Effects of crime on children

Today in the courthouse, something I observed almost brought me to tears. Sitting outside a courtroom was a mother with her young son (probably about 2 years old). A man in handcuffs escorted by two officers exited the courtroom. Upon seeing the man, the child jumped from his mother's lap crying and started chasing after the man yelling "Daddy, daddy!"

The child was too young to completely grasp the situation but knew that his father was being taken away from him.

Meshing cultural beliefs and traditions with the legal system

December 8, 2009 the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel published an article titled "Man found guilty in spousal rape case." This article discussed a case where a Hmong man kidnapped, raped, and then forced a 12 year old to marry him with the permission of the girl's parents.

Here is the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article

Richard Wanglue writes an article defending Hmong tradition and asking courts to try and understand the Hmong culture.

One Hmong's perspective

Mr. Wanglue brings up a good point about how culture plays an important role in the actions of people and as a country of immigrants we should be open to many different perspectives. And honestly, he may have a very good case in regard to the dowry money asked of the groom's family. But I feel that he misses the importance of also following state and federal laws. And in the case of forcing a 12 year old to have sex and keeping her against her will, it is a very clear violation of state and federal laws.

So although I really don't think the courts lacked an understanding of the Hmong culture in making this decision, I do think it is important we don't forget that perspectives can be very different in different cultures.

Supreme Court Takes Texting Case

Click on the title of this post to read the story in the New York Times, "Supreme Court Takes Texting Case" that deals with privacy in regard to work provided electronic devices. It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court rules. And I predict that as a result we will see clearer technology use policies in many companies.

My legal journey

My interest in the legal field has only been solidified in the last month as I have observed in court and had the chance to interact with both attorneys and clients. And this experience thus far has also developed in me an interest in public interest law. These are the clients that most need us. And although there are a few difficult ones, overall they are so appreciative to the services we provide. I have enjoyed most of my conversations with clients even as we discuss very difficult topics because I get the chance to see the world through a different perspective and make a difference in their daily life.

Tuesday when I went home with all the talk about a huge snowstorm Tuesday night, a part of me really hoped that the snow wouldn't close the office so that I could help two clients that I knew wouldn't get the help if I couldn't make it into work that day. So although I would have loved to be able to laze around in my pajamas all day with a good book, I felt a strong desire to be able to help these two clients who really needed a little help.

Additionally, this job has opened my eyes to some different career paths for an attorney. One that has especially interested me is the job of a guardian ad litem whose job is to advocate for the children who without GALs would have no voice in the whole process.

So I really look forward to the months and years ahead of me.

Speakers of languages other than English

Today I had a chance to sit in on my firm's family law priority meeting where attorneys discussed areas of the legal system that needed improvement with our clients in mind.

One of the topics that most interested me was a discussion on the challenges in the legal system faced by non-English speakers. Feeling that this is a very worthy topic for my blog, I would like to summarize what was said.

First, in my courtrooms Judges and Commissioners do not allow attorney's own interpreters to sit at the table with their client. Instead all communication goes through the court appointed interpreter. And it makes sense that the court appointed interpreter doing all of the translator for what is said on record. But what about private conversations between attorney and client? Especially if it is only one court appointed interpreter translating for both the petitioner and the respondent, this really takes away the opportunity for private conversations.

Secondly, when the court only appoints one interpreter for both parties, it often forces both parties to sit closer so that the interpreter can be close to both parties. In some cases that may not be as big of an issue but in cases of domestic violence the last thing we want is for the petition to be forced to sit close to the respondent. Additionally, for the client who talks to the interpreter instead of the judge, that forces that client to basically look at the opposing party. This could greatly affect the testimony given by either party. In observing domestic abuse injunction hearings, I have seen this first hand and see what an awkward position this puts on the petitioner. Several attorneys have seen a system in courtrooms where the interpreter sits away from both parties and uses headphones to communicate, allow for a safer distance between parties and also allowing the parties not to get confused switching between English and their native language if they have some knowledge of English. So this would be one way to solve this problem. Additionally, if an interpreter was only allowed to translate for one party it would also solve this problem.

Thirdly, many attorneys brought up a concern about how to handle an interpreter that doesn't accurately translate. Being allowed to have your own interpreter at the table with the attorney and client would be one way to correct any mistranslations or clarify if it was clear a client was not understanding. Any inaccuracy in translation can make a big difference in the testimony of a client.

Finally there was a concern about the additional costs that arise from being someone who needs interpretation. It was brought up that Guardian ad litems charge for the cost of interpretation services when interviewing clients. This is a cost that English speakers do not have to pay. With many of the non-English speakers being very poor this puts them at a distinct disadvantage.

Because of these issues, many non-English speaking clients come out of trial not entirely sure of what happened and at a clear disadvantage to their English speaking counterparts. I hope that they are issues we as a society will be able to address and fix as we try to make legal help more accessible to all.

Teachers Cash in on Old Lesson Plans

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel there is a short article about online websites where teachers can sell their lesson plans and materials. Teachers then use those funds for everything from paying their mortgage, dinning out, or for classroom materials. The article talks about two key issues.

First, the question was, "Who actually owns these lesson plans, the teachers that created them or the school?" In many private industries, when you leave a job, your former employer is very careful to make sure you do not take anything with you that you accomplished while on the job. Teaching has never been like that. Each time I left my teaching jobs, I took with me a CD of all of my files along with many copies and paper files. If I had not been able to do this, it would have been like starting all over as a first year teacher each time which is not beneficial to the students at all.

Additionally, a large majority of the lesson plans and resources I have created were accomplished outside of school (over the summers, on the weekends, etc.). Does the mere fact that I developed them for use at a specific school entitle that school to the rights of those plans? Or because they were developed on my own time, are they truly mine? If so who keeps track of those plans I developed while on the clock verses those I developed on my own time?

Secondly, some were concerned that this sort of thing destroys the collaborative nature that is so prevalent in education now. There is definitely some truth to that. As a former teacher many of my materials came from colleagues or free sites online. And as a result, I have willingly shared many of my resources both online on my website and with colleagues. It is this collaborative nature that allows many teachers to excel at presenting engaging and worthwhile lessons.

In the moment of change...

It is only in the moment of change, that we truly focus on all the wonderful things of the past. It's almost as if in the face of fear of what is to come, we put on rose colored glasses as we reflect.

A chance to see if I really want to spend the money on law school

I have just accepted a job working with a non-profit law firm as a paralegal dealing with cases of domestic violence and child abuse. Although starting a new job, especially one so different from what I have done in the past, can be scary, I am confident that this position will give me an incredible experience to use and improve my Spanish as well as allow me to see what working in family law is like. I was a little apprehensive about how emotionally draining it will likely be working with this population but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this is a population that truly needs help and if I won't do it, who will? I strongly believe that in life it is so important to regularly step out of your comfort zone both for your own personal growth and for the good of others.

Immigration

Today the New York Times published an article titled, "Immigrant Jail Tests U.S. View of Legal Access." Click on the title of this post to view the full article.

This article detailed the serious problems seen at the Varick Street Detention Center among many immigration detention centers. Here immigrants (illegal and legal) are held for many months in poor conditions, lacking proper medical care, food and fresh air. Additionally, they are often denied access to a lawyer and are often not told why they are being detained. And they are often moved to other detention centers with no notice, making it hard for a lawyer to work on their behalf or make sure they get the medical care they may need.

Jobs really saved or created?

The New York Times just posted an article entitled "White House Chalks Up 650,000 Jobs to Stimulus". Click the title of this post to see the full article.

This article states that because of stimulus money, 650,000 jobs have been saved or created claiming that this is right on track with the goals of the stimulus money. But how can we really determine how many jobs were saved because of stimulus money? The article even gives the example of schools in New York City where before the stimulus the schools were going to be faced with huge layoffs. The writer of the article then goes on to say that Mayor Bloomberg likely would not have allowed that many layoffs because of how it would hurt his re-election. So can we really count those as jobs saved?

Secondly, how many of these jobs created (or saved) by stimulus money are long-term jobs? And what will happen once money from the stimulus runs out and these people are out of jobs once again?

Additionally, what about all the jobs that are being lost each day? Where does that number fit into this picture? Unemployment continues to rise and daily large numbers of people are running out of their unemployment benefits.

So I really have a hard time believing Vice President Biden's comments that, "There is strong and mounting evidence that the recovery act is putting people back to work." And I strongly feel that this article really is missing the whole picture and just trying to make the politicians who passed the stimulus packages look good.

One final note: If the stimulus packages were really working, wouldn't we all see it for ourselves and not need to be told that they are working?

LSAT score

Recently I received my LSAT score from the September test. I didn't post right away because I was a little disappointed in it. It was on the low end of all my practice tests. But nevertheless it is still a good score. With a 163 LSAT score and a 3.68 GPA, I should be able to get into Wisconsin Law or Marquette. At this point I don't plan to apply this year. With the economy as it is and the record number of law school applicants, I think that waiting a year or two will put me in a better position for finding a job after law school. Additionally, it will give us more time to save money so that I can take out the least amount of loans and be free to choose a career path based on my interests and not on whether it will allow me to pay off my loans.

In the meantime, I am substitute teaching and looking for a office support position in a law firm to get some experience and make some connections.

Technology doesn't always make things better

Many school districts have adapted the software AESOP for scheduling subs. This software eliminates the need for the district to hire someone to call subs and match them with sub jobs. Instead teachers enter their absences into a website and substitutes log into this website (or log in by phone) to see potential sub jobs and accept or reject them. This sounds like a great thing but there is a huge downfall to this system. Subs aren't necessarily matched to classes that they are best qualified to teach so students are left with subs who really struggle to execute the lesson plans (because of lack of content knowledge, experience with that age group, or other skills necessary).

I taught a bilingual second grade class last week. The students are used to learning reading, writing, math, social studies, and science all in Spanish. The only English that is used in the classroom is for their ESL class as well as specials (Music, Art, and Gym). When the aid for the classroom arrived and heard that I was conversing with and working with students in Spanish, she was beyond excited. She then explained to me that they don't usually get Spanish speaking subs and that the day before an English only speaking sub was in and things didn't go so well. Later on when the Principal walked around, the aid shared her excitement with her that I spoke Spanish and I was told to check in with the office before I left to see if the teacher would be returning the next day or not. She did return the next day so I didn't get any more days at that school but the Principal told me to keep my eye out for jobs at Blair because they have quite a few staff members in bilingual positions.

AESOP software is just like a job board that is first come first serve. So the teacher who sees a job first and grabs it first, gets it. Just recently, I have found a way to auto-refresh the page every 15 seconds and so have actually seen a few more jobs. On average jobs last 15-30 seconds before they are taken by someone which leaves very little opportunity to grab jobs unless you stare at the screen all day.

Before software like this, school districts had a live human being matching subs with jobs. Teachers would call the "sub caller" when they had absences and even then had the opportunity to request certain subs or certain qualifications. Then the "sub caller" would go down their lists of subs, hopefully trying to match sub jobs with substitutes who were qualified in that area. Making a perfect match was not always possible especially with certain subject areas but an attempt was often made and thus it was far more likely that students would have a substitute that could successful carry on plans as usual ensuring the least amount of lost time due to absences.

I don't know if we need to completely throw the software away. But it is not working as it is written now. As a Spanish speaking sub, I (and all the other Spanish speaking subs) should be the first ones to see those types of jobs just like subs certified in math should be the first ones to see math jobs. I wish districts would see how important it is for student learning that a better match is made.

Be wary of technology without understanding the principles behind it

So a while back my Dad got a GPS unit for hiking and he has started using it a little for driving as well. The other day I asked him if he thought that people had become so dependent on GPS to get them where they are going that they were losing their direction skills and ability to read a map. His response was that even if they are, it isn't a big deal. And he compared it to the dependence on calculators which I disagreed with touting several examples of when I have needed to be able to do math in my head or understand the principles behind what my calculator was doing to realize that my calculator had not given me an answer that made sense with what I was trying to do.

Yesterday, I traveled with my in-laws who had recently purchased a GPS unit and had been just raving over it. To prepare for our trip, my father-in-law just wrote down the addresses of the places we were going. So we head off after typing in the first address and I listen as they try and figure out the route the GPS might take us, a route, I would not have chosen as it spent little time on freeways and significant time on roads littered with stop lights every half mile. Then as we continue to another place, the address is typed in, and the address could not be found (or maybe it was not typed in accurately) so we had to choose an address it suggested for us hoping it was something close. It then sent us on back roads, making turn after turn. And all the time not sure of where it was sending us. Add to that all the fumbling with the GPS unit as the driver is driving made worse by the fact that no one was all that familiar with the unit yet.

So then I wake up this morning and there are two blog posts in my Google Reader and after reading them both, I couldn't help but laugh at how appropriately timed they were.

The first post was by Prof. James Edward Maule in his blog "MauledAgain". He primarily writes about tax law. Today's post was entitled "Why the Nation Needs Tax Education." First he discusses several posts with citizens highly debating whether Obama would have to pay federal income tax on his Nobel Peace Prize award and how the answer was so clear in federal tax code yet people had no understanding of it even when made available to them. However, then in the 10th paragraph he mentions my whole point of dependence on technology when he blames the lack of understanding of the federal tax system on tax preparation software and tax preparers (who usually use tax preparation software as well). US citizens have become so accustomed to TurboTax and the like that just asks us questions and does our taxes for us to the point where so many would not be able to figure their taxes out by hand even with all the resources necessary.

The second post was by Tom Kuntz in his New York Times blog "Idea of the Day". His post today was titled "Can GPS Help Your Brain Get Lost?" and discussed how GPS may eventually contribute to dementia as the dependence on it eliminates the use of the skill that gives us direction and allows us to understand abstract concepts spatially. Which makes perfect sense to me as I watched the GPS tell us to make turn after turn without any need to understand where locations were located.

So my advice to everyone is to be wary of technology that replaces your need to think as it may affect you greatly in the future.

I am remembered....

I just got an e-mail from a former colleague with questions from a student in my Spanish I class last year. She was looking for the name of the video series we watched last year (Sam - Extra Series) and the name of a song she really liked (Me Voy - by Julieta Venegas). It's exciting to see a student that actually remembers something from last year and has an interest in finding out more.

My colleague also mentioned in the e-mail that the student misses me. This was a class that was hard to leave. If I had classes like this more often along with more support from administrators and parents, I wouldn't be leaving the profession. But this class really was that rare gem. A small class with some really strong positive leaders and other students who fed off the excitement of the class. This will be a class I always remember.

Anglo-centric view

So recently I read a blog post about an Aztec exhibit in England that represented the Aztecs in a very bloody manner. To me, this blog, was the perfect example of our Anglo-centric view. We, as a culture of the West, are always trying to judge other cultures that are very different from us without ever stepping out from our Western point of view. And by doing so we miss the boat completely. Click the title to see the blog.

Well, comment number 12 on this blog post shared a satirical "Conquistador's Song" which so clearly fits. So I thought I would share it with you here:

Conquistador’s Song

On the way to go killing a whole bunch of people,
I learned THEY were murderers, TOO,
which only can make me look better
than murderers often do.
But if there’s a difference between us
it’s simple enough to trace:
they killed for god and power and TRIBE;
while we kill for God, greed, and RACE!

New issue in Health Reform

The title of this post is linked to an article that prompted this post about the issue of abortion related to the Health Reform bill.

We are a country that is greatly divided over the issue of abortion. Well as we are working through a health reform that will likely include government subsidies in some form for insurance premiums, the concern came up as to whether these government subsidies will end up paying for abortions directly or indirectly.

As the bill is currently written in the Senate, it is very possible that government subsidies will end up paying for abortions. Without the addition of a restriction of government funds, many are saying that this bill may not pass.

So the next question is how much of a separation of funds is enough? Is it enough for insurance companies just to keep separate government subsidies and private premium costs, allocating only the private premium costs towards abortions? In which case, abortions may still be paid for indirectly through government subsidies that make it financially feasible for people to afford plans that allow abortion when they otherwise may not have.

Or does the government need to go as far as not providing subsidies for plans that pay for abortions? In which case those who currently have insurance coverage that covers abortions may lose that coverage. This option will likely lose support of those who are strong pro-choice supporters. But will the other option be enough to gain the support of pro-life supporters?

Tomorrow is the big day!

I've studied all that I can. I'm consistently scoring raw scores in the mid 80s which results in an LSAT score in the mid 160s. My arguments scores are really good with few mistakes. My logic scores have been really good with perfect scores occasionally. My reading is really all that keeps my scores down.

I printed my ticket, looked up directions (only to find several main roads into the city of my LSAT closed), and printed a few logic problems and arguments to warm up on before I go into the test center tomorrow. I figure that way the first LSAT problems I'm seeing aren't the actual test.

So I'm taking the day off to focus on relaxing and de-stressing. It's nice as the last few weeks have been quite busy with studying and job searching.

LSAT studying

I have hit a road block. My logic puzzle time has gone up so that I'm not finishing them all when I used to. I'm not improving my scores on even untimed arguments sections even after going through the whole Logic Reasoning Bible. I'm not sure what direction to go now.

Nothing in life is free

Click on the title to see the blog post by MauledAgain that sparked this post.

Nobody likes taxes and in conversations with people around me, I constantly hear complaints about Wisconsin, the state I live in, being among the top states that have the highest overall taxes. And it is true. But what all of those complaining seem to forget is that we get a lot for our taxes here. Our education system is top notch. Our roads are actually pretty decent despite all the construction that is prevelant in any state and despite how hard winters are on the roads. Wisconsin has an unspoken "dry pavement" rule in the winter making our roads far easier to get around on after winter storms than even our neighbor Minnesota. These among other things are the result of us paying a little higher taxes.

I'm not saying that we need to all feel good about paying lots of taxes or even agree with it. But I think we need to remember that we need to pay for what we want. Nothing in life is free.

First day of school

Well, tomorrow is the first day of school for students across Wisconsin and the first day that I will not participate in. So thoughts of the last four years of my life have been running through my head the last few days. What makes this especially difficult is the fact that I have not started on my new career really and so I feel stuck in time.

So tomorrow instead I will be home searching for jobs, studying for the LSAT, and cleaning my turtles' tanks.

LSAT studying

Well, seeing as I only have 7 weeks left until I take the LSAT and I'm not happy with my score yet, I really need to focus more on studying. Fortunately this weekend I found an excellent forum with a great thread on how to get a higher score.

From that thread, I decided I needed to be taking more actual LSATs, so I ordered another book of 10 (I already have one book of ten plus quite a few of the most recent ones). Additionally, the Powerscore Bibles were repeatedly mentioned as really good so I purchased the one for logic reasoning and reading comprehension. (I'm already doing really well on logic games with 0-3 errors each time.)

I also subscribe to an LSAT blog that has recently been posting some really tough questions for more practice along with tips.

Coffee with J.D. Thorne

Today I had coffee with J.D. Thorne who knows my father-in-law. His experience is with employment law and working with companies to develop good human resources policies to avoid future problems. He has written two books: one dealing with employment law, Concise Guide to Successful Employment Practices, and one related to baseball, The 10 Commandments of Baseball, which looks really interesting.

He shared with me some of the current issues in employment law as well as helped me start networking with other attorneys. Currently I'm looking for a job as office support in a law firm to help me clarify my career plans and to save up some money for law school in a few years.

It was very gracious of him to meet with me and offer to help me connect with other attorneys and law firms.

J.D. Thorne's website where you can purchase Concise Guide to Successful Employment Practices

Publisher of The 10 Commandments of Baseball

Life is too short

Life is too short to spend it stuck in a career that doesn't make you happy.

So as the year progressed at my second school, I saw that teaching was not something I would stay in forever. I had hoped that a change in schools would show me that I just needed to find the right school but instead it showed me that kids are kids and parents are parents everywhere you go and neither has any interest in the learning what really needs to take place for success to happen. I found teaching to be more of a babysitting gig than an academic profession. And that only proved truer in my second school where kids choose their classes based on how much fun they are instead of what will actually help them in the future.

So here I am, starting this blog to share with you my journey to becoming an attorney. I remember as an adolescent joking about how I would be a good lawyer and thinking about how much fun it would be (but I also had a strong drive to teach and at the time 4-5 years sounded a lot better than 8 years of schooling). I don't regret the decisions I've made and I see them as a way to give me different perspectives and allow me to become an even better attorney some day.

My passions have always included reading and writing. I've written poetry ever since I can remember and in school have always chosen essays and other written assignments over other choices. I remember in my Earth Science class every test included 4 options (multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay) which we had to choose 2 of. And I think I was the only one who always chose the short answer and essay options. I have always felt confident with words and have always felt that I can talk my way around any answer.

I'm also the kind of person that never accepts anything at face value. I'm always digging further, trying to understand why something is as it is. It's a quality that my husband doesn't enjoy so much in me. He would rather me just accept what he says instead of making him think about the reasons behind his beliefs. But he is a very black and white kind of person.

So, anyway, this is where I am coming from. I'm not sure what all lays ahead of me but to be honest that is part of the exciting part. Life is too short to worry about the uncertainties in life. Instead look forward to all the exciting things to come while still enjoying the wonderful things in the present.