HTHCV XONR8
This was the first half of the XONR8 Project, an interdisciplinary project that used biology and humanities to better understand how criminal justice works, and what happens when it doesn’t work. For this project, we had to work in groups of three and four and review applications from actual incarcerated clients. After tedious and scrutinizing review of our clients file, evidence presented at court, our client's questionnaire, and the Appellants Opening Brief, we had to write a Case Memo to the California Innocence Project detailing whether we believed the CIP should take our client's case or not. As a reminder, these were real people who actually applied to the California Innocence Project whose files we reviewed; not hypothetical, constructed case files. For many of the applicants, the California Innocence Project was their final prospect for their hopes of being exonerated, or released from prison early. The final step of the project was presenting our client's case and our argument from our Case Memo to a panel of CIP attorneys. Whatever we advised, the CIP acted upon.
If you would like more information on the work the California Innocence Project does, or would like to read more about their success stories, please visit their website.
If you would like more information on the work the California Innocence Project does, or would like to read more about their success stories, please visit their website.
Forensics
In the Forensics Portion of this project, I was part of the ballistics group. Ballistics is the science of mechanics that deals with the launching, flight, behavior, and effects of projectiles, especially bullets. Using ballistics, forensic investigators can determine from what angle the gun was shot, from which gun the bullet was shot, and a variety of other details that come into hand when investigating and solving a crime. My group was also in charge of blood spatter, which also can help you tell what weapon was used in the murder/suicide, from which direction the weapon was used and in which direction the follow through of the weapon went, and whether arteries or veins were are punctured. For more detailed information and to view our presentation, please visit the Forensic Presentation subpage under Biology.
My role in my Forensic group was that of a group leader. I helped delegate the work and organize our research. I also was the primary designer of our presentation, and helped others when practicing our lesson for the class.
My role in my Forensic group was that of a group leader. I helped delegate the work and organize our research. I also was the primary designer of our presentation, and helped others when practicing our lesson for the class.
Case Memo
Writing the case memo was an especially difficult part of this project, for several reasons. First of all, because of how much information (more than 200 pages of legal documents) we had to condense into a two page argument. It was also very difficult constructing an argument based completely on facts, not on opinions or emotions. In fact, staying emotionally detached from our client was probably the hardest part of this project. After reading so much about your client, you start to get a sense that you actually know the person, and that slight bias makes constructing your argument that much harder. I do not think there was an "easiest" part to this assignment. Everything required very specific thought, structure and straightforward writing. The vocabulary we had to use for this project was also extremely educative, because most of the legal terms that were used almost every sentence I had never been exposed to before. We literally had to have a legal dictionary with us at all times, because in every page of every document there was at least one word that we had to look up. That made reading the Appellant's Opening Brief very stressful work, because on top of being bland, boring legal writing, the vocabulary was insane. Making a decision was also extremely difficult, and without a doubt the most stressful experience I have ever had the pleasure of suffering. Knowing that the fate of someone's life literally rests in your hands produces an incredibly massive sense of responsibility. One that eats at you at night when you are trying to sleep, and nips at you when you are constructing your argument. As all of this work was done under confidentiality agreements, I am not allowed to disclose what we argued for our client, but I do feel confident that we made the right decision. There were many aspects to this project that made it unique, like every other project, but the fact that everyone in the group felt that incredible sense of responsibility made all the headaches we suffered through feel a little more important. Personally, I was a major contributor in constructing our case memo and presentation for the attorneys, and my other group members were more involved in the research and reading of the AOB. However, it is important to note that everyone in the group had the same amount of understanding of the case; and all of us contributed tremendously in every aspect of the project. I do not think that it would be out of place to say that I assumed the role of the group leader during the writing of the Case Memo, as well as the rest of the project.
Exhibition to California Innocence Project - Tuesday, October 21, 2014
On a scale of 1 to 4, I would absolutely have to rate our presentation in front of the lawyers as a 4. All three of us demonstrated our deep understanding of the case, used professional, legal and eloquent language in our presentation, and I think it was evident by how impressed the attorneys were with our presentation. Since our presentation was confidential, we had to delete it once we sent it to the CIP, but I do believe that was the best presentation I have ever been involved in producing. It was extremely professional and to the point, and none of us read directly off of the presentation. I would also rate my personal participation as a 4 out of 4 in the presentation. I think I was very good at "sharing the air" (something I have been working on since Freshman year), and was really good at answering the questions the attorneys posed for us. The high point, to me, was the final slide, when we presented our suggested course of action. I have never felt as confident or as determined as I did when I shared that slide with our audience.