Failings of the system

In working with victims of domestic violence over the last few months, my eyes have really been opened to things I never realized existed. But what has bothered me most is not the violence, but the way our system has failed so many individuals, allowing the violence to continue.

I am horrified at how just about every individual I speak with has lost confidence in the police and the job they do and has lost confidence in the criminal system to charge criminals. In cases where there is clear evidence and clearly a crime has been committed the DA's office will choose not to charge for reasons unknown to the rest of us. When individuals call 911, an officer does not always come out. At times when a clear domestic abuse has taken place that likely included violence, police will not even always remove one of the two from the property. And in times where a male is a victim, the police will often separate the victim from his children.

In one case a Spanish speaker said that the first time she called the police they told her that her address did not exist so they couldn't come out to help her. And on the second occasion that she called, the police stated that no one spoke Spanish and again could not help her.

I also am dismayed when I sit through restraining order hearings and the Commissioner denies the restraining order just because the police were never called even if the abuser admits to something. Lack of police involvement is in no way an indication of lack of violence. Remember, as I stated in the previous paragraphs, many individuals have lost confidence in police who never did anything on previous occasions when they called and so feel like it is a waste of time to call the police. And in a system, where the woman is always portrayed as the victim, male victims know that it is a waste of time to contact police for help.

And all this was really driven home this weekend, as I saw on the news a story of an individual who had been murdered and the suspect is her ex-boyfriend. Upon looking at open records online, I saw that this victim had attempted to get a restraining order against him recently and was denied it even though there were pending charges for the abuser of domestic abuse against this same victim. Would a restraining order have saved this young girl's life? Maybe not. But maybe, the victim would have had a chance to contact the police the second the abuser showed up instead of having to wait for violence to occur at a point when it was too late.

Quality ranking determines state funding of day-cares

An article in The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel titled "Day-care providers to be paid based on quality under Doyle plan" caught my eye. It explains Governor Doyle's plan to create a ranking system based on quality of care that will determine how much state funding day-cares get. The ranking would be based on "the education level of the staff, the learning environment in the center as well as business practices, and the health and well-being of children."

I have two issues with this concept.

1. True quality of care can't be measured objectively. Educational level of staff does not necessary equate with quality care-givers. And things like the health and well-being of children can't be measured. Plus a certain type of learning environment with one set of children may not be appropriate at all for a different set of children.

2. This type of plan allows rich day-cares to get richer and poor day-cares to get poorer. If we cut funding significantly to a day-care that can't hire teachers with a master's degree, how can we expect them to find the money to find teachers with more education. We will be seeing this same thing in schools that are not meeting the goals of No Child Left Behind. Eventually funding will get cut, and the schools will only get worse.

Instead let's deal with the real issue here: fraud. Instead of focusing on quality and spending money to do so in such a poor economy, we need to just focus on enforcing the expectations that come with state funding of day-cares. And let parents set expecations of quality by choosing where they send their children.

Issues affecting non-English speakers

I attended a hearing with a Spanish-speaking client today (my first client where I have been the translator). We lost unfortunately. Although all of the attorneys that I work with lost in front of this Commissioner this week in cases where we should have won. So I'm not sure what was up this week.

But what I was most frustrated with was the disadvantages non-English speaking clients face in our court system. In addition to the issues associated with having a translator that I spoke about in this post, today the translator didn't keep up with the translation and left out pieces, sometimes critical pieces, when translating into English. Usually this is a very good translator so it surprised me a bit. But then I realized that the Commissioner was fluent in Spanish so for the purpose of today's hearing, it really didn't matter how much the translator translated. But as we discussed the de novo review process with our client afterwards, I realized that the transcript of today's hearing would not very accurately reflect what the petitioner and respondent had actually said, which could be a huge hindrance to a fair de novo review.

Law School Case Briefs

I recently found this website with case briefs related to many typical law school courses. It may be useful to those in law school now and something I want to check back on when I attend law school.

Mayoral control of MPS

Governor Doyle and his supporters are proposing a change to WI public schools that would give the Mayor of Milwaukee line item veto power of the Milwaukee Public School's budget as well as other control. There was an article in today's Milwauke Journal Sentinel. What just doesn't make sense to me about this proposal is why anyone would think we could improve public schools by giving someone with no education background or understanding basically sole control of the school system. To me that sounds like setting us up for bigger failures.

Yes, we need reform. And yes, that may mean brining in some from outside of the education field to give a different perspective. But to give sole control to one man with little to no knowledge of best practices in education?

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!