things im thankful for

Im Thankful for

1. My family. I dont know what I would do without them
2. My bestfriend stacey... She keeps me on track
3. My blackberry... She's like my child
4. Being able to make MONEY
5. Being able to wake up every morning
6. Being born a healthy child
7. Technology
8. Music
9. Social Networking.. It helped me find & reconnect with family members
10. MY LAPTOP

editing response

I learned a lot from editing the 101 student’s papers. I think that us 103 students giving the 101 students constructive criticism on their papers was a good idea and should be very helpful. When I was in English 101 I would have liked to see what others on a more advanced level than me thought of my paper. Revising these papers made me realize that before submitting, you should re-read your paper for minor grammar mistakes that can be avoided. I experienced reading work that had a lot of unclear and unorganized ideas, and I think it would be better to organize our ideas on a different sheet of paper (rough draft) before you put everything together. It was rough but interesting on finding out what people think is important and can lead to a healthy relationship.
A strong paper supports It's thesis 100 percent so I think It's best to try not to drift off topic and keep your main focus on your thesis statement. For some people this is a hard task because they mention things that make sense but does not reflect the objective of the paper. I think It's best when you let other people read your paper and see what different things they have to say, good or bad. This helps you make your paper better and when you read their comments you notice things you wouldn't have noticed on your own. Sometimes people need coaching on organizing their ideas because there is so much to say and some people have a hard time transferring their information into a paper. Many times I've noticed, and even with myself, I tend to make one point then jump to another point... Then jump back to the first point I made. It's confusing to the reader and throws them off topic a lot. Otherwise this was a good experience, I've learned from it and I'm sure the eng. 101 students learned from it too. :)

indigent defendants research paper

A Criminal Justice System is “a set of legal and social institutions for enforcing

the criminal law in accordance with a defined set of procedural rules and limitations”

(Law Library-American Law and Legal information: crime and criminal law,2009, p.1).

However, in the United States, there are separate federal, state, and military criminal

justice systems, and each state has separate systems for adults and Juveniles ( Law

Library-American Law and Legal information: crime and criminal law, 2009). Although

the idea of a “system” suggest that something is rational, most of the functioning and

processing of the criminal justice system seems to be unplanned, poorly coordinated,

and unjust, resulting to inadequate representation of indigent defendants. Poor

defendants fail to receive due process in the justice system, which leads to wrongful

convictions and imprisonment. Most of these wrongful convictions and imprisonments

result from eyewitness misidentification, unvalidated or improper forensic science, false

confessions, government misconduct, informants, and bad lawyering.

“Due process is a law that grants the right of all persons to receive the

guarantees and safe-guard of the law and the judicial process; {it} includes such

constitutional requirements as adequate notice, assistance of counsel, and the rights to

remain silent, to a speedy and public trial, to an important jury and to confront witness”

(American Bar Association, U.S Supreme Court Cases, 2008, p.54). Yet, indigent

defendants received the total opposite. The criminal justice system is divided into so

many sub-systems: police, prosecutors, public defenders, probation and parole

agencies, custodial institutions (correctional facilities) and department of corrections, all

of which, the criminal justice system has failed to represent indigent defendants and has

been viewed as a racist and unjust system; now, more than anything, the racial

discrimination has been more evident to the public eye.

Derrick A. Bell, Jr, in his article “ Racism in American Courts: Cause for Black

Disruption or Despair?” (1973), states that the United States Commission on Civil Rights

has defined racism as “any attitude, action, or institutional structure which subordinates

a person or group because of his color or their skin” (Bell, 1973, p.165). Racism is all

indigent defendants endure in this corrupted and unjust system. In the criminal justice

system, indigent defendants are considered to be individuals who are poverty stricken

and disadvantaged, who have been accused of a crime and brought before a court of

law. Most indigent defendants are African Americans and Hispanics. The main issue

indigent defendants face is the fact that they do not know their legal rights. The laws are

designed to protect your rights, but, if you do not know the laws, you do not your rights.

According to the article “ Is the criminal-justice system racist?” (2008), Heather

Mac Donald emphasizes on how the then Senator Barack Obama suggested in the

Martin Luther King debate that police, prosecutors, and judges treat blacks and whites

differently “for the same crime” (Mac Donald, 2008, p15). Furthermore, cops over-arrest

blacks and ignore white criminals. Also, according to the article, it states,“prosecutors

overcharge and judges over sentence blacks” (Mac Donald, 2008, p. 15). Blacks

constituted to 39.3 percent of all violent-crime arrest, including 56.3 percent of all

robbery and 34.5 percent of all aggravated-assault arrests, and 29.4 percent of all

property-crime arrest (Mac Donald, 2008).

Evidence that racism lingers in the justice system and the lack of equality in the

definition of crime start with the lack of police doing their job and contributing to proper

arrest procedures. The police sometimes go as far as breaking down people’s doors

without a warrant or even fail to read people their rights. The issue of police abusing

people’s rights, given to them by the Constitution of the United States, dates back to the

1960s. In the case, Miranda v. Arizona , which was before the U.S. Supreme Court in

1966, the arresting officers fail to give Ernesto Miranda, the arrestee, any warnings

before questioning him about a kidnapping case in Arizona. Miranda provided a full

confession to the officer. Miranda was then sentenced to a long prison term, without any

knowledge that his rights were violated. He later appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

According to the Court, the police violated Miranda’s rights by depriving him of his Sixth

Amendment Right to “have the assistance of a counsel for his defense” (U.S. Supreme

Court Cases, 2008, p. 31). The decision led to the Miranda Warnings, which states,

You have the right to remain silent; anything you say can and will be used against

you; you have the right to talk to a lawyer before being questioned and to have

a lawyer present when you are being questioned; and if you can’t afford a

lawyer, one will be provided for you before any questioning if you want one.

(U.S Supreme Court Cases,2008,

p.31)

Yet, for indigent defendants, when their rights are constantly being violated and

they are unaware of the violations if these defendants knew their rights, most of them

would not have been incarcerated. The last lines of the Miranda warning states, “if you

can’t afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you before any questioning if you want

one”( American Bar Association, U.S Supreme Court Cases, 2008, p.32). In most

cases, some defendants do not even know their attorneys until one is appointed to them

by the court. Thus, in such cases, the attorneys do not even know the defendant and

vice versa. The case, Gideon v. Wainwright 1963, extended the right of thee accused to

a lawyer because of the fourteenth amendment. The court must provide legal assistance

to those defendants who cannot afford an attorney.

In today’s society, those attorneys appointed by the court are known as public

defenders. Public defenders are examples of the justice system not living up to its

expectations. One of the number one issues for indigent defendants is the fact that they

do not receiving adequate representation from the court’s appointed lawyer. Most of

these public defenders are under payed and overworked, so their work load is too much

for them to focus on each individual case and try to represent each defendant to the

best of their abilities. The law does not state that the attorney provided to you would or

should inadequately represent you. For instance, in delinquency courts, juvenile defense

attorneys are essential for guaranteeing children’s due process rights and encouraging

their meaningful participation in the proceedings. Yet, indigent defense systems are

largely falling those youth accused of committing crimes ( Purtiz & Majd, 2007). The

issue of inadequate representation affects juvenile delinquents more than adults,

because they are so young being in jail has a greater mental affect on them.

Unlike adult defendants, the system has provided juveniles regardless of race

with more solutions and alternatives. For instance, a juvenile delinquent who is a first

time offender has the opportunity to have his or her case dropped and given probation

or he or she can be granted a Y.O. status. Y.O. status is an acronym for Youth Offender

status, which means that “the defendant was (a) convicted of a crime when the

defendant was at least 16 and less than 19 years of age; (b) eligible to have the

conviction replaced with a non-criminal (youthful offender) adjudication because of the

nature of the crime and the youth's prior record; and (c) adjudicated a youthful offender

through the discretion of a supreme court judge who believed that such adjudication was

in the interests of justice” (New York City Department of Justice, p. 2). Juvenile

delinquents are fortunate to have the alternatives and solutions to solving their issue of

inadequate representation. Yet, many defendants are unaware that they have the

opportunity to be granted a Y.O. status or even rights as an individual, leaving a more

effective solution to be proposed.

The system currently in place is so ineffective that most attorneys cannot present

their best practices into each of their cases. Systemic reform is necessary to bring out

the true meaning to a child’s right to counsel and to ensure that children are

represented and herd ( Puritz & Majd, 2007). In fact, the focus of most attorneys is not

the juvenile delinquents, due to the fact that the system is designed to make attorneys

look at juvenile cases as a training ground for adult court. The system needs to create a

separate division of defense attorneys devoted to juvenile defense cases, because if the

system remains the same it defeats the purpose of juvenile defense attorneys and

juvenile court. The purpose of specialized juvenile defense practice is the idea of a court

system in which defense attorneys have time, training and resources necessary to

having young clients.

“To ensure access to counsel, courts must appoint attorneys at the earliest stage

of a case, so that the attorney can build rapport and trust with the client,

advise the client of their rights and the process, investigate the case, learn

about the child’s psychological, physical, emotional, and educational needs and

family background, explore alternatives to detention, negotiate with prosecutors,

file pretrial motions, frame the case for the judge, and prepare for trial”.

(Puritz & Majd, 2007,

p.447)

Introduction- The Storm Research Paper.

          The short story "The Storm" by Kate Chopin was way ahead of its era. In the mid- 1960's, women portrayed a certain image which was more conservative compared to how women are in society today. It was somewhat offensive and unappealing when women spoke openly about anything related to sex. This story contradicts every aspect of a women's role during that time. Chopin tells a story of a woman cheating on her husband during a storm while her husband and son is at the store. Chopin's life experiences made her write such an unanticipated story. Critical analysis’ on Chopin’s story also show what authors and readers thought about her approach

Annotated Bibliography

Works Cited

Berkove, Lawrence I. ‘Acting Like Fools’: The III-Fated Romances of ‘At the ‘Cadian Ball’ and ‘The Storm’. Short Story Criticism. Ed. Joseph Palmisano. Vol. 68. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Copyright 2007 Gale. Web.

- Berkove agrees that this story was ahead of its era but everyone is a human being and cant be judged by sex, basically. Another good opinionated source.

Seyersted , Per. Kate Chopin A Critical Biography. Louisiana Paperback Edition, 1979. Copyright 1980. Print.

- This book provides information on Chopin’s life and another book she wrote.
Stein, Allen. The Kaleidoscope of Truth: A New Look at Chopin’s ‘The Storm.’ Short Story Criticism. Vol. 110. Detroit: Gale. Copyright 2008 Gale. Web.
- Stein criticizes that any woman who can make an advance at a man who is not her husband is despicable… this is a good opinionated source
Koloski, Bernard. "The Anthologized Chopin: Kate Chopin's Short Stories in Yesterday's and Today's Anthologies." Louisiana Literature 11 (1994): 18-30. Web.- Basically showing the way her stories would be viewed in modern society as opposed to back in her era
Stein, Allen F. Women and Autonomy in Kate Chopin's Short Fiction New York: Peter Lang, 2005.- Distinguishes Chopin’s self- rule and how her role as a woman were to be lived up to. This shows tells that she had sovereignty
Elfenbein, Anna Shannon. Women on the Color Line: Evolving Stereotypes and the Writings of George Washington Cable, Grace King, Kate Chopin Charlottesville: UP of Virginia, 1994.- Explains how writing and literature grew into what it is now
Taylor, Helen. Gender, Race, and Region in the Writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnery Stuart, and Kate Chopin Baton Rouge: Louisiana State, 1989.- Taylor elaborates on some pieces of literature from these authors… including Chopin

Blog # 1

Hey Guysss,
                   I am kind of confused about if I should start a new paper or use one i already have. But I came to a conclusion that I am going to upgrade a paper I did last semester  in Eng 102. I wrote a paper on a poem by Kate Chopin titled "The Strom".
                   In this poem Chopin uses a Double Entendre to get her point accross, in other words she told her story from two points of view. This poem is very sexual and in Chopin's time it was very un-ladylike to speak in such a mannor. Women were looked down upon as whores if they spoke freely about sex.
                  In my paper i hope to find research on Kate Chopin and what her life was like. I will look into how people conducted theirselves and what made Chopin be so open with her sexuality. My most reliable sources will probably be text and internet. I hope to find interesting facts so i dont bore anyone to death with my paper... If you have read this poem you know it is "hot & steamy" so hopefully you guys look forward to reading my paper, and I am looking forward to your opinions and feedback  - tata :)