Erik's Response to "Pro Se"

The stories on defendants representing themselves are very interesting. The current economic downturn has had effects on pretty much every aspect of society, including the courts, which I think is often overlooked. Jorge Cruz's story, where a defendant present at a party where cocaine was found chose to represent himself while his brother and others pleaded guilty, was the most intriguing to me. The method of the pro se defendant's approach seemed to fly in the face of all jury instructions I have heard regarding bias. Both counsels, whether or not they represent themselves, are not supposed to SOLELY elicit sympathy as a means to influence the jury's opinion. Not only that, but according to the DA, the pro se didn't follow courtroom procedures well at all. He didn't play by the rules of evidence, and framed his questions unfairly to witnesses he knew. He eventually won the jury over by his "personal story." I think the judge in this case should have taken more precaution in advising and tutoring the pro se before the trial, or at least made sure he knew procedure better. This case also shows that no matter what the counsels say in jury instructions, people can always be influenced by empathy when deciding cases.


----
Erik J. King

More Responses to "Pro Se" program

The following is post to the blog for the This American Life episode titled Pro Se.

While I don't necessarily believe that psychiatry is evil, I do believe that it is rather inaccurate. As such, I don't believe that psychiatric evaluations should be permissible in court due to their inherently arbitrary nature, e.g. how the setting a person is in makes everything seem insane.
With regard to defending yourself in court, I think that "Tony's" is a perfect example of why people should not try and defend themselves. Here a person thought that they could out-wit the system only to be unduly caught in it. Furthermore, "Tony's" case exemplifies the fact that 1) the vast majority are too ignorant to represent themselves and 2) that the "plain English movement" is too little. "Tony's" case demonstrates the need for lawyers and an extension of the right to representation in court, no matter what type of case.

--
Wright,David R


Sara Sanfilippo

The topics discussed in This American Life radio talk show were astonishing. It was truly overwhelming to hear that the vast majority of Americans in civil and housing litigations are representing themselves in court because they are financially unstable. I am sure that these people know that their chances of winning are slim to none and that having a professional lawyer represent them would put them at a much better advantage; however, if they cannot afford to hire an attorney, their case still goes on and they have no choice but to represent themselves in court. It is a shame to hear this though because since they are amateurs, they do not possess the necessary skills and knowledge to win the case for themselves. Sadly, it boils down to, if you have the money, you can guarantee yourself of getting out of anything with the right lawyer (take O.J. Simpson for example), and if you do not have the money, you are simply out of luck. Granted, there are the rare exceptions such as in the case of Jorge Cruz but most people are not as fortunate as Jorge Cruz. Just as anyone, despite his or her financial circumstances has the right to a lawyer paid by the state in criminal law, the same procedure should apply to civil and housing law as well. The story about Tony was the by far the most interesting because it addressed the common misconception in our society, that being put in mental ward is much ???softer??? than prison. Tony???s story is extremely unfortunate, that after twelve years he still cannot manage to find his way out of the ward. However, I can understand how anything he does whether he is cheerful and happy or standoffish and set apart from the rest is diagnosed as mentally ill behavior. Once a patient is placed in a ward, their behavior and every move is under the microscope, which is exactly why Tony is still there. Everything he did seemed to be labeled as a characteristic of mental illness. As it would be nice to think that one day Tony may break free from the ward, as they said in the talk show it is much easier to get in the ward than it is to get out.

Another response to "Pro Se"

Scott Hyman

10/8/2009

Pro Se Blog Reaction



I was extremely surprised to find out that 1.8 million people represent themselves in court every year in New York alone. This is an astonishing number, and I have to imagine that it can only be due to a lack of common knowledge of the general public regarding the legal world. It is unfathomable that these people would attempt to represent themselves despite the fact that they have close to zero, if any, knowledge of the legal jargon or processes and that they basically go into the courtroom settings blind to any relevant information, as well as blind to the buzz saw that they are about to approach. The main reason people represent themselves is that they are not financially able to hire their own attorney, and this is a shame considering that hiring counsel with experience would inevitably increase a defendant’s chance of winning a case; this is one of the many problems with the legal universe today. I am actually currently doing an undergraduate research study for the University of Florida on Pro Se defendants, and I regularly witness defendants who would be much better off had they retained some sort of counsel.

-Scott Hyman

Response to "Pro Se"

It was surprising to learn so many people represent themselves in court. It seems rather unfair that in criminal court one gets assigned a defense attorney, but no other civil cases allow for a public defendant. With a recession in the economy, more and more people can???t afford to pay for a lawyer, and rightly so since it can actually be quite expensive. An amateur lawyer representing himself Pro se not only hinders his/her own well-being, but encumbers the order of the court, as seen in Cruz???s case. The story of Tony was the most interesting to me, since it addresses the problem of feigning mental insanity. It is rather ironic really that he successfully faked being insane, but is unsuccessful at actually being his sane self. Truly, the cases proposed in this episode of ???This American Life??? pose a conundrum that will need to be addressed in the near-future.
-Luci Cavanagh

Week Seven

Monday October 5th

Discussion of Annotated Bibliography

Wednesday

Listen to "Pro Se" an episode from This American Life


Friday

Annotated Bibliographies Due- at least three sources
Read pp. 805-812 on Negligence and Homicide

Week Four

Week Four

September 14th

* Discuss Assignment Two, Brief on Negligence Case, due September 18th
* Read: http://business.theage.com.au/business/time-to-create-the-write-stuff-20090217-8acp.html?page=-1
* Read: http://clarity-international.net/downloads/lwpp.pdf
* Read: "Hackbart v. Cincinatti Bengals" pp. 770-776
* Read: "Hot Coffee Spills" Section pp. 798-805

September 16th

* Introduction to Plain English Movement: basic rules
* Use in-class examples in order to simplify "legalese"
* Discuss types of negligence with respect to case readings from this and last week


September 18th

* Due: Assignment Two on Negligence
* Random selection of student's papers for mini-presentations and class debates
* Readings on Family Law, pp. 777-796

Taxi to the Dark Side Comment

This video reminded me of how I felt in 2004 when the news of the torture in Iraq broke. It wasn't so much the brutality of the torture in Abu Ghraib, though that was horrifying and reprehensible, but the possibility that it was sanctioned by the US government that shocked me. I believed then and I believe now that we have a duty as a global leader to uphold standards of human decency, and a wartime mentality does not supersede that obligation.

Mark Brown

Additional Comments on Taxi to the Dark Side or Iranian Prisoner

After listening to the NPR broadcast telling the story of Orid Memarian, I feel both disheartened and enraged.I could not imagine how it would feel to be forced into giving a confession for something that I knew I had no part in.The part that I found to be most shocking was when Memerian explained how he was able to guess, almost word for word, what was going to be included in the confession of another tortured prisoner, “Maziar.” I am shocked that stories like Memarian’s are out in the media, yet forced confession is still a commonly used practice. I would think that if governments knew that they were being portrayed negatively in the media for forcing prisoners to confess to crimes they did not commit, they would be afraid to take any more false testimonies for the fear that they will lose their credibility.

All three of the readings have one commonality - that torture is bad. In today???s media it is hard to hear above the racket and tocsin of wrongdoing. Yet, what most people seem to be forgetting, the writers of the aforementioned articles included, is that, as the saying goes, hindsight is 20/20. Is it justified to persecute the lawyer who performed his duties by interpreting the law? If so, I would say that judges, especially the Justices, keep one eye on their backs otherwise they might be sued for producing an unpopular interpretation of the law. Is it justified for a nation who yearned for the blood of its attackers to punish the creature they breathed into life via their encouragement and war cries? Surely, this last point cannot be argued against to any real extent due to such examples as what happened to the Dixie Chicks, multiple songs praising the war, and attacks on Muslim-Americans in the days following September 11th. America was in a state of shock, fear, and quite possibly resentment; for the US mainland had been struck by an enemy attack for the first time since Pearl Harbor. The quondam attitudes of Americans vis-??-vis suspected terrorists tacitly endorsed the implementation of the tactics in question in the aforesaid articles. So if America is a government by the people for the people, then it would seem to me that the dearth of resistance or objection prior to Bush's second term was essentially "the general will" at work. Thus, how can a government be penalized for manifesting the will of the people? Now, I think it prudent to add a caveat of my own; that is, I personally do not believe that torture should have been employed. However, I thought it would be fun to play devil's advocate and change up the arguments and postings a little.

-David Wright


Hearing what happened at Bagram is truly disheartening. It is hard to believe that these types of practices were carried out by American soldiers when we pride ourselves on being such a great country. I think it is great that reporters, such as the New York Times columnist who investigated this situation, expose these types of stories because it shows Americans what is really going on overseas. The methods used to "control" the prisoners are disturbing and could have been prevented if the Military Police's superiors had created a clearer outline of proper detainment procedures. Instead, it just seemed to be a "blame game."

-Jasmin Freeman

In Response to Taxi to the Dark Side

While I find this movie to be very informative in the importance of American???s being aware of the activities occurring in our military prisons abroad, as well as being an important piece on human rights, I???m not sure if it truly aides in the debate on ???enhanced interrogation techniques,??? basically on torture. I feel that this shows one far end of the spectrum, where you have an innocent man, Dilwar, who is murdered by American soldiers who had no right to harm him. We shouldn???t beat innocent people to death, this is obvious. But proponents of enhanced interrogation methods, such as water boarding, aren???t suggesting we go around bludgeoning innocent civilians, they???re pushing for these harsh methods to be used on these terrorists that are set to destroy America and democracy (nevermind that these prisoners are not being charged, tried, or convicted of these accusations, suspicion is enough probable cause). In fact, its fascinating to hear the arguments made by proponents of programs such as water boarding justify their action- ???these aren???t soldiers for a certain nation, so the Geneva convention doesn???t apply,??? or ???the protection from cruel and unusual punishment is reserved for American citizens.??? Associate Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia has stated that ???torture??? doesn???t violate the 8th amendment because torture isn???t ???punishment,??? its just information extraction. Former Orange County Sheriff Kevin Berry has recently returned from training police in Afghanistan, and is openly criticizing the media for being harsh on troops who are using abrasive techniques, when these troops are facing some of the most hateful people in the world.And this film shows that there is clearly a grey area when understanding what is morally acceptable treatment for other human beings, so the human rights issue is fuzzy as well.
Instead of focusing on broad ends of the spectrum (murdering innocents versus enhanced interrogations of blood thirsty criminals set on destroying America), enhanced interrogation techniques should be placed under a microscope with three key focuses. 1) Over 90% of the information we have received from people who have been waterboarded has turned out to be false. In fact, most of the accurate information was received prior to the implementation of these techniques on these prisoners, so what was received after was wasting valuable resources. And lets face it, innocent people are being held, who will probably do or say anything to make any form of coercion stop, or at least I would. 2) Enhanced interrogation opens a can of worms. What if we allow water boarding, but it doesn???t ???work fast enough??? or get ???enough information???? Then what? Move to something even more aggressive? The United States executed Japanese interrogators for using water boarding on US POWs following WWII. Which leads to issue 3. Are we prepared, as Americans, to have our soldiers placed under these methods of torture. Because I can guarantee, if we are committing torture, our captured soldiers behind enemy lines will be facing just as harsh of interrogations, if not worse.

-Ashley Taylor Caldwell

Additional Blog Comments

Orid Memerian's story was truly astonishing. We hear about torture-induced confessions taking place by extremist regimes but to hear about an actual person's story and to learn first-hand about the details of this is both upsetting and disheartening. I don't think the enormity of how horrendous it truly is gets fully comprehended by the public. Orid Memerian will never escape this- it was posted and discussed all over the media- and memories of his captivity will likely remain vivid in his mind forever. Even worse, he is not the only person who has been persecuted for their "confessions." I cannot even imagine what it must be like to be in their shoes. As awful as this story was, I think it is important for the public to be educated and informed on such an issue, as this is the only way action against it can begin.

-- Lucia Cavanagh

Another Comment on This American Life

Brian Heffner

We here in the United States take many things for granted. In some countries—such as Iran, citizens have little-to-no rights that we enjoy hear. Though in no way am I surprised that these type of offenses occur in Iran—this podcast definitely brings the issue home for me. Memerian’s frightening account reminds me of how lucky I am to be a citizen of the United States.

I definitely agree that more stories like this should be circulated around the United States so the American public knows exactly what is happening in Iran. I think it is sad to think about the crimes that are not being publicized at all. There are definitely a lot of crazy things going on in Iran right now and this account by Memerian might just be the tip of the iceberg.

Additional Blog Comments

Although I have heard through several media outlets in the past about this type of offense being committed, to hear a firsthand account of this torture is still disturbing. I cannot imagine being forced to confess to something that you knew you did not do. The part that I found most shocking was the amount of work that Memerian put into his confession. It seemed bizarre that he wrote 6 drafts of his confession and that each one was edited by his interrogator. I also thought that it was interesting to learn how staged the television confessions are. It is so different to hear this story from someone who actually went through this. Living in the United States, we usually hear brief overviews of the torture and confessions which occur in the Middle East. I think that more stories like this one should be released and brought to the attention of Americans. I believe that when more people know what is occurring, groups of people can get together to make changes and to help put this to an end.

Libby Hardy

Response to Iranian Confession

The story which Omid Memarian told about his forced confessions while imprisoned in Iran is one of the most disturbing stories I have ever heard. I could not imagine being in such a sensitive and frightening situation. The men who were holding him captive repeatedly beat him and threatened him, saying that they would keep him as a prisoner until he confessed to a false story. Memarian’s interrogator took his true story and incorporated fake names and places. Not only did he have to write out these “confessions,” but they also had to broadcast them across mediums such as television and/or radio.

Memarian is obviously not the only victim in Iran of this kind, as we often see many of these cases on local news programs. The alarming aspect about it, though, is the fact that every recent forced confession has been about the same thing. One of the major similarities between these falsified admissions is the mentioning of certain international figures and institutions. Scenarios such as these have become so repetitive and absurd in Iran that a native stand-up comedian had an act which revolved around them; he was soon after deported and kicked out of the country.

We must somehow stand up to Iran and cease all related activities, and although it is a delicate situation, a strategy must be devised. We cannot permit these terrible occurrences to continue.

-Scott Hyman

Some Class Responses to This American Life podcast

Even though the security force did their best to make the confessions look unforced, the sheer number of almost identical confessions should create enough suspicion that no one in the right mind should even remotely believe what is in the confessions. Also the officials that were getting these reports and said they had no idea that they were coerced are most likely lying. I would hope that someone who is in a high enough position of power to be seeing the written copy of these confessions would be intelligent enough to see the pattern in the confessions and question their validity.
--
ROOSA,MICHAEL T

The story of the Iranian???s false confession was both shocking and overwhelming. I was aware that things of this nature happen frequently in foreign countries, but it was much different to hear from a personal account. I cannot imagine having to fake a detailed confession, especially while being interrogated and beaten. I believe it takes an extremely strong-willed individual to withstand the pain and suffering and write pages and pages about something that never happened, while knowing that after this confession is released his/her life will change dramatically. Personally, I have a hard time admitting to things I actually do, so I don???t think I could ever admit to something that I didn???t do. If admitting to a false confession would mean my career could possibly end, or that I might be forced to leave the country in which I reside, I don???t think I could bring myself to write it. I am thankful that I live in a country in which our government is fair and does not force people against their will to make false confessions.

Sara Sanfilippo

After listening to the radio story about the Iranian torture, I find myself very happy to live in the United States. I knew that tapings of false testimony against other cultures and media outlets were broadcast to the general public, but it is especially upsetting to hear about through a first hand account. I was very surprised that the reporter said the government was unaware of the forced confessions, however, I don't necessarily believe the word of any Iranian government official. The worst part of the story for me was the lack of protection of the man as a journalist and also as a citizen. I hope the people in Iran can rise above their oppressive government and live more freely and happily, but right now the people are very brain-washed and have restricted knowledge of many facts about their government.

Sincerely,
Kate Livanec

Week Three Revised from Original Syllabus

Monday, September 7th

• Listen to This American Life and email your teacher a reaction/post a comment on this blog

Wednesday, September 9th

• Watching selected scenes from Oscar winning documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side
• Read: http://criminaljustice.change.org/blog/view/torture_and_false_confessions
• Read: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/13/AR2007121301303.html
• Read: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/06/opinion/06soufan.html

Friday, September 11th

• Discuss international law with respect to terrorism and American foreign policy reaction to events and aftermath of September 11, 2001
• Topics to consider
• United Nations Security Council and American invasion of and intervention in Afghanistan
• Outcome of War on Terror including enemy combatants and American imprisonment
• Discussion of Guantanamo Bay detainees and denial of habeas corpus rights based on foreign jurisdiction
• Discussion of Torture

Additional Reading, NYTimes Op-ed Piece by FBI Agent

This article is from Sunday's paper, very interesting.

Adding Blog Comments

For this week, please email me a short reaction to the radio program, preferably about our Iranian prisoner, and I'll post the replies myself. See you tomorrow!

Clarification for Legal Brief One Assignment

Class, I understand I have been contradictory regarding Friday's assignment. Initially, I said you had to do this on negligence, and then today I told you that this paper was on emotional distress. You can write your brief on either cause of action. If you have further questions, please email me. See you all Friday!

Legal Brief Example

Class,

Here is an example of a legal brief; you may want to use this as an example:


http://web.clas.ufl.edu/users/cgreer/Law/LAWiracbrief.html

Week Two

Week Two

Monday August 31st

• Read "IRAC" pp. 752-3 in class
• Divide into groups to argue for or against Nickerson, et al.
  
• Read "Incident at the Airport" pp. 753--760

Wednesday September 2nd

• Presentations on Nickerson, et al
• Discussion of Airport Incident
• Discuss Legal Brief One

Friday September 4th

• Due: Assignment One
• Discussion of reckless behavior v. assault and battery
  

Week One

August 24th:

• Introduction to Class & Textbook
• Overview of American Legal System

August 26th:

• Discussion of elements of effective legal writing
• Read "The American Legal System" p. 742 & "The Maiden and the Pot of Gold" p. 736 with emphasis on "Judge's Instructions to the Jury" p. 740

August 28th:

• Discussion of Wednesday's readings and legal issues in the Nickerson et al. v. Hodges et al. case
  

Welcome to ENC 3254, Section 3681

Introduction

In this class we will be learning the basics of the United States' legal system and how to compose legal documents and arguments. Our primary text is Writing in Law, an excerpt from Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum, Ninth Edition (Longman, 2005), by Lawrence Behrens and Leonard Rosen.

We will be meeting 5th period in Rolfs 114 each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Each student is allowed three unexcused absences, after that points will be deducted from the final grade.

Plagiarism will not be tolerated; each student is held to the University's Student Honor Code.

Be forewarned, I expect that each of you follow the rules of English grammar and a consistent system of citations.

Grading

Out of a 1000 available points, this is the breakdown for your work and participation:

• 100 points for the First Legal Brief (Exercise)
• 200 points for the Second Legal Brief (Negligence Case)
• 300 points for a Memorandum
• 100 points for the Third Legal Brief (Tournament Round 1)
• 100 points for completion of law school application materials
• 150 points for Debates: 25 points for first in-class debate, 25 points for tournament preparation (including flow chart, presentation, and brief), and 100 points for the tournament
• 50 points for class participation including in-class work, class commentary, and homework

Holidays

We will not have class on September 7th, October 16th, November 11th, and November 27th. It is acceptable to turn in any required coursework on November 25th by email if you wish to make a headstart for Thanksgiving travel.