CRIM 408 OI Assignment 1 done
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George Mason University *
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Apr 3, 2024
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Ordinary Injustice
Assignment 1
Due February 5 (by the start of class)
BY: OSMAN MOHAMED-SAID
For the first Ordinary Injustice
assignment, you should read the Introduction and Chapter 1 (up to page 76)
. You should then respond to the following 10 questions. Your responses to three of the questions (#1-2, #1-7, and #1-8) can be brief and simply answer the question with a factual statement. Your responses to the other seven questions should be written in complete sentences, formally and professionally, and should be at least the length of a paragraph (5-10 sentences)
. You should answer questions in your own words, but should note specifically where in the book you found the information
on which you are drawing. Draw upon Bach’s ideas, but offer your own alongside them; it is okay to agree or disagree with her, or have a different interpretation, but you must support your points with coherent argumentation
. For example, in #I-1, you might say something like, “On page 2, Bach says, ‘[direct quotation].’ By this, I think she means [your own explanation and interpretation]. This is supported by her arguments on pages 4 and 8-9, where she describes [summary of Bach’s points]. However, I think [your own thoughts].” As you can see in this example, you are drawing on Bach’s work and citing her appropriately, but offering your own interpretations, ideas, and arguments about these matters. By the time you fill in everything, you would easily have 5-10 sentences (or more) in response to the question. This is how you should approach each open-ended question. You should type your responses directly into this Word document, keeping your responses organized by the question-numbers listed
. You must submit your assignment via Blackboard as a
Word document
(.doc or .docx file); other file types will result in a point deduction. Your assignment is due by the start of class (4:30pm) on February 5
. This assignment is worth 10 points and will be graded based on the following:
Completeness (4 points)
o
Did you respond to all 10 questions?
o
Were your responses the appropriate length for the assignment? o
Was your assignment submitted on-time and in the format specified above?
Thoroughness and Thoughtfulness (4 points)
o
Did you fully respond to all parts of the questions? o
Did you demonstrate a critical reading of Bach’s work?
o
Did you offer responses that combined Bach’s ideas with your own?
Clarity of Presentation (2 points)
o
Are your thoughts and ideas presented in a logical order that is easy to understand? o
Is your presentation easy to follow?
o
Is your writing formal and professional, with spelling and grammatical errors, and
informal speech, kept to a minimum?
INTRODUCTION
1.
Based on what you read in the Introduction, what do you think Amy Bach means by “ordinary injustice”? And why does she say it is problematic to blame it only on “bad apples” (i.e., individuals)?
Amy Bach defines “ordinary injustice” as the cumulative and pervasive errors that occur in the judiciary system and remain hidden or accepted as normal to legal professionals. It is a regular sequence of mistakes, possibly in the guise of procedural errors, bias, or some
other issues, that does not stir the alarm within the legal community. Such injustice would
result to wrongful convictions or even other death sentences in the judicial system.
Bach acknowledges that attributing these issues to “bad apples”—individual actors, such as judges, prosecutors, or defense attorneys — is problematic. Through ascribing the problem to isolated incidents of misbehavior by persons, the wider systemic issues in the legal system are hidden from view. She argues that the issues are not about individual actions but embedded within the whole legal structure. Multiple parties are involved, and focusing on one individual does not deal with all the radical reforms, which are necessary
to curb the prevalence of routine acts of injustice in courtrooms all over America. Essentially, she highlights the need to identify and address systemic failings, rather than attributing blame to individuals.
2.
In your own words, what is an “adversary” system of justice?
The adversary system of justice is a legal system in which legal issues, especially criminal trials, are addressed by an adversarial process. In this form of justice, there are two opposing groups, the prosecutor representing the state and the defense representing the accused, each presenting his case before an impartial judge and sometimes a jury. In a
climax of opposing arguments, evidence, and legal analysis by the opposing sides, the truth or the facts of the case are supposed to come out. The role of a judge in a trial court is to ensure that the proceedings are fair and orderly and impartially administer the law according to the rules of evidence and procedure.
CHAPTER 1
1.
Amy Bach uses describes someone as a “meet ‘em, greet ‘em, and plead ’em” lawyer. What do you think she means by this?
The term "meet 'em, greet 'em, and plead 'em lawyer" is a characterization that suggests a
legal practitioner, in this case, Surrency, engages in a brief and transactional relationship with their clients. The description implies that the lawyer meets the defendants just before
their court appearance, greets them briefly, and then quickly persuades or guides them to plead guilty. The focus appears to be on expediting the legal process through guilty pleas
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