Concepts of Justice and The Law [Period 4, Class #15, Apr 20]

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

"Welcome to our last class together," Alex said, offering her students a light smile. "I'll be honest: I've really enjoyed our conversations this semester. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to talk about justice, and thank you for your insights and perspectives on all the subjects we've covered. They've been nothing short of fascinating."

She gestured to the stack of papers on her desk. "This, of course, is your final. It's structured just like the midterm was. You can use anything you may have brought with you, but you shouldn't need to. You cannot work with your classmates, and I'll ask that you not talk to one another until all exams have been handed in. Even if you and your friend are both finished, the next person over might not be, and your conversation could be a distraction.

"Once you've handed in your exam, you're free to leave. Or, if you'd rather, you can stick around and tell me what you thought of class -- what I did wrong, what I did right, anything like that. But for now, you've got finals to complete. Good luck, and show me what you know."

Comments

Sign In - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

With the icon that has the longest listing in the drop-down! This one is "no really opposing counsel can bite me."

Re: Sign In - JST15

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

Joan Girardi

Re: Sign In - JST15

[once-a-traitor.livejournal.com]

Edmund Pevensie

During the Lecture - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

Such as it is. Time for last-minute panicking and last-minute chatter, though the latter should be brief as the tests will be handed out ASAP.

Re: During the Lecture - JST15

[joan-notjane.livejournal.com]

Joan was pretty sure she would never hear the end of it from her father if she didn't do well on this final.

Re: During the Lecture - JST15

[heromaniac]

Panic? Why yes, Momoko would like a double-scoop, please? Yes, she'd spent the evening studying with Dinah, but she was still shaky on some of it and now she was totally sure she was going to fail. How could she be a Heroine of Justice if she failed Justice class?

Final Exam - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

Just like the midterm, this test has five questions, spaced out enough that you could write a couple of paragraphs between each answer comfortably, though that is not to suggest that each question merits such verbosity.

(I like nesting my OCD, dammit. And as always, feel free to handwave if you'd rather.)

Question 1: Innocence, Guilt and Reasonable Doubt - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

Blackstone's formulary states that it is better for ten guilty men to go free than for one innocent man to be imprisoned. If you were to create a justice system with an eye towards Blackstone, what elements and/or safeguards might you include, to protect the innocent from false imprisonment? List at least two.

Re: Question 1: Innocence, Guilt and Reasonable Doubt - JST15

[therewaslife]

Bod gathered his thoughts before he started the exam.

I think you'd have to make sure that, during trials, suspects are judged by the sum of all the parts rather than one part. If an eyewitness says one thing but scientific tests prove another, the suspect can't be judged by just one. Trial processes might have to change to accompany this so one part of the case doesn't hold more weight than others.

I also think you'd have to police the police. If there's corruption on the police force, nothing is going to stop them from arresting any person they dislike and sticking them in jail because they have that authority.

Re: Question 1: Innocence, Guilt and Reasonable Doubt - JST15

[momslilassassin]

Ben, not surprisingly, had a lot of thoughts on this particular question. His essay ran to the other side of the paper as he explained in detail how he felt the Jedi's ability to know if someone was telling the truth or not would be invaluable in his judicial system. He had a brief tangent explaining the current political difficulties involved with getting the current government to trust Jedi at all, but mostly stayed on point.

Re: Question 1: Innocence, Guilt and Reasonable Doubt - JST15

[blondecanary.livejournal.com]

I'd keep the Fifth Amendment in place, protecting defendants from being compelled to testify, and I'd keep the set-up of innocent until proven guilty, instead of vice versa. If you start out with the burden of proof on the police and prosecution, then malicious accusations can't accuse the innocent with as much weight, and if people can keep quiet and not be tortured or coerced, then their lawyers can make statements that help them, instead of the opposite!

Re: Question 1: Innocence, Guilt and Reasonable Doubt - JST15

[glacial_queen]

Karla hoped that Professor Cabot wouldn't mind that her answers were flavored by the Kaeleeran system as well.

While I don't think I would ever go as far as making mental testimony mandatory, I would like to get Black Widows more involved in the judicial process. All members of the Blood have the ability to gather information and relive memories from another person's mind, especially when offered freely, but Black Widows have extensive training in dealing with mental landscapes--particularly when dealing with older, traumatic, and potentially augmented memories, able to distill truths from the chaff of minds and memories. But the ability to go into the minds of both parties and see the truth of the matter as they see it is invaluable.

Of course, that can't be the only measure of truth. There are those people who may have very good reasons (beyond innocence or guilt) to not want people in their minds, and this option is completely unsuitable for landens, as it presents a danger to them. For that, we'd need to put something similar to the 5th Amendment into place, where it is not considered damning to refuse to allow someone else to go into one's mind for evidence. As incredibly useful as that ability is, it cannot become the be-all, end-all of an investigation or trial, especially when it has the potential to be damaging to the individual's psyche.

I think the most important element one can put into place with an eye towards a system like Blackstone's is the knowledge that there is no one single rule that can be enforced in every case. Coming from a world of magic, we still don't have any foolproof measure to tell the innocent from the guilty. Keeping that in mind, as well as balancing compassion with justice, is probably the key.

Re: Question 1: Innocence, Guilt and Reasonable Doubt - JST15

[bitten_notshy]

The most important safeguard to protect the innocent is a fair trial by jury, in which the defendant can speak on his own behalf and evidence is offered and challenged by both sides.

A secondary step toward protecting the innocent is making certain the lawyers, judges and police representing the state are educated and trained so as to disregard their own individual biases.

Question 2: Civil Court - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

A tort is defined as being a wrongful act that causes harm to another person. Torts are addressed in civil court, where individuals seek compensation for personal wrongs.

Torts are wrongful, but not necessarily criminal. Give one example of an act which could be a criminal tort, and one that could be non-criminal.

Question 3: Cruel and Unusual Punishment - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

Certain justice systems forbid cruel and unusual punishment, that is, any legal redress which is viewed to be needlessly painful, humiliating, or degrading. Give one example of punishment that would qualify as being cruel and/or unusual, and one which does not.

Question 4: Case Study: Civil Liberties - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

A prosecutor conducts an unlawful search of a private residence, in order to obtain information that is key to convicting a dangerous pedophile. The defense argues that the information should be withheld, as the search clearly violated the law. The prosecutor notes that the unlawful search occurred in the victim's home, and not the defendant's, and so the defendant's civil rights have not been compromised. The victim may sue the prosecution in civil court, but the accused lacks standing to object to the search. Should the evidence be admitted? Give one argument for each side.

Question 5: Case Study - Prisoners' Rights and Victims' Rights - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

A convict is released from prison and moves to a new residence. The local neighborhood watch posts flyers with his picture and a description of his crimes, warning citizens to avoid contact with him. The flyers are on telephone poles and posted in the windows of local businesses, even occasionally tucked under the windshield wipers of cars. Some of the businesses in question bar the convict from their premises. The convict insists this is harassment, and that he has paid his dues to society and is trying to move on with his life. The neighborhood watch argues that they have a right to inform the population about the dangerous element in their midst. Should the police intervene? Give one argument for each side.

During the Exam: Talk to Alex - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

If you have questions about the test, feel free to raise your hand or approach her and ask for clarification.

After the Exam: Talk to the TAs - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

During the exam, they'll be off-limits, but afterwards, feel free.

Re: After the Exam: Talk to the TAs - JST15

[glacial_queen]

Even if Alex's prohibition hadn't been in place, Karla still would have been off-limits during the exam. The questions were really making her think.

Re: After the Exam: Talk to the TAs - JST15

[bamf-tastic.livejournal.com]

Kurt was there, and rubbing his forehead like the test had just made his brain hurt. Which it had.

Law was HARD.

After the Exam: Talk to Alex - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

Tell her what you thought of class, or be glad that the final is over. Or burp out the national anthem of Paraguay, if you happen to know it offhand.

... okay, that last one, not so much.

Re: After the Exam: Talk to Alex - JST15

[glacial_queen]

"Professor Cabot?" Karla said, again waiting until all of the other students had filed out. "I wanted to thank you again for this class. I've learned a lot that I think would be really helpful after I set up my Court. I think I need to sit down with Glacia's legal code and implement a few changes and this class has given me a good foundation to do that. I think I'll be a better Queen for it. So thank you."

OOC - JST15

[glasses-justice.livejournal.com]

I had no idea if Alex-class would even work, and I certainly never imagined her as a teacher when I first apped her a year ago. Thank you all for being kickass and taking this class such cool places. Thank you to Alex's TAs for being awesomesauce. And thank you to raspberryturk who helped me tweak the class topic from "uh I dunno something about law?" into something I could actually, you know, submit.

The case study in Q4 is from Guilt, S3E18, and yes, Alex was the prosecutor in question, in the midst of having a complete breakdown after her emotionally unstable teenage victim attempted suicide. Q5 isn't a direct parallel to any SVU episode, but there are elements of Victims (S2E13) and Closure, Part II (S2E3) at work.

Re: OOC - JST15

[not-jaded-yet.livejournal.com]

Erf. I sadly will have to handwave Jen's answers for the exam. Those are brilliant questions, and she'd have pretty brilliant answers, and... I'm not that smart :D