Law in Culture Review- To Kill a Mockingbird

My cultural Source: To Kill a Mockingbird
Author: Harper E Lee
Published: July 11, 1960
Publisher: J.B Lippincott & CO

Summary:

To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper E Lee she tells a story based off of a little girls’ perspectives, who goes by the name of Jean Scout Finch. She explains the things that she has witnessed growing up, as she faces the harsh reality of Alabama in 1933-35. In Maycomb Alabama during the time the book has taken place there has been a fair share of racist individuals living in Alabama. While growing up she has witnessed things that she would not be able to explain, or things that felt wrong but in the eyes of people who was white was something that was considered as right. For example, there was a scene in which she has seen segregation but did not understand why segregation was a thing, and she knew it was something that felt wrong but in the eyes of others was considered as something right. In 1933-35 blacks and whites were segregated, and as a result of that blacks tried to stay out the white man’s way as much as they possibly can. While many black individuals tried their best to stay away many white individuals took that as an advantage, to pin their wrong doings on black individuals being that they know the no one would respect them or care if they did it or not being that if you were black during the time you was automatically guilty. Her father Atticus Finch was a lawyer and he was the 1st white man in Alabama to trial a case where he was defending a black man something in which white individuals do not normally do for the sake of their safety. Atticus was strong for that and regardless of the constant threats to his life, and children he still went on. He tried to set that example for his kids where he made it known it was okay to stand up for things that was felt wrong but to others was considered as right. As a result of that Atticus fought to prove Tom Robinson innocents against the rape and beating of Mayalla Ewells. He was able to provided sufficient evidence in which proved Tom Robinson innocence but being that the jury was racist, and so was the towns people they did not care, and just wanted the black man killed. This book stood out to me because we actually live in a time where people are so willing to ignore the factual evidence that proves something just because they do not like a certain race, gender, etc. It proves the ignorance in people, and shows how the court systems use to be, and how it kind of changed since then.

In the book “To Kill A Mockingbird”, and considering what I have learned in Law1101&1103 I think that in the book To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper E Lee the author accurately portrayed legal concepts. When focusing on Law in the book the author described a criminal issue where they Brough charges on a man for “committing” a crime against a woman. As a result of that they explained how the man accused was brought to jail, had hired an attorney, and would meet with the attorney to talk about the case, and charges in which was brought against him. They show the readers ho the Lawyer Atticus Finch follows the lawyer client privilege, and how Atticus makes sure not to mix his law life with his regular life by not talking much about the case especially in public places. They also give an accurate depiction on the court system, and the court room. Atticus spent majority of his time working like an average lawyer does. In the movie they portray a court room very accurate when it comes down to a judge, a jury, the defendant, and plaintiff. Where the judge insures the law, and makes sure that the law is being followed. The judge also allows certain questions to be asked, and certain things to be said. They allow what evidence can be heard by the courts, and the testimonies that can be heard by the courts. In to Kill a mocking bird they also give a clear and accurate depiction of a jury where they determine the facts, meaning that they hear what both lawyers have to say and based on the evidence, testimony, and questions they determine how the verdict would turn out to be. In this book though we see a verdict in which was completely unfair, and was wrong in so many ways but at the same time was considered as an accurate portray during the segregation period. In this book we see an innocent black man who was failed by the court system which as of today is something in which still happens

When reading To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper E Lee I believe that it is an accurate portrayal of the legal field. Even though we are looking through this case from a Childs perspective we are shown a lawyer who was willing to seek justice for the defendant. We are seen a accurate portrayal of the roles pf a lawyer when it comes down to what a criminal justice does with a client, and with defending the client. I believe that we are given a case in which portrays a criminal issue. I mean even though I do not agree with the ruling or how the case went down. I do believe that the author did a good job at giving a glimpse of what the legal field is like, on civilians, lawyers, jury members, and judges. They bring awareness to how it is also possible and considered as likely for the system to fail rather than seek the justice that it was supposed to seek. I honestly would recommend this book because I feel as if even though it doesn’t not go in to as much detail of what a lawyer does or what they need to do and the jobs of people working in the legal field it provides a vivid understanding on what being in a court room means, and how it is are jobs meaning people working in the legal field to try and eliminate biases , and actually understand the evidence, and testimony, and do not just go off of personal biases and beliefs. Honestly reading this book has all been a one of my many reasons to why I wanted to become a criminal justice lawyer. I feel as if we need more individuals willing to fight for what is right, and are willing to actually seek justice, and use factual evidence to prove innocents and instead of personal beliefs. As of today, there are many innocent individuals who are locked up for a crime in which they did not commit, which relates back to the book of to kill a mockingbird being that we are given a man who was locked up for a crime that he did not do is something in which needs to be addressed. When reading this book and seeing the world as of today we see people who have been locked up for crimes that they haven’t committed for example the Central Park five where there were five innocent black boys convicted of a rape that they did not do it has affected me because it is something in which happens to often.

Cites:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird

 

court observation

The court case that I have observed was Matter of the Hon. Paul H. Senzer from June 2020.  In this case a judge was taken to court on the context of him sending vulgar and sexist emails to lawyers and clients. As a result of that they are now on trial trying to decided whether or not he should be removed. In this case to my understanding the defendants lawyer is trying to argue to the judges that the punishment that they are giving the judge who has committed these acts is considered as way too harsh, basically that the crime doesn’t fit the punishment. The other party to my understanding is trying to point out that this judge should be held accountable for his actions for disrespecting a individual based off of their gender being that he was sexualizing a women, and also that he knew what he was doing.

Honestly my personal response to this would be that I believed that everyone conducted themselves in an appropriate matter. No one was like yelling or talking over each other or doing things alone those lines. I believe that the judge who committed the act of sending those emails was wrong only because hearing that kind of news puts a bad rep on judges, because in my eyes I look at it as if this was probably the only time he got caught doing this rather then it being his first time doing it if you understand what i’m saying. Also I feel as if the defendants lawyer kept repeating the same thing and trying to make it seem as if the judge who committed the wrongful act did not know what he was doing or as if what he was doing was not bad. In my eyes he made it seem as if it was just a mistake. The other parties side I feel as if he did his best trying to point out why what the judge did was wrong and why he should be punished for it. He tries to tell why the judge having these gender biases , and being inappropriate is something in which he should be held accountable for. I do not think anything surprises me about this case. I feel like I understand what was going on I do not think I understand what the judges was asking or trying to say very well though. I feel like I found the other parties side more persuasive because I feel like he provided many reasons to why what he did was wrong. I think the defendants lawyer did a good job at citing cases even though they did not really go with what the judge did.

Annoying Ways people use sources

Question 1:

In the article “Annoying Ways People Use sources the authors purpose was to inform the readers that there are certain ways you would use evidence especially when you have to cite something. I learned from him that you need to add the author after you add the evidence. Also that we need to give a brief introduction when putting evidence in. When I was in high school I use to just put evidence in and expect the reader to know what I am talking about. So reading this kinda now makes me question how I got good grades on my essays.

Question 2 :

In the Article BLACK, WHITE AND BLUE: BIAS , PROFILING, AND POLICING IN THE AGE OF BLACK LIVES MATTER, by Bridgette Baldwin the author explains how implicit bias and the idea of African Americans being “criminals” is something in which has been passed down from centuries. As a result of that the author explains to the readers how living in America as a black individual it open ore doors to abuse, and excessive force on them ,Baldwin says “When it comes to minority suspects, police officers are more likely to use excessive force to initiate a stop or make an arrest. Minority suspects, particularly African American males, are perceived as more threatening, less compliant, and more violent. The linking of blackness to criminality will shape whether an unarmed African American will be shot when confronted during a traffic stop3(Baldwin)”.  The author explains that Black individuals are more likely to be falsify , harmed , or even killed due to the stereotypes and the way black individuals are the ones who are most likely to be criminalized due to the many implicit biases that have been either passed down, or being taught.I followed Stedmans guidelines for ‘ Dating spider man’. I introduced my quote, and gave a little summary for my quote. I then proceeded to acknowledge that I was using ‘ Bridgette Baldwin’ source. I added my textual evidence in, and then explained the purpose of the evidence I used and how what Baldwin says is important for my question.

 

FYLC Source Entry 4

Research Question:

“How does the media influence our ideas of implicit bias, especially when it comes to ideas of race and criminality.”

Introduction:

My Research question is important to me because as a African American Women living in a world where I watch people who remind me of a brother, a cousin, a sister, a aunt, and etc I come in connect with many News channels , and many videos where African Americans are being held down, and killed in the hands of people who job was to protect us, or killed by the hands of people who the media told them to protect themselves from. When researching this question I wanted to find maybe an answer or maybe even a reason to why some medias use their network to communicate this idea of African Americans being the main focus when it comes to “criminality”. As a result of media, they create certain groups for certain people which is a negative thing especially being that many people live in certain places where they cannot interact with all races, and by media labeling a certain group as criminals it becomes a major issue which results in deaths of innocent women, men, and children, also the arrest of many innocent Women, Men, and Children.

 

Bibliography Entry:

Bridgette Baldwin, BLACK, WHITE, AND BLUE: BIAS, PROFILING, AND POLICING IN THE AGE OF BLACK LIVES MATTER, 40 W. New Eng. L. Rev. 431 (2018), https://digitalcommons.law.wne.edu/lawreview/vol40/iss3/4

A Summary :

In the Article BLACK, WHITE AND BLUE: BIAS , PROFILING, AND POLICING IN THE AGE OF BLACK LIVES MATTER, by Bridgette Baldwin the author explains how implicit bias and the idea of African Americans being “criminals” is something in which has been passed down from centuries. As a result of that the author tells the readers that media also plays a positive, and negative role to that. The author explains how the media plays a positive role when it comes down to recording and sharing the injustice that African Americans face when it comes not only from cops, racist, and individuals in which the media influence to fear people of color. Bridgette Baldwin explains to the audience that the injustice that African Americans face is real , and is something in which should not be controversial being that it is something we see through these videos where they shoot unarmed black men , woman,  and kids. She tales about how the media would forever have a impact on the way African Americans are viewed, and how these stereotypes are something in which would forever characterize African American individuals as the real threat of America.

A Reflection:

When reading this article I agree with the author because media as of today can have a positive and a negative impact on society. The media as of today broadcast to millions of people from everywhere these topics where people are taught that African Americans are dangerous compared to any other race. he author talks about how not only media but shows, movies, and songs has a impact on how people are viewed. Majority of the time African Americans are painted as criminals, thugs, abusers , prostitutes, ghetto, and so on. There has been a list of stereotypes that was made for black people in which as of today has affe ted the way that we are viewed.  When flipping through News channels , News articles , and Videos shared on my time line on facebook , twitter, and even instagram I am thrown with innocent African American people who are being made a mockery of. As of today people blame Tamir Rice parents for letting the 12 year old boy play with a toy gun outside, they blame Eric Gardner for not “complying” they blame Trayvon Martin for “looking Suspecious ” , they blame Sandra Bland for ” speaking up against the injustice that she was facing”, and they blamed the death of Ahmaud Arbery for ” looking suspicious while jogging” . As of today they blame the victims of these terrible killing, or even say it was a mistake on their part but not actually admitting to the “mistake on their part” . While Dylan Roof a white supremacist walked into a African American church and killed 9 innocent people, upon his arrest they later took the killer to Burger King before taking him to jail, Or maybe George Zimmerman who shot Trayvon Martin a unarmed black teen, he was later taken to trial but later was pronounced innocent, and as of today is trying to sell the gun that he use to kill Trayvon Martin. When looking at Dylan Roof people are more so influenced to the idea that white individuals are not criminals, even while Dylan Roof was on trial they blamed it on “Mental Illness even then Dylan Roof stated that he was proud of what he did. They tried finding ways around it , but hen it comes down to a African American Individuals they always find a way to label them as the criminal.  When speaking of the media and these ideas of Implicit Biases we are seen that African Americans who have not did anything wrong are more likely to be put in a life or death situation unlike the many other races of people who are seen committing a terrible act. As a result of that the media for example Fox News is a media that is broadcast all around the world openly that black people are the real criminals of America. It scares me being that at any time of the day someone can paint me as a criminal or maybe as a threat due to the color of my skin, or even paint one of  my family members, my friends, and my family friends as a threat and that could be the end of us only because the media has been influencing people that because I am black I am a criminal.

Quotables:

“Racial profiling allows certain ideas about behavior to be associated with a group of people simply because of racial identity. In the 1980s, African American mothers were profiled as welfare queens, which signified their hyper-sexuality and laziness.25 African American youth in the late 1990s were described as super-predators, which signified their criminality.26 The phenomenon that put racial profiling on the map, *436 “driving while black,” justified the overzealous roadside stops of African American motorists based on the view that black drivers were(…)”

“When it comes to minority suspects, police officers are more likely to use excessive force to initiate a stop or make an arrest. Minority suspects, particularly African American males, are perceived as more threatening, less compliant, and more violent. The linking of blackness to criminality will shape whether an unarmed African American will be shot when confronted during a traffic stop3”

“Yet, while these horrible acts of violence are made visible on computer and cell phone screens across the country, the meaning of these violent acts remains contested. We must remember that even the meaning of real-time reporting is never self-evident and that these visual images of violence are shaped by an older racial logic that continues to justify the killing of black people.”

“While thousands saw Eric Garner get choked to death, many responded that it was his poor health that killed him.47 When Cleveland police rolled up on twelve-year-old Tamir Rice and opened fire without asking a question, many responded that his parents should have taught him to take better care of a toy gun.48 The underlying theme in the interpretation of these racial assaults has been a notion of “noncompliance” by these African American victims.”

 

 

Daziah’s Time Keeping Sheet

Thursday October 8th, 2020

7:00am -Alarm wakes me up

1.0- wake my brother up then go in the Shower/ and brush my teeth

0.25- Gets dress goes to my brother room

1.0- Helps My Brother with his school work

0.25- Makes my brother breakfast

1.0- Helps my brother with his school work again

0.50- start my work while helping my brother with his work

Being that I have no school on Thursday I spend most of my time helping my brother being that he has school all throughout the day until 2. He be having a hard time keeping focus in class so I would have to sit by him for majority of the day. I do my homework as well majority of the day and cook for my brother and stuff. Also in the afternoon when my mom comes home I will take my dog for a walk, but on Thursdays I really do not be doing much.

Law Office

Law has been something that has always intrigued me, especially with the things that are now taking place all around. Openly racist individuals are now walking around the streets without a care in the world targeting many individuals for reason in which I fail to understand. With that being said I want to work for the District Attorney office. In this office they determine if charges should be brought up on individuals who have “broken” the law. In my eyes now a days certain individuals have gotten free from certain things while many other individuals are suffering. A lot of injustice has been going on all over, and I feel as if there should be more individuals who try to create that change that many have been hoping for, and bring justice to the individuals whose lives has been taken away.I want to be that voice for these individuals so that is why I would want to work at the District attorneys office.

Manhattan District Attorney’s Office

Address: 1 Hogan Pl, New York, NY 10013

Amy Tan response

Amy Tan in “Mothers Tongue”, she tells a story of her life and the discrimination in which her mother , and her at times faced. As a result of that it shaped her into the individual that she is today.Throughout the text she talks about the the discrimination that her mom face not as only a person who does not know English but because she is a woman. As a result of that many people pretended that she could be walked all over based off of her not knowing much English.
This is a legal problem being that they took advantage of her based off of her not being fully aware of English. They refused to give up her money, refused to even acknowledge her mother.

Civil Law and procedure

My cultural Source: To kill a mockingbird
Author: Harper E Lee
Published: July 11, 1960
Publisher:J.B Lippincott & CO

Summary: To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper E Lee she tells a story based off of a little girls point of view who goes by the name of Jean Scout Finch. She explains what she has witnessed As she grows up, and face the harsh reality of Alabama in 1933-35. In Maycomb Alabama during the time and as of today is filled with racist white people. In 1933-35 blacks and whites were segregated, and as a result of that blacks tried to stay out the white mans way as much as they possibly can, but of course many white individuals took that as an advantage. Her father Atticus Finch was a lawyer and he was the 1st white man in Alabama to trial a case where he was defending a black man something in which white individuals do not normally do for the sake of their safety. Atticus was strong for that and regardless of the constant threats to his life, and children he still went on. He tried to set that example for his kids where he made it known it was okay to stand up for things that was unfair or not right. As a result of that Atticus fought to prove Tom Robinson innocents against the rape and beating of Mayalla Ewells. He was able to provided sufficient evidence in which proved Tom Robinsion innocence but being that the jury was racist, and so was the towns people they did not care, and just wanted the black man killed.This book stood out to me because we actually live in a time where people are so willing to ignore the factual evidence that proves something just because they do not like a certain race, gender, etc. It proves the ignorance in people, and shows how court systems use to be in a wayhttps://www.britannica.com/topic/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird

Cites:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/To-Kill-a-Mockingbird

Who I Am

My name is Daziah Rowe. I have just started my 1st year as a freshman in college , and my major is in paralegal studies. Around my 10th grade year in high school I have taken a real big intrest in law. Being able to speak up for the ones who have gotten their voice taken is my main goal for my future career as a criminal lawyer. Where I take on cases in which plenty of individuals have faced many of the injustices within are current system is my main goal. I don’t know but i feel as if we need more individuals to speak up for what is happening around the world, to be a activist for the injustice not only in America but all over is one of my biggest goal. I feel as if everyone’s voice should be heard ,and hopefully i could be someone who helps people get their voice heard.

Another hobby in which I have is writing and sometimes painting. Writing is my way of escaping this world. I use it to express my trouble, concerns, and fears for my future, and the new generation. I guess this is my way of coping with things that I face within my own life but overall writing is probably something that I am 2nd most passionate in. Also I am not an amazing painter nor am I an artist but I feel like painting is something that helps relive the stress that I face. Also I love to sleep.