WEBVTT - An Attorney’s Perspective on the Shift in American Politics (Part 2)

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<v Speaker 1>Keep on riding with us, says, we continue to broadcast

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<v Speaker 1>the balance and defend the discourse from the Hip Hop

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<v Speaker 1>Weekly studios. Welcome back to Civic Cipher. I'm your host,

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<v Speaker 1>Rams's job. Big shot out to my brother from another mother,

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<v Speaker 1>q Ward, who will be back with us next week.

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<v Speaker 1>He has assured me and all of us that he

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<v Speaker 1>will be back. But in the meantime, we are in

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<v Speaker 1>the company of the lovely the Great Amy Owen aka

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<v Speaker 1>Pineapple Lawyer. For those who don't know, she's a civil

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<v Speaker 1>rights attorney. She has worked major civil rights cases alongside

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<v Speaker 1>Ben Crump. She's known for working alongside professional athletes and

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<v Speaker 1>celebrities and other high profile and individuals. And again, you

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<v Speaker 1>can find her online at Pineapple Lawyer on all platforms.

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<v Speaker 1>I got that right, yep, okay, And that's where you

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<v Speaker 1>want to go if you want to get some more

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<v Speaker 1>game that you got in the first part of the show,

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<v Speaker 1>or some of this game that you're about to get

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<v Speaker 1>right now. So we're going to be talking about some

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<v Speaker 1>anti white discrimination and how that happens to be a

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<v Speaker 1>thing now, So stick around for that so much more.

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<v Speaker 1>But before we get there, it's time to be Aba

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<v Speaker 1>become a better allied baba and today's baba. We are

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<v Speaker 1>shouting out Julo Shop, Julo dot Shop. I want you

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<v Speaker 1>to remember that Julo dot Shop one Black woman owned.

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<v Speaker 1>They offer four hundred and fifty over four hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>And Julo they're more than just a platform. They're a

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<v Speaker 1>movement towards change and they're inviting everyone to join them

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<v Speaker 1>to Julo Shop. It's more than a store. It's a celebration,

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<v Speaker 1>Www dot Julo dot shop. That's ju l O dot shop,

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<v Speaker 1>not dot com dot shop. Okay, now I want to

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<v Speaker 1>talk to these people on this show. I think that

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<v Speaker 1>this is fantastic. As I mentioned, I am exceptionally petty

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<v Speaker 1>and I hold grudges quite well. This means that I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not shopping on Amazon anymore. You know. This means that

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<v Speaker 1>I'm not shopping at Walmart. This means that I'm not

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<v Speaker 1>you know, it's a lot of people that's not getting

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<v Speaker 1>this money target. I'll see you. I saw that black

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<v Speaker 1>square on Instagram where you at? Now, right, that's how

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<v Speaker 1>it's going. Yeah, but but they can get it too,

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<v Speaker 1>anybody here. I go to eBay. It's not a problem

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<v Speaker 1>getting next day, I'll tell you what. But but it's

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<v Speaker 1>worth it for me. And now guess where I go

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<v Speaker 1>Julo dot shop. Check them out? All right, love it?

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<v Speaker 1>Let's gold you low. So I just kind of want

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<v Speaker 1>to get your thoughts on a couple of stories. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>just talk to me, all right. I'm going to share

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<v Speaker 1>a bit from NPR dot org. A federal system oh sorry, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>a federal system for doing background checks on law enforcement

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<v Speaker 1>officers has gone offline thanks to an executive order signed

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<v Speaker 1>by President Trump when he returned to the White House

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<v Speaker 1>on January twentieth. The National Law Enforcement Accountability Database was

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<v Speaker 1>launched in twenty twenty three as a central repository of

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<v Speaker 1>the professional records of federal law enforcement officers. The main

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<v Speaker 1>purpose was to allow perspective employers, other federal agencies, or

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<v Speaker 1>local police to check their backgrounds from his conduct. The

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<v Speaker 1>system is now offline. Why did President Trump decommission the database?

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<v Speaker 1>It appears to be a casualty of Trump's flurry of

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<v Speaker 1>first day executive actions, which included the revocation of a

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<v Speaker 1>long list of President Biden's executive orders. One of those

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<v Speaker 1>Biden orders was a package of police reforms signed on

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<v Speaker 1>May twenty two, the second anniversary of the murder of

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<v Speaker 1>George Floyd. The database was just one item among many

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<v Speaker 1>in Biden's order, and since sorry and the Trump administration

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<v Speaker 1>has not criticized it specifically, though in the preface to

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<v Speaker 1>the revocation it criticized the Biden policies in general over

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<v Speaker 1>what it called unlawful and radical DEI ideology. So I

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<v Speaker 1>want to make sure that I mentioned this states individually

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<v Speaker 1>can still keep databases, but you know, what are your

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<v Speaker 1>thoughts on that? And I guess what do people do

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<v Speaker 1>if they encounter police misconduct? Now, maybe you don't have

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<v Speaker 1>the answer for that, but that feels like a tremendous loss,

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<v Speaker 1>especially since you know, those of us that have been

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<v Speaker 1>kind of fighting this fight since twenty twenty, where police

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<v Speaker 1>accountability was really all we were asking but the main

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<v Speaker 1>thing we were asking for us should say, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>what are your thoughts on this? And you know, maybe

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<v Speaker 1>a couple of words for people that are concerned about that.

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<v Speaker 2>Sure, it feels like we're taking steps back, right, like

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<v Speaker 2>big giant steps back. You know, the George Floyd case

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<v Speaker 2>was a big deal, and so to have the federal

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<v Speaker 2>records completely offline now and how do you how do

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<v Speaker 2>you hold those police forces accountable? At this point, I

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<v Speaker 2>already feel like there's so much that happens in these

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<v Speaker 2>cases that families aren't given, you know, the unredacted video tapes.

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<v Speaker 2>I have clients and families who reach out to me

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<v Speaker 2>all the time when they say, you know, this happened

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<v Speaker 2>to my family member, and we've been asking for the

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<v Speaker 2>video tape for two years. Why aren't they releasing it

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<v Speaker 2>to us, why can't they give it to us? And

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<v Speaker 2>so in a in a system that's already broken, to

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<v Speaker 2>have even more roadblocks put up is very scary, and

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<v Speaker 2>I think you just have to continue to be persistent.

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<v Speaker 2>You have to keep asking. You know, we have rights

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<v Speaker 2>that are undeniable rights in this country, and one of

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<v Speaker 2>those is to make public records requests to these organizations,

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<v Speaker 2>and they do have to eventually give those videotapes and

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<v Speaker 2>those records to people who have loved ones who are involved.

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<v Speaker 2>I don't have the answers. I think the main thing

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<v Speaker 2>would be to continue to fight. I mean, it's not

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<v Speaker 2>a new fight, right and I think that having, you know,

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<v Speaker 2>an administration that feels like they can do this and

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<v Speaker 2>nobody's going to say anything is also a big deal.

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<v Speaker 2>So I think people like you who are saying something

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<v Speaker 2>about it, who are shining the bright light on it,

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<v Speaker 2>are so important. So your work is actually going to

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<v Speaker 2>hopefully help revert that or fight it somehow.

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<v Speaker 1>Well, Listen, I appreciate you saying that, but the truth

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<v Speaker 1>of the matter is that right now it's lawyers that

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<v Speaker 1>are kind of holding up what's left of democracy. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>all the levers of government are in the hands of Republicans.

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<v Speaker 1>And this is a further right government than I've ever

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<v Speaker 1>seen in my lifetime. This is you know, there's there

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<v Speaker 1>is I don't even consider him to be a decent person,

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<v Speaker 1>like a decent human being. Even this very thing that

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about right now. You can you can look

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<v Speaker 1>at as nears makes no difference. Forty million people in

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<v Speaker 1>Unison more or less about their grievances at the hands

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<v Speaker 1>of the police. Forty million United States citizens more than that.

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<v Speaker 1>But you know, let's just you know, for the sake

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<v Speaker 1>a round numbers, this is not just a black issue.

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<v Speaker 1>This is a police issue. And there's often been this

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<v Speaker 1>narrative that it's just a few bad apples, just a

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<v Speaker 1>few bad apples, right, And that's been the narrative that

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<v Speaker 1>they've used to push back against the progressive policies that

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<v Speaker 1>we've wanted to see implemented with respect to police. Listen,

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<v Speaker 1>we don't have to have, you know, wide scale police reform.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just a few bad apples. Once we weed them out,

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<v Speaker 1>everything will be fine. You guys, calm down, right, So

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<v Speaker 1>this has been their approach. But this maneuver by Donald

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<v Speaker 1>Trump to wipe out the database that accounts for the

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<v Speaker 1>transgressions of those bad apples. It's almost like the presumption

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<v Speaker 1>is that all police are perfect, they are above accountability,

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<v Speaker 1>and all forty million of those black people are just

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<v Speaker 1>imagining it or they are not even worth hearing. And

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<v Speaker 1>that's the part that feels like, like when I said,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't I don't even feel like this is a

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<v Speaker 1>decent person. That's where that comes from, and again where

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<v Speaker 1>we are right now. And I appreciate you saying so,

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, there are many people who have said, hey,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, a show like this is more important than ever,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, especially now on the other side of that election.

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<v Speaker 1>This is going to get really bad and it's going

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<v Speaker 1>to stay bad for a long time, and we need

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<v Speaker 1>somebody to keep talking. Hey, look, I got you. I'm

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<v Speaker 1>not giving up. I am not ague. There's no quit

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<v Speaker 1>in me. My heart doesn't know how big my body is,

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<v Speaker 1>you know what I'm saying. And I run it. I

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<v Speaker 1>was born it down from Compton, right, so you know

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<v Speaker 1>it doesn't matter. I've had such a fantastic life that

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<v Speaker 1>if I round the next corner and that's it for me,

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<v Speaker 1>somebody's waiting on me. So be it right. But this

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<v Speaker 1>fight is taking place in the courtrooms. These fights are

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<v Speaker 1>taking place in courts around the country, and your work

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<v Speaker 1>and your work with Ben and Crump is more important

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<v Speaker 1>than ever. And so I guess, you know, just sharing

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<v Speaker 1>these stories is something that kind of helps the public

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<v Speaker 1>know kind of what's going on. But you know, if

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<v Speaker 1>something occurs to you, of course reach out to us

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<v Speaker 1>at Civic Cipher to reach out to Pineapple Lawyer as well.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about it. I want to share another story

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<v Speaker 1>too here. This one's from the Washington Post. Marlene Ames

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<v Speaker 1>was distraught in twenty nineteen when she was bumped from

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<v Speaker 1>an administrator position at the state agency overseeing youth corrections

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<v Speaker 1>and replaced by a gay man who she says was

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<v Speaker 1>less qualified. Ames was demoted and her pay was cut

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<v Speaker 1>more than forty thousand dollars. A few months later, she

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<v Speaker 1>lost a management job she had applied for to a

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<v Speaker 1>woman who had not sought the position initially. According to

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<v Speaker 1>a lawsuit, Ames would soon file that woman, too, was gay.

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<v Speaker 1>Ames's job discrimination lawsuit makes an unusual claim that could

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<v Speaker 1>up end how many any of the nation's courts have

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<v Speaker 1>handled such cases for decades. The department, she says was

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<v Speaker 1>biased against straight people like her. Straight discrimination. This is

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<v Speaker 1>what she's alleging. The Supreme Court heard oral arguments in

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<v Speaker 1>Ames's bid to revive her case, which was stymied in

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<v Speaker 1>the lower courts because of past rulings that set a

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<v Speaker 1>higher legal bar for men, straight people, and whites to

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<v Speaker 1>prove bias in the workplace than for groups that have

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<v Speaker 1>historically faced discrimination. That higher standard is unconstitutional, her suit says.

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<v Speaker 1>The case is being closely watched by corporations and employment lawyers,

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<v Speaker 1>many of whom expect the High Court's conservative supermajority to

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<v Speaker 1>side with Ames now sixty and make it easier for

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<v Speaker 1>members of majority groups to sue. So here we are

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<v Speaker 1>now on the other side of the first Trump presidency,

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<v Speaker 1>where the Supreme Court was decidedly conservative. Democrats didn't stack

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<v Speaker 1>the courts. Democrats didn't do any of the things that

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<v Speaker 1>you know, I'm sure Republicans would have gladly done, because

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<v Speaker 1>we've seen that there is no When they make radical

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<v Speaker 1>changes to how we fundamentally live our lives in this country,

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<v Speaker 1>they call it fighting for America right. But the reason

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<v Speaker 1>that Democrats don't do it is because historically it's never

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<v Speaker 1>been done right. But the long and the short of

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<v Speaker 1>it is that Joe Biden had four years with a

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<v Speaker 1>decidedly conservative Supreme Court. Now Donald Trump is back in office,

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<v Speaker 1>and as it turns out, there are people suing because

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<v Speaker 1>they feel they're being discriminated against because they're straight. There

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<v Speaker 1>are people suing because they feel they've been disc eminated

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<v Speaker 1>against because they're white. And this is a mischaracterization and

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<v Speaker 1>in some instances a bastardization of what these laws, the

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<v Speaker 1>premise of these laws. Now, this is just my thoughts here.

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<v Speaker 1>You're an actual lawyer and these things have to hit

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<v Speaker 1>closer to home for you. What are your thoughts hearing

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<v Speaker 1>stories like these?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, constitutional law was one of my favorite classes in

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<v Speaker 2>law school, and constitutional law is where you learn about

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<v Speaker 2>all of the tests for large cases like the type

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<v Speaker 2>that you're describing about disparate treatment. So there are tests

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<v Speaker 2>that every court is supposed to apply when someone says, hey,

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<v Speaker 2>I was discriminated against her I was treated differently, and

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<v Speaker 2>it would be fact fact based which tests they apply.

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<v Speaker 2>But hopefully our court systems are not so broken and

0:14:05.720 --> 0:14:08.520
<v Speaker 2>that every single judge is not in the pocket of

0:14:08.559 --> 0:14:11.880
<v Speaker 2>our administration, and that they apply the correct tests to

0:14:12.080 --> 0:14:16.560
<v Speaker 2>every situation and figure out was this person treated fairly

0:14:17.240 --> 0:14:22.000
<v Speaker 2>regardless of I guess if she was straight or she

0:14:22.080 --> 0:14:25.440
<v Speaker 2>was gay or something like that. And that's a unique

0:14:26.160 --> 0:14:29.040
<v Speaker 2>you know, that's a unique case. I haven't had any

0:14:29.200 --> 0:14:35.080
<v Speaker 2>clients that had that exact circumstance, right, but those constitutional

0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:40.040
<v Speaker 2>law tests and things that have been around for you know,

0:14:40.160 --> 0:14:44.160
<v Speaker 2>decades and decades should come into play. It's what's scary

0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.880
<v Speaker 2>about it is that a lot of these judges have

0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:52.600
<v Speaker 2>been appointed by the current administration, so by Donald Trump,

0:14:52.680 --> 0:14:57.480
<v Speaker 2>and so whether or not they apply the law as

0:14:57.480 --> 0:15:00.840
<v Speaker 2>it should be applied is yet to be I think

0:15:02.120 --> 0:15:04.800
<v Speaker 2>I've seen a couple of things come across that I'm like,

0:15:04.840 --> 0:15:08.120
<v Speaker 2>oh my gosh, even from our Supreme Court, right, And

0:15:08.160 --> 0:15:12.840
<v Speaker 2>you think, why are intelligent people who obviously went to

0:15:12.960 --> 0:15:16.560
<v Speaker 2>law school and went to the same constitutional law classes

0:15:16.560 --> 0:15:19.560
<v Speaker 2>that I went to, why are they applying the law

0:15:19.680 --> 0:15:25.080
<v Speaker 2>so differently? And it's because every single mind works in

0:15:25.120 --> 0:15:27.720
<v Speaker 2>a different way. So you can almost go down that

0:15:27.840 --> 0:15:31.200
<v Speaker 2>gray path and figure out a way to say, Okay,

0:15:31.600 --> 0:15:35.160
<v Speaker 2>this is why I'm gonna side with the conservatives. This

0:15:35.280 --> 0:15:38.560
<v Speaker 2>is why I think that you know, the left wing

0:15:39.320 --> 0:15:42.320
<v Speaker 2>is correct in this case, and it's so great, the

0:15:43.280 --> 0:15:44.720
<v Speaker 2>law is so great that there.

0:15:44.600 --> 0:15:45.400
<v Speaker 1>Are ways to.

0:15:47.160 --> 0:15:50.840
<v Speaker 2>Find good and bad in both sides. Right, nothing is

0:15:51.400 --> 0:15:55.040
<v Speaker 2>ever just black and white. That's where lawyers live. We

0:15:55.120 --> 0:15:59.040
<v Speaker 2>live in the gray, right. But I'm just hopeful that

0:15:59.800 --> 0:16:03.080
<v Speaker 2>the these principles that we know to be, you know,

0:16:03.200 --> 0:16:07.480
<v Speaker 2>solidified in both case law, in history, in constitutional law,

0:16:07.640 --> 0:16:11.360
<v Speaker 2>that they are applied across the board. But you never know.

0:16:11.440 --> 0:16:16.040
<v Speaker 2>I think this woman who is making this claim, I

0:16:16.080 --> 0:16:19.080
<v Speaker 2>don't know what the circumstances are. I would have to

0:16:19.120 --> 0:16:22.480
<v Speaker 2>read her case and see what the facts are before

0:16:22.560 --> 0:16:27.000
<v Speaker 2>I could make a, you know, an educated comment on it.

0:16:27.480 --> 0:16:30.320
<v Speaker 2>But it does worry me that groups that have not

0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:34.400
<v Speaker 2>been marginalized and don't have the power. So racism obviously

0:16:34.400 --> 0:16:36.640
<v Speaker 2>it's a power thing. Right, Like groups that don't have

0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:40.600
<v Speaker 2>the power, we're gonna be more subject to racism and

0:16:41.240 --> 0:16:44.240
<v Speaker 2>discrimination and things like that. So for the majority to

0:16:44.280 --> 0:16:50.720
<v Speaker 2>think that they're now being discriminated against, or emboldening them

0:16:50.840 --> 0:16:54.520
<v Speaker 2>to feel like, oh, I can sue too, is a

0:16:54.560 --> 0:16:58.080
<v Speaker 2>slippery slope and I'm not excited about that at all,

0:16:58.280 --> 0:17:02.880
<v Speaker 2>And I think that it's dangerous and I hope that

0:17:03.000 --> 0:17:06.320
<v Speaker 2>the court systems cannot least, you know, make some of

0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:08.200
<v Speaker 2>the decisions on the right side.

0:17:08.320 --> 0:17:10.760
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, we need some standardization here. Yeah, I know what

0:17:10.800 --> 0:17:13.240
<v Speaker 1>you mean. And I think that you make a good

0:17:13.240 --> 0:17:22.560
<v Speaker 1>point because if let's say that this woman, what's her name,

0:17:23.040 --> 0:17:27.119
<v Speaker 1>Marlene Ames, Let's say Marlene Ames's name is Ramses, Right,

0:17:27.200 --> 0:17:30.200
<v Speaker 1>so this is me and this actually happened to me, Okay,

0:17:31.720 --> 0:17:40.760
<v Speaker 1>I would have a tough time arguing that two instances,

0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:44.440
<v Speaker 1>one where I was demoted and someone who was less

0:17:44.520 --> 0:17:50.280
<v Speaker 1>qualified replaced me, and the second where someone who didn't

0:17:50.280 --> 0:17:53.720
<v Speaker 1>seek a job was hired in front of me. I

0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:59.160
<v Speaker 1>would have a tough time proving to any court that

0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:05.400
<v Speaker 1>that was based on racism. Right, if it was two

0:18:05.440 --> 0:18:09.480
<v Speaker 1>white men, two white women, to whatever, I'd have the

0:18:09.560 --> 0:18:12.520
<v Speaker 1>toughest time trying to argue that in court this is

0:18:12.760 --> 0:18:16.480
<v Speaker 1>flat overt racism because I got demoted this one time,

0:18:16.560 --> 0:18:18.680
<v Speaker 1>and then this other time someone got hired. It wasn't

0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:24.360
<v Speaker 1>even seeking the job. Okay, okay, But she again, now

0:18:24.400 --> 0:18:27.960
<v Speaker 1>with a conservative supermajority of the Supreme Court, has a

0:18:27.960 --> 0:18:30.840
<v Speaker 1>fighting chance, as illustrated by the fact that everybody's waiting.

0:18:30.880 --> 0:18:33.520
<v Speaker 1>This is kind of what people are anticipating that this

0:18:33.600 --> 0:18:36.440
<v Speaker 1>is going to fundamentally change how that looks. And it's

0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:39.560
<v Speaker 1>so crazy because where I would have a tough time

0:18:39.640 --> 0:18:45.879
<v Speaker 1>even bringing that to a lawyer and just to even like, yeah, exactly,

0:18:45.920 --> 0:18:48.160
<v Speaker 1>I get laughed out of the office for that. Like dog,

0:18:48.200 --> 0:18:50.240
<v Speaker 1>that's called being black dog, welcome to the club, Right,

0:18:50.640 --> 0:18:52.760
<v Speaker 1>That's all I would hear. But for her, it's going

0:18:52.800 --> 0:18:54.920
<v Speaker 1>to the Supreme Court and in a fundament and if

0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:58.720
<v Speaker 1>that's not the epitome of white privilege, I was just

0:18:58.760 --> 0:19:00.480
<v Speaker 1>going to say that, I don't know what it is.

0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:04.080
<v Speaker 1>How about that? Right, Well, look what's going on in

0:19:04.119 --> 0:19:04.640
<v Speaker 1>the country.

0:19:05.040 --> 0:19:09.760
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's a reflection of that in my view, and

0:19:10.480 --> 0:19:12.320
<v Speaker 2>it's a scary, scary time.

0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:15.399
<v Speaker 1>Sure, sure, well we got one more. I don't know

0:19:15.440 --> 0:19:18.000
<v Speaker 1>that we'll have enough time to really pontificate, but I

0:19:18.040 --> 0:19:20.040
<v Speaker 1>did want to share it. These are some words from

0:19:20.800 --> 0:19:23.159
<v Speaker 1>doctor Ebram x Kindy, who was a recent guest on

0:19:23.160 --> 0:19:27.560
<v Speaker 1>the show. Here he says Trump's FBI plans to go

0:19:27.640 --> 0:19:31.720
<v Speaker 1>after anti racist black leaders in organization. If history is

0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:36.040
<v Speaker 1>any guide, Trump's FBI will exacerbate small rivalries and spread

0:19:36.080 --> 0:19:39.879
<v Speaker 1>false allegations against organizations and leaders to undermine the reputations

0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:44.520
<v Speaker 1>and support and or to justify jailing or silencing key leaders.

0:19:44.760 --> 0:19:47.800
<v Speaker 1>The pervasiveness of anti blackness among people of all races

0:19:48.200 --> 0:19:53.000
<v Speaker 1>eases this job of Trump's FBI and those unwittingly aiding

0:19:53.119 --> 0:19:57.640
<v Speaker 1>the state due to petty, ideological or personal differences. Now.

0:19:57.640 --> 0:20:00.399
<v Speaker 1>He said this in response to an article in titled

0:20:00.840 --> 0:20:06.840
<v Speaker 1>Trump's FBI poised to focus counter terror strategies on things

0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:10.119
<v Speaker 1>like BLM and Antifa, and that's I believe, a vanity

0:20:10.160 --> 0:20:12.840
<v Speaker 1>Fair article that he was responding to. In other words,

0:20:14.160 --> 0:20:16.920
<v Speaker 1>the FBI is now going to be turning its sites

0:20:18.400 --> 0:20:24.280
<v Speaker 1>onto black organizations and treating the black organizations the same

0:20:24.320 --> 0:20:32.640
<v Speaker 1>way that you would treat like a what's the one

0:20:32.760 --> 0:20:37.639
<v Speaker 1>isis or you know, the kukus Klan or whatever. I

0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:40.280
<v Speaker 1>don't boys, Yeah, I don't even think that they're they're

0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:43.560
<v Speaker 1>really focused on proud boys and Kukusklan. I think that again,

0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:48.240
<v Speaker 1>there there's a fundamental shift in how because again the

0:20:48.280 --> 0:20:51.600
<v Speaker 1>Project twenty twenty five, all these people are appointees. All

0:20:51.640 --> 0:20:54.239
<v Speaker 1>these people are you know, people that were competent at

0:20:54.240 --> 0:20:56.920
<v Speaker 1>the job. Now they've fired and been replaced by people

0:20:56.920 --> 0:21:01.600
<v Speaker 1>who were loyalists, right, and so this very well could

0:21:01.640 --> 0:21:04.000
<v Speaker 1>be the way that this department goes and so it

0:21:04.080 --> 0:21:08.439
<v Speaker 1>compromises our capacity to fight back, you know, like thirty seconds.

0:21:08.480 --> 0:21:10.760
<v Speaker 1>Anything to add here, Well.

0:21:10.640 --> 0:21:12.639
<v Speaker 2>I would say it's it's not the first time in

0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:15.560
<v Speaker 2>our history, right, Okay, look at how the Black Panthers

0:21:15.560 --> 0:21:16.360
<v Speaker 2>were treated.

0:21:17.800 --> 0:21:18.480
<v Speaker 1>Historically.

0:21:19.240 --> 0:21:22.760
<v Speaker 2>This has actually been a good thing at at some junctures,

0:21:22.800 --> 0:21:26.800
<v Speaker 2>right to make people wake up and say, Okay, we

0:21:26.840 --> 0:21:29.840
<v Speaker 2>want to fight for what's right. We want to you know,

0:21:30.280 --> 0:21:32.800
<v Speaker 2>take back some of the power. So maybe this is

0:21:32.840 --> 0:21:37.040
<v Speaker 2>what the Democrats and some of those on our side

0:21:37.560 --> 0:21:39.880
<v Speaker 2>need in order to really get our stuff together. Because

0:21:39.880 --> 0:21:41.480
<v Speaker 2>I feel like we had four years to get our

0:21:41.480 --> 0:21:44.200
<v Speaker 2>stuff together while Biden was there, and this was all

0:21:44.200 --> 0:21:46.160
<v Speaker 2>we had. This was the plan that we came up with.

0:21:46.600 --> 0:21:49.640
<v Speaker 2>I think that we should, instead of being negative about it,

0:21:49.720 --> 0:21:52.840
<v Speaker 2>turn it into a positive and really try to move

0:21:52.880 --> 0:21:54.240
<v Speaker 2>forward and move upwards.

0:21:54.520 --> 0:21:59.000
<v Speaker 1>Well sound advice. I think that's probably the only advice

0:21:59.320 --> 0:22:01.400
<v Speaker 1>that we can take right now, and so we will

0:22:01.400 --> 0:22:03.359
<v Speaker 1>take it and leave it right there. Thank you so

0:22:03.480 --> 0:22:06.520
<v Speaker 1>much for having me, for taking the time to come

0:22:06.560 --> 0:22:09.400
<v Speaker 1>and talk to us. I know that we're asking big questions,

0:22:09.440 --> 0:22:13.360
<v Speaker 1>and these big questions don't really have nice, easy answers,

0:22:13.400 --> 0:22:16.720
<v Speaker 1>but I appreciate you giving us something, because as I say,

0:22:16.720 --> 0:22:22.000
<v Speaker 1>something is is not nothing. Once again, our guest is

0:22:22.200 --> 0:22:25.320
<v Speaker 1>Amy Owen, better known as Pineapple Lawyer. Be sure to

0:22:25.320 --> 0:22:27.959
<v Speaker 1>follow her online at Pineapple Lawyer on all platforms. She's

0:22:27.960 --> 0:22:31.200
<v Speaker 1>a civil rights attorney, has worked major civil rights cases

0:22:31.200 --> 0:22:34.720
<v Speaker 1>alongside Ben Crump, has worked with a ton of athletes

0:22:34.760 --> 0:22:38.840
<v Speaker 1>and actors and fami's important people, and she has come

0:22:38.840 --> 0:22:40.439
<v Speaker 1>down from the mountains to hang with us today. So

0:22:40.480 --> 0:22:42.080
<v Speaker 1>we again we can't thank you enough.

0:22:42.280 --> 0:22:42.720
<v Speaker 2>My honor.

0:22:42.920 --> 0:22:46.000
<v Speaker 1>Yeah, and be sure to follow us on all social

0:22:46.000 --> 0:22:49.960
<v Speaker 1>media at Civic Cipher. Hit the website civiccipher dot com

0:22:49.960 --> 0:22:53.920
<v Speaker 1>to download this in any previous episodes, and until next week,

0:22:54.000 --> 0:22:55.840
<v Speaker 1>y'all peace.

0:22:57.440 --> 0:22:58.400
<v Speaker 2>Thanks