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
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
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
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
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
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
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
-- 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.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
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
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
--
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
- 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
- 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!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
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
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
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