Today started the same way as every other day. Class was interesting however, we discussed certain cases involving the rights of the accused. The main case was Miranda v. Arizona, which set the stage for the requirement of law enforcement to read the "Miranda" rights to someone before they are to be taken into custody and interrogated. We also read about the need for counsel, even when someone is too poor to afford one. Next we talked about the death penalty, which brought much heated debate throughout the class. Some kids were clearly for and clearly against the death sentence. There were some people who think we should not use it at all, and others who claimed it should be used all the time to help clear out the prisons and make more room. I still have not decided where I stand on the issue, but I certainly am not radically for it, I think most of the justifications for the death penalty are fundamentally wrong and should not even be considered. But I also believe that there are occasions where prison and rehabilitation will do no benefit and the death penalty seems the only option. In any case listening to such radical opinions makes for an interesting discussion as well as some entertainment. In the afternoon we played another round of jeopardy to test our knowledge of recent cases. After the final question, our team did much better than last game (we ended up with 0 that time). This time we finished with 1 point. We were very proud of ourselves.
In the evening Ms. L took us on a 2 hour boat cruise around the southern tip of Manhattan. This was definitely an amazing experience and I really enjoyed it. Even though the weather was very overcast, I was able to take some stunning photos of the river and the city lights just before sunset. In all my day turned out quite well, and I am so excited to go to the Southern District Court of New York tomorrow, bright and early at 9:14 AM!
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