Thursday, July 21, 2016

(R)- Sweaty Air and Tornadoes

Today was my favorite day of class. We got exposure to the culture of a court building, saw real litigation, and received valuable advice.  Unfortunately, the courthouses are all cellphone-free, so I have no pictures of my adventures today.  Instead, I will post pictures of the Shedd yesterday. (I have so many, I have to spread them out over the rest of the trip.)

For some reason, this turtle's legs floated above the rest of its
body and did not move.
I got up at 7 AM to shower and got into my suit to be able to leave at 8:15.  I had more Starbucks today because it is right downstairs from my class and I have the gift card.  Today, however, I had to use some real money since the "app was not running" or whatever the excuse was. Anyway, I made it to class and only let off half of the volume of Lake Michigan in sweat.  It was already 80° F at 8:00. It only got worse as the day went on. The humidity was as bad as I have felt it thus far, too.  Obviously, I was miserable walking outside but inside the court they blast AC 24/7. 

For interesting information on why AC is ruining our lives, check out Eric Klinenberg's article "Viewpoint: Air-Conditioning Will Be the End of Us." Really eye-opening.  I had to read this article in my SAT, and I can not get it out of my head.  It has made me want to become an environmental attorney and help lead to a law controlling how low stores can have their temperatures.  Just something I dreamed up to leave my mark on the world.  This was originally a parenthetical statement, but it turned into a paragraph, and hopefully you read the article after this.  

The ray came right past my face and I impulsively pressed my
camera button. I think it came out fairly well for an
unprepared photo.
Back to the point, I think they keep it so cold to ensure you can not fall asleep in there. I was shivering inside and had to sit on my hands.  We first went to the state courthouse to see a medical malpractice case.  The plaintiff was suing Northwestern University Memorial Hospital for neglect after pancreatic surgery.  Our group walked in as the plaintiff's expert witness was being questioned. This doctor was probably the perfect expert witness.  He knew how to explain the concepts he was talking about in layman's terms, explode on the defense during cross, and stay believable.  The court took a recess, and the judge came to talk to us about what we are doing here in Chicago and answer some questions we had.  She gave an excellent reasoning for becoming a lawyer.  Any field a person may be interested in has some need for an attorney.  Therefore, she told us, we can be a part of whatever area we may have an interest in as well as law.  She then explained that we should major in math or science in undergraduate school because those subjects are becoming ever-more applicable to the judicial system.  Now I think going to undergraduate school for environmental engineering and then law school is a solid path to follow.

An octopus chilling on the wall of its tank. Another Finding
Dory reminder.
We ate lunch and all of a sudden the windy city wanted to flex its muscles and nearly blow us all away.  Small vortexes of leaves rose up almost as high as the buildings and we consistently had to dodge flying projectiles.  We made our way to the Federal courthouse afterward and found an entirely different environment from State court.  We got IDed and had to remain completely silent at all times. Also, we saw next to no one walking around while people were running all over the State building.  In Federal court, we saw a murder convict trying to have a grievance pushed on to trial. He claimed that he was assaulted by two corrections officers while in his cell.  We only saw the witnesses testifying and did not get to see the verdict.  I felt that the lawyering was very well done.  Each side followed each of the guidelines for evidence and objections spot on.  When we left the courtroom, we stopped in the appellate court first, and all I can say is wow.  The supreme court must be something from heaven because that room was already magnificent.  If I could have taken a picture, I definitely would have.

Back on campus, I had to start my studying right away, and that led to my first trip to the Regenstein Library.  Studying in that library is so easy because you could have heard a pin drop.  I had a lot of time to write this blog, so I tried to make this long and detailed. Now I am ready to get a full night of sleep and take my final test tomorrow.

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