Week 10: Last Week at the Attorney’s Office and Presentation Prep
Dain Y -
Hello!
This will be my last blogpost before I present my senior project at school. I can’t believe time flew by so quickly! After this, I will upload my Conclusion post summarizing my experience interning at the Coconino County’s Attorney’s Office as well as my experience during my presentation.
Challenges:
As I have been preparing for my upcoming presentation, the absence of public viewing materials / images in my powerpoint poses as a unique challenge. As I have mentioned before, since most of the work and materials I saw were confidential, I was not able to take pictures to share with everyone unfortunately. However, I’m determined to hopefully create a compelling narrative that will help everyone take a deeper dive with me into my experience interning despite this issue!
The Evolution of the Jury Sheet / My Final Product:
A milestone in my internship journey has been that I have finally finished my final product- the revision of the jury instruction sheet!
As I was reading through the jury instruction sheet for preliminary criminal trial rules, I found that there were “long versions” and “short versions” of each guideline, where the long version copied the shorter versions exact vocabulary, but elaborated on certain definitions or words. I thought this was a great solution for clearer legal guidelines, and decided to specifically refine the Preliminary Criminal 21.1 guideline to ensure fairness and understanding by creating a longer version of it myself. This expanded version underscores the importance of linguistic fairness and impartiality in our legal system, and I will insert the example below:
Short / Original Version:
Preliminary Criminal 21.1 (Short Version) − Interpreter for the Defendant
Every person is entitled to a fair trial regardless of the language a person speaks and regardless of how well a person may, or may not, use the English language. Many citizens and noncitizens have a primary language other than English. Our Constitution protects all people within our state regardless of their nationality or their proficiency with the English language. Bias against or for a person who has little or no proficiency in English, or because the speaker does not use English, is not allowed. The fact that the defendant requires an interpreter must not influence you, in your deliberations, in any way.
Long / My Version:
Preliminary Criminal 21.1 (Long Version) − Interpreter for the Defendant
In our judicial system, it is imperative to uphold the fundamental principle of fair treatment for all individuals, irrespective of their linguistic background or proficiency in the English language. Every person, whether a citizen or noncitizen, is entitled to a fair trial, and this includes access to interpretation services when necessary.
The use of an interpreter by a defendant or any other party involved in legal proceedings should not be viewed as a reflection of their credibility or the validity of their claims. It is essential to recognize that language barriers and bias exist and can impede effective communication, particularly in legal contexts where precise understanding is paramount.
As jurors, it is incumbent upon you to approach the testimony of witnesses, regardless of their language proficiency or use of an interpreter, with impartiality and objectivity. The presence of an interpreter should not influence your assessment of the evidence presented or the credibility of the individuals involved.
Throughout this trial, it is essential to guard against any bias or prejudice that may arise due to factors such as Limited English Proficiency (LEP) when the defendant or witness chooses to speak English but uses an accent. Accents are natural variations in speech that do not diminish the reliability or truthfulness of a statement. Any inclination to discredit the testimony of a witness based solely on their accent must be avoided, as it undermines the integrity of the judicial process. Your duty as jurors is to weigh the evidence presented impartially and render a verdict based solely on the facts and the law. Any assumptions or biases related to language proficiency or accent must be set aside in the pursuit of justice.
Until we meet again for the final blog!
Thanks for reading (:
Comments:
All viewpoints are welcome but profane, threatening, disrespectful, or harassing comments will not be tolerated and are subject to moderation up to, and including, full deletion.