Classroom Court Day 1

In class this week our first case we heard was State vs. Mann. This case is about a slaveholder "assaulting" a slave by shooting him in the back because he was running away and not following conduct. The state pleads that Mann must pay fines for assaulting the slave by shooting him but also they request jail time for Mann's actions. Mann pleads it was in his constitutional right to take the necessary measures to ensure his slave stayed on his land, he also states even though he shot his slave in the back no permanent injury occurred and he fully recovered after a few days. The state used religion and new laws as a basis for finding Mann guilty but, Mann's council proved Hon. Smith beyond a probable doubt that there was no wrongdoing was made on Mann's Part.

The slaves legal council tried to make the argument that Mann should be charged with attempted murder but had no basis to prove the motive for Mann shooting the slave. There was a lack of evidence proving Mann to have wanted to kill his slave, so the grounds of attempted murder were dismissed. The state then pleaded for him to be charged with property damage because of him shooting the slave but then that contradicted their basis for attempted murder by saying he wasn’t property but a human being. So I feel that the state didn’t form a strong enough basis to find Mann guilty if he was but also they lacked to be efficient in their legal work and collection of evidence.

Once a Minority, Always Overlooked

Over the past 30 years Ron McGuire has been legal council for CUNY students whom voices are heard but never listened to. The minorities in CUNY schools hold a majority of the population in their classrooms. One of the greatest parts of McGuire's work was not just the success he had in court but also the Pro Bono work he does for them. He doesn't charge them and he also helps their word become equal with the voices of other students when dealing with academic publications or SGA elections.
Unfortunately his work is overlooked by others and the NYC society and his work is not compensated for even by the State Government and minority organizations. So he went to the court of Appeals to try and get compensated $800,000 dollars for the most recent 17 years of work he has done but now the bargain is set at $56,000 and slowly decreasing. He personally doesn't care about the money but he worries that if he isn't compensated by someone for his work, no other attorneys will want to work and fight for these unheard voices in these situations.
The most unique cases he has worked on was the reversal of appeals of judgements made by authorities in CUNy schools regarding elections and school chronicles. In one particular case 34 minorities were set to win an election, but the election was taken over and changed because of the circumstances they were put in. McGuire has set many precedents in the court of appeals though that will fight for the students of CUNY long after he has retired.

Obligated Dues, Obligated Support

Rebecca Friedrichs is a teacher in Orange County, California who is apart of her local teachers union while also fighting against it. She used to be a union officer and fought rigorously for reform in the job sector of the Union. She made pleas with her superiors to only have to get a pay cut but, she  was content with it because it meant hardworking teachers could save their job! Only to find out that the union would have agendas of its own and would cut jobs anyway. Friedrichs became furious with her union because of this and many other issues like annual union dues. Due to the fact that she is apart of the union and pays the dues on paper she supports the union and their believes, the only problem is that she doesn't. So she brought the union to court on basis of the first amendment because she is forced to support something that she doesn't. She won and her case is now started to be seen in the supreme court starting January 11th.
She views this as a win so far, but previous court precedent could be in the way of her and her fellow teachers victory. Unfortunately for Friedrichs and other teachers they must pay these dues to their local teachers union because thats their only hope to fight against capitalism in the education sector of the government, although money that is used to fight agendas could also be used towards teachers or even teaching resources instead of legal fees. Either way teachers are forced into paying dues to support causes they don't believe in just so they aren't in a fight alone and aren't independent in the class room, the union does fight for some reform which is beneficial to the teachers.
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