hold very high positions. Don't ask me how they got there because I have no idea.

In a time with so many different things going on at the same time, nationally and internationally, it is important for those in power, whom we look to in times of need and whom we expect will be able to help figure at least some things out, we are stuck with close to nothing. It no longer feels like politicians and other people of power in our country, choose to do so because they want to right what is wrong and help those in need, or for world peace. NO. It's astonishing the shit these people fight over and try and bargain and work around things.

Is there anyone out there who's got some sense or who wants to right the wrongs of this ridiculous country and pick up those in need of a helping hand?

Have no fear...I AM HERE!

We need to get this country rolling again, and actually rolling. Not just "moving along" but rolling and rolling on a track that is never ending. It's not to say that we wont ever see a decline or a fall of any sorts again, because that would be a full out lie, but there needs to be a better and more fool proof system or way of recovering faster than in the past. As a country of brilliant minds and creative imaginations we are capable of so much. And God damn it there is nothing wrong with PBS or with Big Bird end of discussion!!!

Speech Codes at The University of Alabama

Monday afternoon I received my admissions letter to the University of Alabama, it being my first choice I was beyond ecstatic. As a recent topic being discussed in my Issues class at school, speech codes on campus is an important and interesting topic. Before this activity I don't believe I knew or could tell someone what exactly a speech code is, but have no fear because this girl knows her stuff now!! Directed to a website known as thefire.org I chose to look at the speech code policies of Alabama. The University received a speech code rating of RED, meaning that there are certain policy's in place that could or do prohibit certain expressions of "free speech," interesting, but not something I found totally surprising. In fact I wouldn't be all that surprised if a majority of University's and Colleges received a speech code rating of RED as well. After all it is in the institutions best interest to protect not only their students (as they provide the college with lots of $$) but also their staff, professors, administration and alumni, all of which contribute or have contributed greatly to the institution. No institution would want to gain an unpopular or bad reputation from allowing anything to be said about what ever and have ties to that specific college or university.

"Jim Crow on Fraternity Row"

What do I think of this? PATHETIC. Reading the article "Jim Crow on Fraternity Row" I was uncomfortable and utterly baffled at the thought that anyone in their right mind would find dressing up as the KKK and pretend hanging someone in black face acceptable or funny. Yes these men were in a fraternity and just joking around but honestly how stupid can you be? As college students, particularly in the south, I would think that they would have received more than just a BASIC understanding of what went on during the civil rights movement and before that. There is no way to justify these students actions because lynching and the KKK are two subjects that are taken VERY seriously, they are not in any way jokes. While looking at the different pictures taken at at these parties I couldn't help but laugh at the sheer ignorance of those men. Yes, I was also laughing at what was being depicted in the pictures because of how utterly insane these "men" must be. Idiotic, disturbed, and totally uneducated are just a couple of adjectives that describe these men, their actions, and the pictures that were taken.

Helium Shortage....?

Helium Shortage Has Balloon Sales Dropping - Brianna McClane - NationalJournal.com


As I was helping a client bring in stuff for her party from her car she mentioned how she was unable to get any balloons for her daughters birthday party. She had called about 5 different Jewels and party city, all of which said they wouldn't be able to provide her with any balloons due to the helium shortage. Helium shortage? I looked at her with a puzzled look on my face to which she replied, "I know, I was confused too." Neither of us could come up with any kind of reason or possible cause that could have contributed to there being a shortage. We're both aware that helium is an element on the periodic table but that was as far as our knowledge of Chemistry was able to take us. Our curiosity turned us to Google. Apparently there has been a shortage of helium for a couple months now and there seems to be more than one reason why. Read the article above to learn more about why the shortage has become a somewhat lingering problem.

Could it be?

As I arrived home from yoga Tuesday night around 9pm the Republican convention was on the family room TV. My mom was sitting on the couch watching Ann Romney talk about all the wonderful things her husband has to offer this country and all the great things he'll do as president....BLAH BLAH BLAH. My mom and I both listening and watching intently as she proudly preached for her husband, yet at the end of the day we both agreed that Ann Romney is no Michelle Obama, nor could she ever come close. Soon after Ann Romney finished speaking we got a phone call from a very close family friend…who lives on the Sunshine Coast of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She too had just finished watching the same speech we had and expressed her concerns for our family as well as our country if Romney were to win this upcoming election. She can’t be the only one worried about what might come of our country if Romney were to be voted in to office…right? I know my dad has expressed his worry and concern plenty and more recently we sat down and had a serious conversation about a variety of things. The election was somehow brought up and the mood suddenly changed. He looked at me and said, “If Romney wins this election Kate, moving to Canada would become more than just an idea. I would seriously consider moving this family.” Would it really be that scary? That serious that we would be better off in Canada?

It Started in Kindergarden

I remember having to learn all of the words to the pledge of allegiance and how to say it way back when I was five years old. We said the pledge everyday. As five year olds we did what we were told to do and moved on to the next task after. But as I've grown older standing and reciting the pledge has become more of a personal preference task in my mind. Just like how a lot of people grow up practicing what ever religion their parents do but then decide to switch or not practice anything at all once they reach a certain age. It's all about personal preference and no one should be forced to do anything they don't believe in or want to do. At the time of the creation of the pledge and its purpose wanting to increase patriotism I am all for it, but years later there have been many changes in this world and in the united states and just as us citizens have developed alongside these changes the rules and laws should go hand in hand as well. It's a different finds now....things are just very different.

Saying Goodbye

Tonight I went over to my best friends house to say goodbye to her. She's leaving for college in the morning, headed off to Western Michigan I know she isn't very far away. Saturday afternoon I said goodbye to another very close friend of mine who is off to Western Michigan in the morning as well. I've worked with both girls for just over 2 years now and when I think about having to go to Wednesday meetings without them...my heart drops. It's hard to say goodbye to people you care a lot about, I know that it isn't goodbye for forever but a goodbye for a little bit. Yet, it still feels as though something very significant is missing.