D.C United Game with the Class

Our class got together after our internships for to the D.C. United Game. We met at a classmate’s WISH housing and left as a group from there. When we got there was a huge crowd. Every one was excited for the game to begin. Once we bought our D.C. United apparel from the stadium store, we were ready for the game to begin!

We sat close to the field which was about three rows up from the bottom. Our view was amazing! It was in a fan cheering section so everyone was screaming cheers and pounding on drums. Every one was really excited for the game because the New York team is one of their rivals. The crowd did not stop cheering!

It was an exciting game. You could feel the tension in the stadium as the New York team pulled ahead. Unfortunately, D.C. United ended up losing the game. The score was 3-0. Even though we lost, every one was still in good spirits. Our class was glad to have the opportunity to spend time with each other, especially since there are few opportunities left to do so. We have grown so close to each other. We keep talking about how weird it will be to leave D.C. and to not see many of these people again for a long time. We are all going to miss each other’s company. We spent every day, all day, together for class and seminar. To think this all stops on Monday is depressing. I am sure many of us will keep in touch, and hopefully we can plan a class trip back to D.C. Many of us will probably move here in the future so maybe we will meet up then too!

Lunch with my Attorneys

Because the last two days of my internship are this week, my attorneys wanted to take me to lunch to thank me for my work over the past few months. I thought this was considerate of them. I could not wait for lunch because it would mean a few hours away from my desk!

Two of my attorneys Stefanie and Michael were able to come but the third could not because she is out of town for the week. But, another attorney I did work for was excited to join us! She has also been kind to me so I was glad she came. They brought me to a great upscale Mexican restaurant called Rosa Mexicano. We walk by it in China Town all the time. I was so excited because I heard they had great food.

The food here was fabulous. They have guacamole they make right in front of the table. It was so interesting to watch them make it to see what ingredients they use and how they do it. After lunch, they even took me out for frozen-yogurt! As you could imagine, I was quite full by the time we arrived back at the office.

Overall, I really enjoyed having lunch with my supervisors. They are great people who I have been fortunate to work under. They have taught me much about the mission of CFSA and what it takes to be an attorney. They have guided me with constructive criticism and respect. I am fortunate that I had patient and understanding bosses to work under. This experience would have been much different I did not enjoy my work environment. I highly recommend any future student seeking an internship in the law field to consider a position with the Office of the Attorney General and if interested in child neglect and abuse, CFSA. What a great opportunity I have had! I will always remember my first internship and the experience I have gained from it.

Trip to the Zoo/ Tenley BBQ

Yesterday, our class decided to do another outing together. We went to the National Zoo! At first it was a little disappointing because many of the animals were not out. The Zoo’s main attraction, which are the panda bears, were out but you could not see them because they were sleeping. But, we still got to see other animals that were really interesting. We saw elephants, tigers, monkeys, gorillas, and lions. The lions were probably my favorite because the father, mother, and all the babies were out laying in the sun together. As we were watching them, one of the babies kept nudging and playing with his mom. Eventually the other cubs joined in. It was cute watching them all play together. I have never been to a zoo this large, so it was a new experience for me. I never knew there could be so many animals to see that it would take three hours to go through it. It was a great time!

When we left the Zoo, we were excited to see a Frozen Yo shop right near the entrance. For many of us, this is our favorite treat in D.C. It is the best place to get frozen yogurt because you can pick your own flavor of yogurt and add as many toppings as you like. It’s delicious! Our class was definitely glad to stop there before our walk back.

The fun didn’t stop after the frozen yogurt though! When we got back to Tenley Campus there was a BBQ and many activities. There were two bouncies set up for us to play in. One was obstacle course bouncie and the other was a boxing match. Our class decided to split into teams to see who could win the obstacle course. Unfortunately my team did not win, but it was so much fun! By far the most fun bouncie I’ve been on. It was a great way to end the afternoon. I think everyone in our class had a great day and were happy to enjoy the beautiful weather together!

Nationals Baseball Game!

Our class decided to go to a Nationals baseball game together. We met at Union Station then went over to a classmate’s WISH house before the game. We stayed there for a few hours to get ready, and then we headed out!

It was very easy to get to the stadium and did not take long at all. The Nationals played the Phillies, so we were hoping it would be a close game. It was even more exciting for some of our classmates because they are serious Phillies fans. Surprisingly, many of the people in attendance were Phillies fans.

When we got there, we had to get a hot dog. You don’t get the full experience of a baseball game unless you try a stadium hot dog. It definitely did not disappoint! When we got to our seats we realized they were great as well. We all got to sit together and had a great view of the players. Unfortunately, the Nationals did not play too well and ended up losing to the Phillies. The score was 4-0. Even though they lost, it was definitely worth going to. The tickers were cheap and we had a great time going. It was a great opportunity to bond as a class. If we have more time before we have to leave, I would love going to another game. We have many class outings planned, so it should be an exciting last few weeks!

Secretary of Transportation- Ray LaHood

We had another great week of speakers! This week we had the honor of meeting the Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood. He was a great speaker that dedicated a significant amount of time out of his schedule to talk to us. He spent forty-five minutes answering our questions. Yes, I know forty five minutes does not seem like a lot of time, but for a person of his importance, it is rare to have this amount of time to spare.

Ray LaHood walked in with a group of people, introduced himself, and then asked what questions we had. He was concerned with our interests rather than lecturing us on issues that we may not be as concerned with. This was a great opportunity for everyone to ask a question. Our whole class was able to ask him questions, and some asked more than one!

Many of the questions asked were about the Department of Transportation’s mission and what projects they were working on. He spoke about the distracted drivers project, that is working to eliminate accidents due to distractions while driving. The use of cell phones is a big concern of the Department of Transportation. Recently, they have been conducting experiments in certain cities where police officers sit on corners and catch drivers on their phones. They heavily ticketed people for about a week, and as a result people stopped using their phones while driving. They believe laws that limit phone use can be successful if they are heavily enforced. This was also proven with the Click-it-or-Ticket program that was implements years ago. As a result of heavy enforcement, most people use their seat belts.

Another topic he spoke about was building high speed rails in the United States. This was very interesting because the plan is to have high speed rail available to eighty percent of the population. This project will cost billions of dollars and will take many years. I am curious how this will be funded considering many projects are losing funding because of budget cuts and the country’s debt. It will be interesting to see if the Department of Transportation’s plans are successful.

Cherry Blossom Parade

This weekend was a great weekend to explore more of D.C. On Friday, some friends from class and I went to a seafood restaurant at The Fishermen’s Warf. This restaurant was so nice. It was on the water overlooking the river and the docked boats. It would have been a great place to go if it was warmer because they had a deck where we could have sat to enjoy the view. There are many restaurants that overlook the river throughout the city. Before I have to leave, I will hopefully be able to go to one and enjoy the beautiful scenery and the warm weather.

Today was the annual Cherry Blossom Parade near The Mall. My friends and I were so excited to go watch it because we heard how great it is every year. This festival draws in over a million tourists every spring, so we knew the parade had to be extravagant. When we got there, the crowds were lining the streets. It was difficult to find an open spot on the side of the road, but luckily we squeezed ourselves in to get a good view.

I never really attend parades except for local smaller parades such as the one for St. Patrick’s Day. So, it was interesting to get the opportunity to see such a popular parade that draws tourists from all over the country. The parade included the winners of the Cherry Blossom Festival Pageant, Miss Rodeo, a former American Idol finalist, and many people from local institutions. Some of my favorite marchers were the unicyclists. I would never have the coordination that they do to ride a unicycle. I give them much credit for riding throughout the entire parade. Another group of marchers that I liked were the Japanese dancers and drummers. It was nice to get the Japanese cultural experience that is associated with the Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival. They wore ornate clothing and played interesting cultural music. It was a cultural learning experience to watch the parade and to appreciate why the festival even occurs. Hopefully next year I can take a trip to D.C. to see it again!

Last Few Weeks for the Research Paper

Because the semester is coming to an end, it means that the research paper will be due soon. For many of us, this is a scary thought! We have worked so hard all semester to ensure that we do a good job on it. Right now, I am working on the analysis and conclusion aspect of my paper. This part has been very difficult and I am nervous that I will not write it thorough enough.

The analysis and conclusion are so difficult because you have to rely on the interviews you have conducted with people knowledgeable on the subject area. Once you connect with these people and they are willing to speak with you, it is not too difficult to interview them and get the necessary information for the analysis. But, it is the contacting part of the interview that is hard to achieve. Many of these people have busy work schedules that often conflict with our schedules for the Washington Semester Program seminars and our internships. The seminars and my internship consume much of my day from the early morning to sometimes 5:00pm. Therefore, it is difficult to set these meeting times. Even if we do have spare moments in our schedules, some of these people are unwilling to speak to us. I have noticed this with my topic because it includes information that is considered confidential for many police departments. Many are hesitant to discuss reforms they have implemented and how they feel about the system.

I spoke to a teacher here at American University who was very helpful and provided me with relevant information on my topic. He has written a book on the subject I am studying, so it was helpful that he had done much research himself. It was even more beneficial because he provided me with additional sources to read to learn more. This part of the analysis should be a solid inclusion to my paper. This weekend I will spend most of my time writing the paper, so I hope the weather is not too nice where I feel like I am missing out on a great adventure throughout D.C.!

Our class was required to attend another hearing this week. I chose to observe a House hearing for the Committee on Agriculture’s Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. This was a hearing to discuss the status of the beef industry. The Members of Congress wanted to know what legislation is working and what is not. Specifically, what regulations should be addressed and what programs are benefiting the beef industry. At first I was unsure whether I would be interested in this hearing, but I decided to attend it anyway because it was different from the others I observed. I had little knowledge how the beef industry worked and how complicated the process is to produce beef for us consumers. After attending this hearing, I had a better understanding of the hard work and delicacy this process needs to run.

Even though I thought this hearing would not be relevant to the topics we discussed, it proved to be very relevant. A large discussion of our semester focused on regulations and how they greatly affect our country. Our professor discussed how these agencies theoretically have more power than the other branches because they are basically unchecked and unelected by the people. The agencies pass thousands of rules in a year, while Congress passes much less. These rules dictate many operations such as the beef industry. According to the witnesses present, these agencies have put a significant burden and threat to their businesses. Many of these rules are passed without basis and knowledge of the true situation at hand. An Environmental Protection Agency inspector went to inspect one of the witness’ ranch and stated that he had never been so close to a cow before. He had little knowledge of how a ranch operated and what was necessary for healthy cattle feeding. The very agencies that regulate farms such as these should be educated on how they actually operate. This will ensure that the most beneficial rules are passed. It was shocking to see how influential the regulatory system is on the beef industry. From the knowledge I gained at this hearing, I hope that appropriate measures can be taken to ensure the prosperity of this industry. I was glad to attend this hearing to realize that the topics we study in class extend to many areas that I would not expect.

Speaking with a Supreme Court Justice

-The podium where Justice Alito stood to speak to us.

-Public Law Class 2011- Me standing right next to him!

This week we had the honor of meeting Supreme Court Justice Alito. It was an event that I will definitely remember for the rest of my life.

I was so lucky because I was able to sit in the first row right in front of Justice Alito. When he walked in, we were instructed to remain standing until he sat down and that we could not take pictures while he spoke. The security guards took these instructions very seriously because we were told more than once how to act in his presence. They really ensure that these judges receive the highest level of respect.

I was surprised how down to earth Justice Alito was. This man is an extremely intelligent person who graduated from Yale Law School and was the editor of Yale’s Law Review Journal. Even though he is intelligently superior to most and holds a prestigious job, he was truly interested in our questions and about teaching us about the justice system. He told us about the cases the Supreme Court has heard in the past few weeks. Many of them we have heard about in the news or have studied in class. It was a unique opportunity to be in his presence while such important decisions are being made. He even spoke to us about the recent case involving the Westboro Baptist Church and their right to picket soldiers’ funerals. In this case, he was the only Justice to dissent. He stated that a funeral is fragile time of mourning and that while he believes in the right of free speech, it is not the right time or place to protest. It has been said that he relies on his emotions for some of his decisions. I believe this is a case where he took this into consideration when he decided to dissent.

The question I asked him was how he deals with pressure from his family, friends, and those that surround him when his opinions vary from theirs’ on certain cases. I was wondering how he separates his personal life from his job as a Supreme Court Justice. He stated that there are many safeguards that protect his job even when he makes controversial decisions. There are times when his opinions vary from those around him, but he feels it is his job to uphold the law no matter the circumstances. He stated that it is difficult at times, but essentially it’s his job and he has to do it as best as he can. I was honored to have this experience of speaking to him. Nowhere else would I get the opportunity to be in the same room as a Supreme Court Justice, not alone be able to speak to him. This was truly the best experience I could have asked for here in Washington, D.C. and reaffirms by beliefs on how great the Washington Semester Program has been. I am going to be very sad when I have to leave.

Interesting Hearings...

The hearings I observed today were some of the most interesting ones I have attended thus far. One was about a child who was extremely burned, and another was on a teenager who had not taken her psychotic medications for a month. These situations were more intense than many of the other hearings I have attended. The burn case was particularly interesting because it was not the mother who was responsible for the child being burned. The case was taken into CFSA because the mother had reportedly left her child with a neighbor’s daughter for a few days. It was particularly interesting because CFSA did not have a strong case of neglect against the mother, but they still won. They accused this incident as neglect because the mother had left her child with a caretaker that she did not know well enough. She did not know her last name or her address. But, she had left the baby at this person’s house before and he always returned home safely so she felt the person was responsible. One day, the child returned home with extreme burns on his back. According to Tobey, the child had lost all his skin on his back. I was disgusted hearing this because I could only imagine how gruesome this must look and how much pain the baby must be in. At the hearing I could tell the mother loved her son very much and was extremely concerned about getting him placed home again. Even though the mother should have had better judgment about her choice of babysitters, I hope the child returns home soon. The other case was about a teenage girl who has compulsive violence issues. She takes medication to control her moods, and it had been working very well for her. According to some members at the hearing, the child ran out of medicine a month ago and was repeatedly asking that someone fill the prescription for her. The social worker apparently did not take care of this situation for her, and she went a month without receiving her medicine. During that month, she had two violent encounters with her boyfriend. The first encounter, she told the boyfriend to leave the shelter where she is staying. He refused, so she got mad and grabbed a kitchen counter knife to stab him in the eye. She said she would have stabbed him, but he grabbed the knife out of her hands as it was approaching his face. Obviously, this potentially could have been a serious incident where she could have faced criminal charges and jail time if she did stab him. In the second incident, the boyfriend was making her mad, so she punched him in his face. She split open his face and broke her finger as a result of this. When the judge heard about this she became extremely concerned as to why no one attended to getting the medicine sooner. She asked the family and the daughter to step out of the room. Once they were out, she proceeded to scold CFSA, the social worker, and the other members for not being responsible. She said if she ever hears of another incident where a child does not get their medicine when they need it, she will be very mad. I agree especially because the child potentially could have killed or seriously injured him. These psychotic medicines need to be regulated and used properly. It is a miracle that no one was hurt from her actions. The social workers should always be aware and attentive to issues such as this.

Bonding with Classmates

Now that the semester is winding down I have noticed how close our class has gotten with each other. We are around one another all day, almost every day. We often travel as a group to and from our seminars and often eat lunch together during our breaks. I have really enjoyed learning about each other and where we all come from. I can certainly say that I have learned much from my fellow classmates. Because we all come from different parts of the country, we are all very different from each other. The lifestyles in California, Washington state, North Carolina, and New York (just to name a few) are all so dynamic. Not only have I learned more about different parts of the country, I have learned from their academic knowledge. My classmates are all highly intellectual students. Some information that I am unfamiliar with, they usually know and teach me what I need to know and vice versa. We all work well with each other to ensure that we have a successful semester here in D.C. I am looking forward to tonight because we scheduled a class dinner. Because we all have our internships today, we thought it would be fun to meet up afterwards to relax and grab dinner. We are going to Cactus Cantina, which I heard was a great Mexican restaurant. Although I don’t know if it can beat Guapos, it is a favorite of ours. I can’t wait to test out this restaurant with everyone; it should be a great time. Hopefully, this is one of many class events that are sure to come before the end of the semester. This experience of becoming closer with my classmates and learning from them has added to the reasons why I love the Washington Semester Program so much. I never thought I would become as close to everyone as I have. The seminars, my internship, and class are an integral part of the experience of the program, but because I have made some great friends it has been even better. I am truly thankful that I found this program.

Cherry Blossom Festival!

This weekend was the beginning of the Cherry Blossom Festival. The whole city puts on activities for tourists and residents to celebrate the Japanese cherry blossom trees that bloom around the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial. The celebration is a three week event that lasts until the weekend of April 9th. Every year, over a million tourists come to the city to see these beautiful blossoms. I am grateful to be here for the spring semester to enjoy the festival. My sister decided to visit me for the weekend to also enjoy the blossoms. She flew in from NY on Friday night and stayed until Monday morning. It was so hard to pack everything that D.C. has to offer into the two days that we had to tour. There were so many activities to do in so little time!

On Saturday we visited the Tidal Basin to observe the Cherry Blossoms and to enjoy the view of the Jefferson Memorial. I was surprised to see that the blossoms grew perfectly fine even with the cold weather. I was also surprised to see thousands of people outside also around the cherry blossom trees. After we observed the trees, we went to the Natural History Museum then out to lunch. After lunch, we went to the Botanical Gardens, where I visited a couple weeks ago. Even though I was recently there, they changed many of the plants they had on display. It was nice to not see the same exact exhibit twice. These exhibits took many hours to go through, so after these two museums I had to introduce my sister to the best frozen yogurt shop to boost her energy again. She absolutely loved Frozen Yo, as do I. we loved it so much we even went back the next day! Our last stop after the Frozen Yo was the White House, which she enjoyed seeing as well. On Sunday we were tired from traveling so much on the day before, but we knew we had to see as much as we could. My sister was determined to buy cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcakes so we waited in line for an hour just to get her some! She said it was worth the wait because they tasted amazing. Our next stop was the Newseum, which she also loved. Even though I went there earlier in the week with my class, I was excited to go again because there was still so much to see.

Ultimately, we had a busy but great weekend. I was disappointed to see her go, but at least we had this time to spend together. Hopefully, this upcoming weekend I can attend the events scheduled for the second weekend of the cherry blossom festival.

Supreme Court Argument!

Yesterday was definitely one of the highlights of my semester here in Washington D.C .We had the opportunity to attend a Supreme Court oral argument. The case was called JBD v. North Carolina. This case dealt with the Miranda rights and whether or not a police officer should consider a child’s age before issuing the Miranda rights.

The child in the case was a thirteen year old boy who was suspected in two break-ins. The police questioned him while he was at school without giving him a Miranda warning, and J.D.B. made incriminating statements. He argued that he had been subjected to custodial interrogation and that the court should take into account his age when determining whether he was in custody. Because the Miranda warnings had not been read to him he was not in custody, and the statements were used as evidence. He was convicted, placed on 12 months of probation, and was ordered to pay restitution.His lawyers argued that age should be a factor in determining whether he was in custody for Miranda purposes. But, the State of North Carolina believed it would be too subjective for police officers to make this determination. The Supreme Court was asked to determine if the age of an individual questioned by police affects whether that individual is in custody and must receive Miranda warnings?

This was a great case to sit in on because the judges were quite animated and at times became annoyed with the lawyers and one another. Justice Breyer was one justice that particulary disagreed with the lawyer representing North Carolina. Some of his statements included: "Ukrainian. He only speaks Ukrainian," Breyer continued. "Do you take that into consideration?" "Yes," Cooper answered."Then why aren't you willing to take into account an ambiguous situation?" Breyer asked."Your honor, because those are obvious circumstances," Cooper responded. In a juvenile's case, he said, "you have to think like an 8-year-old, or think like a 15-year-old."Breyer shot back: "You have to think like a Ukrainian speaker or like a person in a wheelchair!" I did not expect a Supreme Court judge to be as animated as Breyer was. He had the whole court laughing. My favorite quote from the whole hearing was when Scalia said to Breyer “Well, who reads the dissents anyway.”

Overall this was a great opportunity to see how our government really operates. I now have a better understanding of the Supreme Court and how hearings actually occur in that court room.

D.C. United Soccer Game

I attended my first professional soccer game here in D.C. to watch the D.C. United team take on the Columbus Crew. I did not anticipate this game being crazy since it was a soccer game, but I ended up being quite wrong. This was the most exciting professional sports game I have ever been to. When we got to the stadium we parked in the parking lot where all the fans were gathered. There was music playing, food cooking, and everyone was playing games. Because the weather was perfect, we got to enjoy the outdoors. About fifteen minutes before the game, we all lined up to march into the stadium together. Everyone was shouting D.C. United chants, waving flags, and wearing matching shirts. You could tell the excitement was building for the game to begin.

As we walked into the stadium, we were quite an intimidating group of people. We all marched into the fan section and began cheering more until the official whistle blew. Where we stood was about four rows back from the field. We had a perfect view of the whole field and the players. The game started off slow, neither of the teams scored until later in the game. Eventually D.C. United scored though! When they did, the crowd went wild. All the fans cheered and were throwing their drinks at one another. Unfortunately, by the end of the game I was soaked. To keep the energy alive, during half-time the fans gathered in the stadium halls to cheer more. Everyone was going wild and many were on each other’s shoulders. The game continued on with this energy and D.C. united eventually scored two goals and shut out the Columbus Crew. This win put the team in first place. Even after the game, the fans continued to celebrate. They had fireworks in the parking lot and many stayed to recap the game with one another.

I had such a great time that I would definitely go again. If anyone is ever in D.C. and there is a game, I highly recommend going. The next game is scheduled for April 9th, I hope I can make it!

Museums around D.C.

-An exhibit from the Native American Museum -The Canopy View from the Botanical Gardens

-The main fountain area

-The Library of Congress

This weekend I had the chance to do some site seeing. I was so excited to explore Washington, D.C. in this beautiful weather. My friend and I went to The Library of Congress, The Native American Museum, and The Botanical Gardens. I really enjoyed all of these and would visit them again.

When you walk into The Library of Congress the beauty of the architecture leaves you breathless. I have never seen such an ornate building. There are many columns, statutes, and artwork on the walls throughout the building. In the main building there are two exhibits to see, which include important documents and books and journals from prominent people throughout American history. They even had an exhibit of Jefferson’s library. I thought this was a very interesting display because it actually contained the real books that he owned and it was organized the way Jefferson organized his library. For the books that were burned in a past fire and were no longer available for this display, they found these books to include in the exhibit. Because we only saw a small portion of the Library of Congress I would love to go back to see the other two buildings and maybe even get a tour to learn more about its history.

I also highly recommend going to the Botanical Gardens. When you walk into the building there are vibrant colored flowers and plants surrounding you. I have never seen such beautiful flowers in my life. The museum takes its visitors through different climates and shows what plants grow in those conditions. In the desert area, they had many cactuses and other plants that grew with little water. They also displayed common plants used for medicine and food that we eat. Although these areas were interesting, my favorite part of the museum was the jungle area. They had fountains, a tree bridge, and many tall jungle like trees and flowers that grow there. To view the canopy of the jungle, they had suspended walkways for visitors to walk around the perimeter of the room. This was my favorite part because you could view the whole room to get lots of pictures. I would definitely go there again, and I hope to take my family there so they may enjoy the scenery as well.

More work...

It was a very busy day at work. Stefanie had three initial hearings all scheduled for 11am. She approached me and stated she desperately needed my help with them. So, I left for court with her at 10:00am and did not leave until 4:45pm. The first task she had me complete was to file the documents for each case. I helped her organize the documents, such as the petitions, and distributed them to the appropriate members in the three cases. The mom’s attorney, dad’s attorney, guardian ad litem, and the social worker had to receive these. It was difficult to find all these people because not all arrived at the court house at the same time. Many were discussing the other cases they have with attorneys that are assigned to those cases. The scene at court is always quite hectic I’ve noticed. Because the three hearing were all scheduled at the same time, they had to determine the order of the cases. Once Stefanie knew when the hearings would begin, she instructed me to call the social workers to inform them when to arrive. This was also frustrating because the social workers had to rush to get there, so the cases could begin. Stefanie was relieved that I had made the calls for her because she was busy trying to address the other situations at hand. I worked with her all day as though I was her personal assistant. I felt as though my assistance was very helpful to her success in managing the hearings. I overheard her tell a co-worker that I was a huge help throughout the day and that she was extremely grateful I was there to assist her. When I hear comments such as those, I feel as though I am contributing to the success of CFSA.

These cases that I assisted with were not too unique from previous ones that I’ve observed. The only one that was different was that a case concerned the matter an infant being malnourished. The infant was four months old and was six pounds. The baby had been born pre-mature and weighed four pounds. Since then, the baby gained little weight and the mother did not take the child to the doctor. I found this interesting how CFSA also handles cases where children are not properly cared for concerning food. It makes sense, but I guess I never thought about it.

Senate Hearing on the BP Oil Spill

We had our second hearing observation day today. This time I went to a Senate Hearing on the report to the President from the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. This hearing was particularly interesting because it covered the BP oil spill which was a recent, devastating event. Before this hearing, I was wondering what the government and BP had planned to do since the oil spill. Yes BP had capped the leaking oil, but there is still lingering consequences from the spill that must be addressed. The senators in this hearing also had this concern, and wanted recommendations on what actions should now be taken in the aftermath of the devastation. The two witnesses, Senator Bob Graham and Honorable William Reilly Co-Chairs of the Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling, stated the need for continued funding and research. Money is needed to conduct research on the environmental impacts of this horrible event both now and many decades from now. We are unable to predict the extent of damage upon the environment because of the spill, therefore research is needed to understand the effects and how to fix what the impact that it had.

Another topic addressed was the United State’s dependency on oil. The senators and witnesses agreed that the deep sea drilling industry has to continue because we are in desperate need of the oil and we get about 31% of our oil from the Gulf. Not only does this industry provide jobs, but it provides the scarce oil that we depend on. With this said, all agreed that there needs to be stricter standards for drilling to prevent such accidents from occurring. They also spoke about United States’ dependency on foreign oil. Because this source is not always reliable and oil is becoming scarcer, the Senators spoke about becoming an independent energy producer. Alternative energy methods need to be developed such as using natural gas and electric. These are better for the environment and are beneficial for the United States becoming independent. Overall, I saw this hearing as a hopeful testimony towards progress. I hope that alternative energy methods can be developed because I believe it would solve much of our problems within the United States and I also hope that the Gulf spill can be adequately addressed to protect our environment and the people that rely on the Gulf. These issues are a great threat facing our nation, so efforts to fix them are critical to us all.

Traveling Back and Adjusting after Spring Break

In my last blog I was nervous about my trip home and whether or not I would find my way. Well, I am happy to say it was a success! I was relieved because there were no delays on the metro, so I made it to my shuttle stop with plenty of time. From the shuttle, I got to the airport with at least two hours to spare. On the way home, I took a different route. From the airport I took a shuttle to the train station, which then took me to union station. From union station, I took the metro home. Before being in Washington, I never relied on public transportation to take me to and from school. I realized there are numerous ways to travel, and it is not that expensive. It was a learning experience because I had to relatively determine when I should leave school and what time I should schedule my connecting transportation. When you have not taken the train or shuttles before, it can be hard to determine how much time to leave in between each means of transportation. But, luckily like I said I was successful and had a great trip home! I guess with practice and experience traveling to and from D.C. is not so bad!

Being back at American was difficult today because I felt as though I needed a longer vacation. I miss home already, but I am excited to see what is ahead in both my seminar and internship. This week we were already assigned to attend another hearing. After this hearing we are required to write an observation paper within a week. This paper is not too difficult because it describes your personal experience of the hearing, but because I have work for my research project it might be difficult to balance this work. I have a significant amount of work to do on my research project, and I want to do the best that I can in seminar, so I hope that I manage my time well. Now that I am back, adjusted, and ready to work again, I am ready for the challenges up ahead!

Traveling in D.C.

Today starts our Spring Break! I’ve been looking forward to going home for a couple weeks now. It has been very busy here with homework, tests, the research project and my internship, so I am looking forward to relaxing a bit. Even though we are on break I still have to work on my research project. Our literature review for our paper is due the Monday we return. This part of the paper is quite long, totally around fifteen to twenty pages in length. This number sounds intimidating, but I have so much information it should not be that difficult to complete. I just have to be diligent and set time aside to complete it.

Since I am going home by plane, I have a few hours to work on the project. This is my first flight alone without any family or friends. I thought I would be more nervous than I am, but I have been surprisingly calm. I am not nervous about the actual flight, but traveling to the airport is somewhat intimidating. I am going by metro to the end of the green line. When I get off the metro, there is supposed to be a shuttle to the Baltimore airport. I am nervous that I will not be able to find this shuttle or that it will be unreliable. Once I hopefully get to the airport, I have to navigate my way to the gate that my plane leaves from. I have never been in the Baltimore airport nor have I ever had to find my way through any airport, so this should be interesting. My biggest fear is that I will miss my flight because I get lost or the metro takes too long. Trying to estimate the time it will take to travel on the metro throughout this semester has been difficult. It is often unreliable and it experiences many delays. It seems as though every other week they are having track maintenance or they are breaking down. Therefore, it is better to leave earlier, just in case, than to be late and miss my flight. If I miss my flight, I guess I will not be able to go home! I definitely do not want that to happen! Hopefully my navigation skills will pull through.

Wish me luck,
Andreanna

Expanding Responsibilites

I feel as though my internship supervisors are finally utilizing my skills. For the past few times I’ve worked, they have assigned me substantive work to do. Today, my supervisors had a light amount of work, so they directed me to speak with another attorney in the office to see if they needed any help. I found an attorney named Victoria who was relieved to give me some things to work on. The first task she gave me was to complete a 21 day motion. This is a motion issued when a child needs to be admitted into the hospital for psychological evaluation. Because the child is legally the government’s responsibility, the court has to approve the child being under the hospital’s care. For a period of 21 days the child is the hospital’s responsibility and they must take care of him/her. In the case I worked on today the child was admitted into the hospital because he became violent and bit his foster brother. Therefore, the doctors recommended that he stay in the hospital for further psychological evaluation to see why he acted in this way and how they can help him.

The motion needed to be completed by this afternoon so it could be filed for the next day. The government has a legal responsibility to complete this form within 48 hours of the child being admitted into the hospital. Within this document, consent from the mother’s counsel and the GAL needed to be documented to show that we attempted to contact them about the situation. Because I could not reach them when I called, I was able to write that there was no consent due to the fact the parties could not be reached. Even without their consent, the government is able to act because of the emergency nature of the situation. The attorney checked my work after it was completed, and she found no errors. I was very excited to hear this.

Because I did so well on the 21 day motion, Victoria gave me another assignment to complete. I had to draft a Permanency Hearing Order for her. Once explained to me, I had no problem it. She specifically stated that I did not have to stay later than usual to complete this, but I was determined to finish it before I left. I stayed for an extra half hour, and Victoria noticed this. She was appreciative of my hard work and dedication. I am glad she saw this because I want to set a good example of my hard work ethic. Overall, I am learning so much at my internship and I’m really enjoying the work. Hope it continues!

-Andreanna

P.S. I’m attaching a photo from our trip to The White House this week!

Senate Chamber Visit

What an exciting day today! In the morning we got the opportunity to tour the Senate Chamber, which is rare for the public to see. When we went through security I was very surprised that the Senate side of the Capitol was much stricter than the House of Representatives side. We were prohibited from bringing any food or drinks in with us, which I found interesting because no other building did this. But, once we entered through security we made our way to the Chamber. This chamber absolutely breathtaking and is ornately decorated. It is set up differently from the House Chamber, which is much bigger and does not have desks. In the Senate Chamber, each Senator is assigned a desk based upon their seniority. The more seniority a member has, the closer to the front they will sit. Our professor also told us how each Senator will engrave their names into the desk. I love learning about these unique facts that most people are unaware of.

In the afternoon we got to meet Senator Mark Begich of Alaska. This was different from our other meetings with Senators because Alaska is different from the rest of the states due to its geographical location. I always wondered what it would be like to be a Senator or Congressman that has to travel such long distances to get back and forth from their home state to Washington D.C. Senator Begich described the challenges of having this distance, in relation to his family life and connecting to his constituents. The way he has balanced his family and work is by moving to the District. He believes this was an important move because it is difficult to maintain a normal family life when you only spend a limited time together. Senator Begich walks his son to school every morning, which proves his dedication to his family while also working such a prestigious job. I thought this spoke a lot to his character and to the type of father that he is. I was impressed by his concerns for both his family and constituents. I would hope the other members of government would also try to keep this balance in their lives.

Work, Work, Work!

I’ve had a very successful week at my internship. My attorneys are becoming more comfortable with my abilities, so they are giving me more responsibilities. On Thursday I finished a project that was given to me to complete by next week. I first had to complete a case summary, and then I was asked to write a Termination of Parental Rights Timeline of all the important information and the dates of the hearings. This job was tedious because I had to search through the complete case folder to find the important information. When I was finished with that task, I then had to make a copy of every court report and order for that case. This task took all morning to complete. In the afternoon, I was approached by Tobey to complete a task for her once she left the office. She asked me to sort through all of her case folders to find the two most recent orders given by the court. She also wanted me to note the next court date for each case. Having this information compiled into one document would help her organize and stay up -to- date on all of her cases. She has two full drawers of case folders, so I had to work all day today to complete this task. At first this task was challenging because many of the case folders are badly organized. But, once a few of them were completed it was easier for me to know where to look for this information. The task eventually became easier and faster to complete. It still took me from 9:30 to 5:30 to complete though. I put so much time and effort, I hope my attorney appreciates and approves of my work.

Overall, I felt this week was very productive. However, I am looking forward to this weekend so I can actually sleep in past 7:00am. I can’t sleep in too late though because there is always work to do! With a midterm on Wednesday and many other homework assignments, there isn’t much time to relax. Work, work, work! Hopefully I can make it through one more week until we have Spring Break!

Federal Judges and Agencies

Yesterday we had two very interesting seminars. In the morning, we got the opportunity to watch a Federal Court case and then speak to U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina. The case we witness was particularly interesting because it began with reviewing business documents that were exchanged between the plaintiff and the defendant. These were hard to follow and were not very interesting at some points, but then the case turn a dramatic turn. The defendant told the jury how he had to leave work on an extended amount of time because of his psychologist ordered him to for his health. This man became extremely upset at this point and began hysterically crying. Judge Urbina had to call a 10 minute break for this man to gather himself. it was obviously a traumatic experience for this man, and one which none of our class expected based upon the earlier part of the case. It went from uninteresting to chaotic. This just shows how interesting court cases can become.

Our second speaker was Ricardo Carvajal. Mr. Carvajal was previously served as Associate Chief Counsel in FDA's Office of Chief Counsel. He now provides FDA regulatory counseling to manufacturers and marketers of foods, drugs, devices, and cosmetics. This seminar was so interesting to our class because it was relevant to our everyday lives. It showed how federal regulations affect us, and how important this process is. Mr. Carvajal first talked to us about the differences between food, dietary supplements, and drugs. It would seem simple to define these, but as he noted these definitions can become quite complex. He showed us how simple juice labels, that advertise health benefits, can become very difficult to define, and therefore hard to determine which regulations the company must abide by. He also spoke to us about FDA’s involvement in regulating cigarettes. The FDA previously was not involved in this regulation until the mid-nineties. They won a court case based on the idea that cigarettes are a medical device used to delivering nicotine. Because of this definition, the FDA gained jurisdiction. But, interestingly they do not regulate cigars. Overall, I learned much about this complex regulatory agency and how their regulations are so important to our health and safety. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to expand my knowledge in this subject area.

An American Hero

(Congressman Lewis is the one wearing the white rain coat)

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I haven’t written on the blog yet this week. It has been very busy the past few days with seminar papers and my research project. However, I would like to fill you in on an influential person our class had the opportunity to meet. His name is John Robert Lewis. Mr. Lewis is now a Congressman from Georgia, but as a young man he was one of the big six members of the Civil Rights Movement. This man is an extraordinary person who has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls "The Beloved Community" in America. His dedication to the highest ethical standards and moral principles has won him the admiration of many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the United States Congress. He's truly an American hero.

As a young man he was inspired to join the Civil Rights Movement when he heard about the Montgomery Bus Boycott and Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s radio speeches. Being moved by such activism he decided to join the cause. He organized many sit-ins and also participated in the Freedom Rides. Alongside Martin Luther King Jr., Mr. Lewis also gave a speech at the March on Washington. Imagine having to follow after Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech!” Another one of his inspiring moments was when he led protestors across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The march was supposed to march from Selma to Montgomery, but Alabama police officers brutally attacked them. This became known as “Bloody Sunday.” He told us how he was often brutally beaten for his actions, and how his jaw was broken. Mr. Lewis now has a speech impediment because of this.

When he was speaking to our class and telling us about his life accomplishments, I could not even imagine what he had gone through. The struggle he endured for African American equality has also continued to his job as Congressman. He still aims to represent those who are underrepresented in government. He believes all people should live equally, no matter who you are and what makes you different. Mr. Lewis is an inspiration to us all, and I believe more people should follow his example.

What a great seminar!

Andreanna

Natural History Museum

One of the Smithsonian Museums that I have been dying to go to is the Natural History Museum. I finally got the opportunity to go! This is an interesting one to visit because there are so many different exhibits to see. Just a few of the sections that they have are on the ocean, mammals, human evolution, butterflies and insects, dinosaurs and fossils, gemstones, and orchids. Because there is so much to look at we spent hours there.

In the ocean section, there were exhibits of preserved sharks, fish, and squid. I found this to be most interesting because we were able to see these animals in person, rather than solely in pictures. When you see them in person, you realize how large they can grow. The one I found most shocking was the giant squid. The sign stated that it was only about two to three years old but it had already grown to about twenty feet long, if not longer. I am horrified that the next time I swim in the ocean I might encounter one of these!

Another part of the museum that was very interesting was the butterfly observatory. It is a structure built specifically to let the butterflies fly freely. It has gardens of flowers growing that inhabit hundreds of butterflies. These flowers provide the nourishment that they need. I felt as though I was in a tropical jungle.

Lastly, my most favorite section was the one on gems and minerals. In this section they have exhibits of the most beautiful stones used to make jewelry. My favorite, of course, were the diamond displays. They had diamonds in many different colors and in many different jewelry settings. They even had jewelry owned by many different queens and famous people such as Marie Antoinette. Although these pieces were beautiful, nothing compared to the Hope Diamond necklace. Replaced with a temporary setting, this piece was breathtaking and every girl’s dream to own. This by far, for me personally, was the best part of the museum. The history behind it and its beauty make it so magnificent.

I posted pictures of this trip so everyone can enjoy how great it was!

-Andreanna

Subcommittee Hearing on Border Control

Part of the requirements for our Public Law class is to observe hearings then write observation papers on what we saw and heard. Our first hearing day was today, so I decided to attend the hearing called Securing our Borders-Operational Control and the Path Forward by the Subcommittee on Border and Maritime Security. When I walked into this committee room, it was interesting to watch the witnesses, Congressmen, and other important people converse with one another before the hearing began. They were getting their pictures taken by the press and finalizing their main points with one another. Just by the clothes that the witnesses wore, it was easy to identify where these people came from and which side of the issue they were likely to represent. There was a mayor from a town in Texas who wore a cowboy hat and there was also a border control officer who wore his uniform, which is what made themselves quite identifiable.

When the committee hearing began, the chairman conducted the meeting just as we did during our mock gun control hearing that I wrote about last month. The chairman, the ranking minority member, and the witnesses gave their testimonies to enlighten everyone of the issue at hand and their opinions on it. When they finished their testimonies, the floor opened up for questions from each member in the subcommittee.

I noticed that this was a hearing where all of the members, even though split by majority and minority, had a common goal in mind to secure our borders. They each stressed the importance of such a task and wanted to know exactly how to achieve it. Another topic which was brought up was the amount of resources needed by border control to successfully do their job. A specific number was unable to be given because their way of measuring the amount of illegal activity and flow across the border was unclear and needed a better system for measuring. Therefore, many of the members stressed the need to fix the measurement system to determine the exact levels of activity and ultimately to determine how to allocate resources.

Afterwards I even tried to meet with my Congressman because his office was on the same floor as this hearing room, but unfortunately he was not there. I’m hoping by the end of the semester I will get to meet him! Stay tuned!

-Andreanna