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!