Speaker 1: Class Action is a production of I Heart Radio and
Speaker 1: Sound Argument. I'm definitely having dreams about this trial, having
Speaker 1: dreams that I'm like in court, like full on trial,
Speaker 1: getting objected to, objecting myself, and it's actually, you know,
Speaker 1: encompassing every part of my life now. I can't even
Speaker 1: get a good, nice rest without dreaming about trial. It
Speaker 1: took a nap the other day and I had a
Speaker 1: dream that RBG came into my dream. I was in
Speaker 1: court and she was getting mad at me that I
Speaker 1: wasn't objecting. Love. It's scary living Jesus out of me.
Speaker 1: I was literally in court and opposing counsel was just
Speaker 1: you know, giving their director cross and she's one of
Speaker 1: the judges, and she's just like looking at me like
Speaker 1: why aren't you objecting? This is objectionable object And I'm
Speaker 1: just like, don't know how to object, I don't know
Speaker 1: what to say. Oh my god, I'm losing my mind.
Speaker 1: And she's just like getting annoyed with me. That would
Speaker 1: just made me really sad. I was like, I can't.
Speaker 1: That's just the worst things in life, letting her down
Speaker 1: like that. She's one of my idols, being a woman
Speaker 1: in the legal profession. It's not easy, and I hope
Speaker 1: things will change, and honestly, sometimes I have to be like,
Speaker 1: just take a deep breath. You can do it, because
Speaker 1: she has a little insecure and I think she came
Speaker 1: into my dream and it was like smacking that out
Speaker 1: of my mind. I am, as you know from my
Speaker 1: responses to your questionnaire. A Brooklyn Knight born in britt
Speaker 1: A first generation American on my father's side, barely second
Speaker 1: generation on my mother's. Neither of my parents had the
Speaker 1: means to attend college, but both taught me to love learning,
Speaker 1: to care about people, and to work hard for whatever
Speaker 1: I wanted or believed in. Their parents had the foresight
Speaker 1: to leave the Old Country when Jewish ancestry and faith
Speaker 1: meant exposure to put RUMs and denigration of one's human worth.
Speaker 1: What has become of me could happen only in America.
Speaker 1: Like so many others, I owe so much to the
Speaker 1: entry this nation afforded two people yearning to breathe free.
Speaker 1: In October, Broken Law School sent an all female team
Speaker 1: of second year law students to the Martin Luther King
Speaker 1: Civil Rights Competition, held virtually from the University of California Davis.
Speaker 1: The team is coached by third year students. They argue
Speaker 1: their case four different times in one weekend against some
Speaker 1: of the top rising legal talent in the country. Then
Speaker 1: we saw Harvard, So we're all kind of just completely
Speaker 1: silent on the edge of our seats. We did notice
Speaker 1: that it was an all male team against an all
Speaker 1: female team. For these young idealists, the mock trial was
Speaker 1: a chance to see how their arguments could play out
Speaker 1: in the real world of American law. So you referred
Speaker 1: to homelessness as a cancer, and you referred to homelessness
Speaker 1: as causing the decay of America. Yes, it's Closingay, that's correct.
Speaker 1: Where justice can be scarce and litigation is often a
Speaker 1: bare knuckled brawl. I'm Katie Fang. Welcome back to class action. Okay,
Speaker 1: everyone ready for the scrummage? Yeah, Samantha, you're ready. I'm
Speaker 1: just kidding my time. Hang. Okay, Well here, let's just
Speaker 1: let's go with Bree Child. Start with great drop. You're
Speaker 1: listening to episode six, Civil Rights and how to make
Speaker 1: a cup of chi Running your Honor. We begin to
Speaker 1: plaintiff has some passkeeping matters to attend to. Okay, well,
Speaker 1: let's start with um introductions. I was born and raised
Speaker 1: in New York City, and I went to public school
Speaker 1: my whole life. My name is Ellie Sands. I'm a
Speaker 1: second year law student at Brooklyn Law School. My full
Speaker 1: name is Aliana, but I go by l A. After college,
Speaker 1: I came back to New York and I was a
Speaker 1: teacher in East Harlem. Just teaching at a school forty
Speaker 1: blocks north of where I went to high school felt
Speaker 1: like I was in a third world country. There were
Speaker 1: things going on outside the school, like gang violence. There
Speaker 1: were things going on in my students Famili's incarceration that
Speaker 1: were severely impacting their ability to learn and perform in
Speaker 1: the school environment that was being ignored and was being
Speaker 1: disciplined harshly. I knew that it wasn't right. I ended
Speaker 1: up coming to law school because I couldn't make the
Speaker 1: kind of impact I wanted to without a lot of
Speaker 1: great without being able to sit in the courtroom and
Speaker 1: advocate on behalf of the clients that I was working with.
Speaker 1: And I specifically wanted to do a civil rights competition
Speaker 1: because that's the type of law I want to practice
Speaker 1: once I graduate. Good afternoon. My name is Stubi Manicer,
Speaker 1: and I also represent the defendant Travis Gordon in today's case.
Speaker 1: My grandmother was a social worker for survivors of domestic violence.
Speaker 1: Between her impact that she's had on me and my
Speaker 1: general interest, that's brought me to the victim advocacy throughoute
Speaker 1: UM working for a Court Room Advocates project where survivors
Speaker 1: of domestic violence reach out to us and we walked
Speaker 1: them through the process of filing for their petition for
Speaker 1: an order of protection and family court. And then this
Speaker 1: summer I was an intern in the Domestic Violence Bureau
Speaker 1: at the Brooklyn DA's office, working with misdemeanors. I think
Speaker 1: the way people enter the system through domestic violence is
Speaker 1: interesting because it's not their choice. I find having connection
Speaker 1: with a victim and having their perspective is so important
Speaker 1: in doing justice. Good morning, your honor. My name is
Speaker 1: Catherine Boyko, and I, along with my co counselor, present
Speaker 1: the defendant Travis Gorton in today's case. I was born
Speaker 1: in Brooklyn, New York. My parents were born in Ukraine
Speaker 1: and my mom was a lawyer back in Ukraine. My
Speaker 1: mom had to leave her home country to make sure
Speaker 1: I had a better life, so it was really important
Speaker 1: for me to carry on those dreams, carry on that ambition.
Speaker 1: It's important to me personally because I see that you
Speaker 1: know from personal work experience that there are so many
Speaker 1: things that are just not right with the criminal justice
Speaker 1: system that I don't want to be overly ambitious and
Speaker 1: say that I'm going to be the person that fixes
Speaker 1: all of it, but I definitely want to play a
Speaker 1: part in that, to do what I can to make
Speaker 1: things better for other people, defend people who can't really
Speaker 1: stand up for themselves. Good afternoon, counselors. My name is
Speaker 1: Antony Shawn. I represent the plaintiff, Miss Raley Taylor today.
Speaker 1: This is the first time I've ever done this. There
Speaker 1: are challenges. They're really just associated with, I think, overcoming
Speaker 1: your own discomfort and your own vulnerabilities and attacking those
Speaker 1: head on. For example, I think I am a very
Speaker 1: non adversarial person, and obviously in a courtroom setting, it's
Speaker 1: an adversarial setting, so you do have people who are
Speaker 1: opposing counsel who are trying to potentially rile you up
Speaker 1: or potentially trying to make frivolous objections just to throw
Speaker 1: you off, and so dealing with that sort of discomfort
Speaker 1: has been challenging, but it's also something to confront before
Speaker 1: you actually get into a courtroom one day. Aeny is
Speaker 1: the plaintiff defense Atene is the defense. A and Nelly
Speaker 1: have spent most of their law school years on Zoom,
Speaker 1: so it's only natural that they would be excited about
Speaker 1: being in court and in person. So right now we're
Speaker 1: in the Brooklyn Law School court room. So basically what
Speaker 1: it looks like. There is a jury box, there is
Speaker 1: a witness stand, there's a place where the judge sits um,
Speaker 1: and there is a giant audience. Portion of this room
Speaker 1: takes that most of the room. The party with the
Speaker 1: burden of proof sits closest to the jury, So the
Speaker 1: plaintiff or the prosecution sits closest to the jury. So
Speaker 1: the plaintiff would sit here and then the defense would
Speaker 1: sit at the table farthest from the jury box. They've
Speaker 1: got to feel out the jury more. They've got the burden,
Speaker 1: and so I think the person with the burden really
Speaker 1: has to convince the jury. It's better to be in
Speaker 1: close proximity because the closer you are to the jury,
Speaker 1: the more likely they are to see that council tables reactions,
Speaker 1: you know they're more likely to hear what they have
Speaker 1: to say. And the point of a direct examination is
Speaker 1: that you want the jury to be paying attention to
Speaker 1: the witness. You don't want the jury to be looking
Speaker 1: at you. You are not the star of the show.
Speaker 1: Your witnesses the star of the show. Whereas on cross examination,
Speaker 1: so I'll be doing cross of this witness if Ellie
Speaker 1: is actually directing. So I stand here because I want
Speaker 1: the jury to see me and my reactions, and you,
Speaker 1: as the witness, are now looking at me and not them,
Speaker 1: So that actually has quite an effect on the jury
Speaker 1: as well, when you're diverting your eyes away from them.
Speaker 1: I'm the closer. So the difference between opening and closing
Speaker 1: is that in closing you are reviewing all of the
Speaker 1: evidence that you brought in during your case in chief,
Speaker 1: so it's less scripted and more a summary of everything
Speaker 1: that came out during trial, a lot of which can
Speaker 1: be unpredictable, some of which could be good for your side,
Speaker 1: some of which could be bad for your side. So
Speaker 1: you have to be agile and sort of improvise some
Speaker 1: of what comes out in the closing. You also have
Speaker 1: to flip the other side's theme that means that you
Speaker 1: want to turn the other side argument against them. So
Speaker 1: right now we're really ramping up for competition. It's less
Speaker 1: than a week away, or about actually a week away.
Speaker 1: It's a very intimidating process to present a case. You know,
Speaker 1: as law students were so unfamiliar with this and over
Speaker 1: zoom it's a whole other challenge. My name is Jane Dowling.
Speaker 1: I am the coach of the U. C. Davis Martin
Speaker 1: Luther King Civil Rights Competition. Confidence is really key. We're
Speaker 1: not really making like substantive changes at this point. It's
Speaker 1: just sort of running through the material, practicing, honing in
Speaker 1: on some details, getting pumped up. Of course, we're law students.
Speaker 1: We all have strong personalities. Like you don't come to
Speaker 1: law school if if you don't have a strong volitions
Speaker 1: and strong opinions. Brooklyn Law was founded in nine one
Speaker 1: to serve working people, women, ethnic minority these and immigrants.
Speaker 1: The school is across German Street from the Justice Ruth
Speaker 1: Bader Ginsburg Municipal Building, on a stretch of pavement now
Speaker 1: named Black Lives Matter Boulevard. German Street runs down to
Speaker 1: the East River, an area that once held molasses and
Speaker 1: sugar refineries, both industries that were rooted in America's slave
Speaker 1: owning past. The young advocates on the Brooklyn Law Team
Speaker 1: keep that history in mind as they pack up their
Speaker 1: laptops and coffee and they fight through traffic to school
Speaker 1: every day. The building faces Cabin Plaza Park, just blocks
Speaker 1: away from the Brooklyn Bridge. In the last few years,
Speaker 1: Cabin Plaza has become the epicenter of many of Brooklyn's
Speaker 1: most heated protests. My name is Stacy Kaplow, and I'm
Speaker 1: a professor of Blood Brooklyn Law School, the very progressive
Speaker 1: and liberal student body here in New York. I'm also
Speaker 1: the associate dean for experiential Education at the law School.
Speaker 1: It's what's called a standalone school. In other words, were
Speaker 1: not part of a larger university. So as a school,
Speaker 1: we have a lot of independence and kind of nimble
Speaker 1: in terms of what we can and kind of do.
Speaker 1: Because we're located in the heart of New York, we
Speaker 1: have access to all sorts of resources within what is
Speaker 1: clearly the largest legal community in the world. So our
Speaker 1: students are out there all the time working, as well
Speaker 1: as obviously going to school and learning how to become lawyers.
Speaker 1: The Brooklyn team has worked on arguments for both sides
Speaker 1: of the problem for the King competition, and they have
Speaker 1: to picture what could possibly come at them. Whether they're
Speaker 1: representing the plaintiff or the defense, they have to be
Speaker 1: ready for anything. An overview of this case is that
Speaker 1: an executive order was put into place by the governor
Speaker 1: of a made up state called the State of Columbia.
Speaker 1: This executive order implemented what is called a shelter station,
Speaker 1: which is supposed to take homeless individuals off of the
Speaker 1: street and help give them a place to stay, food
Speaker 1: to eat, a roof over their head. The plaintiff is
Speaker 1: bringing an a commendment prol and unusual constitutional violation against
Speaker 1: the defendant. Firstly, a homeless person is taken to shelter
Speaker 1: station against their will. It's a detention center for which
Speaker 1: they do not know how long they will be detained for.
Speaker 1: A homeless person must complete classes in English and math,
Speaker 1: they must several hygiene requirements, they have to engage in
Speaker 1: a job while they're at the shelter station. And lastly,
Speaker 1: and perhaps most burdensome, and they have to prove that
Speaker 1: they have permanent housing before they're released. But they're unable
Speaker 1: to save up money while they're at the shelter station.
Speaker 1: The competition is the Martin Luther King Civil Rights Trial
Speaker 1: Practice Competition. You See Davis School of Law has been
Speaker 1: hosting that now for the last four years. I'm Dennis Coda.
Speaker 1: I supervised the trial practice program at you see Davis
Speaker 1: King Hall. I am a magistrate judge for the Eastern
Speaker 1: District of California. There's a new option to help get
Speaker 1: dozens of people off the streets of Sacramento. This is
Speaker 1: the city's newest homeless shelter. Up to one people will
Speaker 1: begin staying here next week. The X Straight Navigation Shelter
Speaker 1: is near Broadway at Alhambra. It is more than just
Speaker 1: a place to sleep, though. There's also life skills classes,
Speaker 1: recovery assistance, medicare care, and financial counseling, as well as
Speaker 1: services for help people transition from homelessness to permanent housing.
Speaker 1: Being in a city where you're having to step over
Speaker 1: the people living on the sidewalk made me realize that
Speaker 1: this is a societal issue with no easy solutions, and
Speaker 1: I thought this would be a good topic because these people,
Speaker 1: while they're clearly creating a strain on their community still
Speaker 1: have rights, They're still citizens. Martin Luther King is a
Speaker 1: towering figure in the civil rights area, and as we've
Speaker 1: struggled to realize the American dream, let us realize if
Speaker 1: we do not struggle alone. The law school at U C.
Speaker 1: Davis is named after Martin Luther King. The students daily
Speaker 1: walk past a life size ceramic figure of the late
Speaker 1: civil rights leader in the lobby of King Hall, even
Speaker 1: though that of difficult days ahead, even though before the
Speaker 1: victory is won, somebody else will have to get scotta,
Speaker 1: somebody else will have to go to jail. Maybe some
Speaker 1: will have to stay physical death for the victors one
Speaker 1: some would be just understood, called bad names, be this mist, dangerous,
Speaker 1: rabbit rousers, and agitated. Even in the mist, that's the
Speaker 1: struggle must go on. In the run up to the event,
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Team practices against mystery teams, made up of
Speaker 1: alumni who volunteer to help the two Whales get ready
Speaker 1: to compete. The only job you ever had was babysitting. Correct? Yes?
Speaker 1: Oh wait, wait, what the hell is I'm not the witness.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, I'm sorry, I'm the I'm the attorney. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry so sorry to be
Speaker 1: back up. You take it away. I will be the attorney.
Speaker 1: They go at it night and day. That is all
Speaker 1: for defense, Okay, Okay, plaintiff, do you have any additional
Speaker 1: house giving matters to address? Yeah, your honor. We just
Speaker 1: asked that everything that applied to defense also applies to plaintiff,
Speaker 1: of course, and also as a as an aside, your honor,
Speaker 1: do too my own version of cruel and unusual punishment
Speaker 1: from back to back horses. I may be eating throughout
Speaker 1: because I haven't had any food since I don't know
Speaker 1: how long, So if you've seen me eating, I'm sorry,
Speaker 1: No problem at all. Thanks for the heads up. Okay,
Speaker 1: any other housekeeping matters from Lindon the practice judges talk
Speaker 1: strategy to bring the four Nubies up to speed, just
Speaker 1: keep your answers to yes or noltees. The witness if
Speaker 1: chances the question can answer, however, she deals counsel. If
Speaker 1: you're not getting the answers you want, you might want
Speaker 1: to narrow your questions a little bit. Hey, sorry, Anna,
Speaker 1: don't apologize to me. Okays. Off, It all comes down
Speaker 1: to for students and a coach or two in a
Speaker 1: room working hard. That's Adam schlahead coach at Fordham University
Speaker 1: and one of our commentators, thinking about the case and
Speaker 1: arguing and figuring it out and practicing and running it again.
Speaker 1: That's the same at every single law school. It's what
Speaker 1: happens in that little room. The learning happens in that
Speaker 1: little room. Resources don't give anybody an advantage in that
Speaker 1: little room. You need people who really care about this
Speaker 1: and care about the students learning, and students who are motivated.
Speaker 1: You know, you can get that anywhere, and you need
Speaker 1: to really tie yourself very very closely to the law.
Speaker 1: Laura Basilon is a former federal public defender who now
Speaker 1: teaches at the University of San Francisco School of Law
Speaker 1: and runs its highly acclaimed racial Justice Clinic. It's not
Speaker 1: enough to just have bravado and style if there's nothing
Speaker 1: else behind it. You have to absolutely understand what the
Speaker 1: governing law is and if you're the prosecutor, be prepared
Speaker 1: to prove every element, and if you're the defense counsel,
Speaker 1: figure out which elements you don't need to contest and
Speaker 1: which ones you do. So, Laura, when you're working with
Speaker 1: your students, is there something that you do to be
Speaker 1: able to say to them. Look, on one end, you
Speaker 1: can't have an over zealous prosecution, but also on the
Speaker 1: other end, you can't have criminal defense attorneys that have
Speaker 1: blinders on. How do you work with your students to
Speaker 1: let them know that this is a possibility when they
Speaker 1: go out into the real world. I think it is
Speaker 1: really important to be honest about the fact that we
Speaker 1: have a lot of failings in this system, and they're
Speaker 1: on both sides. So you're right. There are plenty of
Speaker 1: over zealous prosecutors. There are prosecutors who suffer from tunnel vision.
Speaker 1: There are prosecutors who commit misconduct, most of them not intentionally,
Speaker 1: but because they haven't been trained properly or they get
Speaker 1: caught up in the moment. At the same time, there
Speaker 1: are plenty of defense attorneys who are not doing their jobs.
Speaker 1: They may be poorly trained, they may be overwhelmed, or
Speaker 1: they may quite frankly, just be lazy. And we have
Speaker 1: had many, many cases where the level of advocacy at
Speaker 1: the trial court on behalf of our post conviction clients
Speaker 1: has been absolutely abysmal. We're in good shape, but the
Speaker 1: more I learn about their situation, the more just devastating.
Speaker 1: It is. I'm also blown away by how kind and
Speaker 1: optimistic she is the more I learned. I mean, the
Speaker 1: system fails her over and over and over again, and
Speaker 1: she just continues to be the most wonderful person. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and she'll also text us and say like, how are
Speaker 1: you feeling today? Like, thank you so much for everything
Speaker 1: you're doing. She's just she's so grateful, so sweet. In
Speaker 1: addition to trial team Ellie and third year law student Regina,
Speaker 1: you are working together on a real world case for
Speaker 1: the Brooklyn Defender Service. Any law school these days would
Speaker 1: have to have some clinical offerings, but we've been doing
Speaker 1: this for fifty years now. Stacy Caplow is the supervisor
Speaker 1: for the clinic. Most students here fro the law school,
Speaker 1: by the time they're finished, have three, four, maybe even
Speaker 1: five semesters of experiences in either in our clinics, which
Speaker 1: are in house or off campus in offices all over
Speaker 1: the city. So that's the annoying forum that the Pardon
Speaker 1: office requires. So how far along are we on the forum?
Speaker 1: Actually almost done? Um, most of it's filled out. So
Speaker 1: our client is a woman and a mother and a
Speaker 1: daughter and has been in this country from at least
Speaker 1: half of her life and all of her adult life.
Speaker 1: She first came here as a young teenager and had
Speaker 1: lawful status in the US, but as a result of
Speaker 1: a single mistake she made that violated federal law, she
Speaker 1: was prosecuted, convicted, served a sentence, and then was put
Speaker 1: into deportation proceedings. So one form of relief that we
Speaker 1: can try to obtain for them is to get a
Speaker 1: pardon from the President, and that pardon has the possibility
Speaker 1: of acting as, in effect, a defense to their deportation.
Speaker 1: Not a lot of people get pardons. You still want
Speaker 1: to do this, yeah, all right, good with all the
Speaker 1: aggravating details. That's what makes me want to do it more.
Speaker 1: I do by far and the most meaningful yes, yeah, okay,
Speaker 1: good good. I know Ellie from working with her this
Speaker 1: semester in the clinic, and she is dogged, but also
Speaker 1: has extremely warm and pleasant way of expressing herself. And
Speaker 1: I think she's a good example, as is a Jany.
Speaker 1: If there's a way that you put yourself out there
Speaker 1: and you present yourself, be true to yourself, they really
Speaker 1: don't need to yell and scream um. They can just
Speaker 1: be calm, collected and forceful without having to pound the table.
Speaker 1: So on Friday, around one o'clock, we had a little
Speaker 1: team get together over Zoo like we would in like
Speaker 1: a locker room sort of. This is a jenny pump
Speaker 1: each other up, let each other know that we're not
Speaker 1: going to be more ready than we are today, Like
Speaker 1: we were about to go into a game, and it
Speaker 1: was like leave it on the scoreboard, and then in
Speaker 1: the hour right before we actually entered the competition room.
Speaker 1: I have some like personal rituals that I do which
Speaker 1: include listening and dancing to a very embarrassing Aretha Franklin
Speaker 1: respect by myself in my room alone. It's I actually
Speaker 1: have not even like admitted that to a lot of people,
Speaker 1: So it's a very sacred ritual to me. Well, you
Speaker 1: just admitted it, probably to a lot of people. But
Speaker 1: that's okay, it's out. It's out now exactly very well, plaintiff,
Speaker 1: are you ready to proceed with openings? Yes, your honor,
Speaker 1: we're ready to proceed very well. You may proceed. A veteran,
Speaker 1: a patriot, a United States citizen stripped of the rights
Speaker 1: she risked her life to protect, may please the court.
Speaker 1: Opposing counsel members of the jury. My name is A
Speaker 1: Jenny Shaw, and I, along with my co council, Miss
Speaker 1: Eli Sands, represent the plaintiff, Ms Riley Taylor. In today's case,
Speaker 1: A Jenny opens as Brooklyn Law takes on the University
Speaker 1: of Connecticut in round one. It's her team's first appearance
Speaker 1: ever at a competition, and after she was honorably discharged,
Speaker 1: she again answered the call to keep our country safe
Speaker 1: as a mechanic on military aircrafts. Unfortunately, you will learn
Speaker 1: that Miss Taylor was let go from her job, and
Speaker 1: just after she was let go, you will hear that
Speaker 1: her welfare check started getting smaller and smaller. So Miss
Speaker 1: Taylor became just another data point in the city of
Speaker 1: Oakland's growing homeless population. The Brooklyn team argues that the
Speaker 1: plaintiff has value and humanity. They deny that the homeless
Speaker 1: were rounded up in order to help them. Instead, Brooklyn
Speaker 1: insists the homeless were arrested for being poor. Now, Chick
Speaker 1: Gordon business was better in downtown Oakland, sure, yeah, but
Speaker 1: the homeless population still existed. Yes, we were not able
Speaker 1: to eradicate it completely. He referred to homeless individuals as
Speaker 1: skid row rejects. I may have them. You referred to
Speaker 1: homeless individuals as derelics. Yes, you referred to homeless individuals
Speaker 1: as Mr ratsto oh in connection with the public defecation,
Speaker 1: yes and vermin Yes. Jumping ahead to your critical Chief Barden,
Speaker 1: you enforced executive order one of your team. Right after
Speaker 1: the round, the team gathers online to wait for feedback,
Speaker 1: and they hear that they beat Yukon, but the judges
Speaker 1: say they need to work on a few things. Remove
Speaker 1: all references to I believe. I think the court doesn't
Speaker 1: care about your feelings. It doesn't care about your beliefs.
Speaker 1: The court cares about the law. It cares about the facts,
Speaker 1: and it cares about what's happening on the record. It's
Speaker 1: not that you believe it's this, It's that this is
Speaker 1: the law. There are times when I think you all
Speaker 1: could have done a better job listening to your witness,
Speaker 1: especially on direct out. They often felt like maybe an
Speaker 1: objection came up, or your witness didn't give you the
Speaker 1: exact answer, and then you've had a hard time pivoting
Speaker 1: from there. Well, thanks everybody, that was a great round.
Speaker 1: I thought the plaintiff your crosses were good, very very good.
Speaker 1: In fact, Ellie, your cross was was very good. Brooklyn
Speaker 1: Law is listening. They beat Texas A and M in
Speaker 1: round two. Then their power matched too, you see San Diego. Yes,
Speaker 1: I also asked promotions to strike of all answers that
Speaker 1: referenced camps from the records that I'm not gonna do.
Speaker 1: You let the cat out of the out of the
Speaker 1: bag a little too too early, So we're just gonna
Speaker 1: go ahead and perceive what we have that Mr Alfred's
Speaker 1: where are you going after you testified with this, I'm
Speaker 1: going back to the shelter station. How long have you
Speaker 1: been in the shop station since January? You see? San
Speaker 1: Diego wins round three, But the judges have some surprises
Speaker 1: in store for the Brooklyn team. We were all at
Speaker 1: on Jane's house and we were starving. None of us
Speaker 1: had eaten yet because it was like a thirteen hour day.
Speaker 1: We had gone straight through. We had ordered pizza and
Speaker 1: like you were just stuffing our faces because you're so
Speaker 1: hungry at that point. So we were sitting on the
Speaker 1: couch and on the screen they were about to give
Speaker 1: off awards and I was just like, oh, you know
Speaker 1: opening statement awards. You know, Engineer Phoebe should get that.
Speaker 1: And then the first thing that comes on is on
Speaker 1: Jane's name. What just happened? We got them that opening statement.
Speaker 1: We just all tackled her to the ground and we're
Speaker 1: crying and screaming and so happy. And to get recognized
Speaker 1: for something that I had no idea how to do
Speaker 1: three four months ago out of a field of forty
Speaker 1: four other people who gave opening statement, is from Ivy
Speaker 1: League schools all across the country, so many talented advocates.
Speaker 1: Was extremely validating that I have picked the right thing
Speaker 1: and I can do this and this is for me,
Speaker 1: even though some days it may not feel like it.
Speaker 1: And then they announced the semifinalists and they named the
Speaker 1: schools one by one. One school went by, and another
Speaker 1: school went by, then the third school went by, and
Speaker 1: we were the fourth school and our name pops up
Speaker 1: on the screen and it was an eruption of screams
Speaker 1: and joy and like shrieking and my my next I
Speaker 1: feel so sorry for my poor next door neighbors who
Speaker 1: have young kids, because it must have been like Eastern
Speaker 1: time when this was happening. We were like, oh my god.
Speaker 1: We were screaming, we were chumping, we were screen too.
Speaker 1: We were like laughing, we were crying, we were hugging.
Speaker 1: It was like it was such a it was a mess,
Speaker 1: but it was so exciting and I'm so glad we
Speaker 1: got to share that moment together. And then we were like,
Speaker 1: we gotta go home, like we have to prepare it
Speaker 1: for tomorrow morning. And the way it worked was that
Speaker 1: there was a coin toss to see which side of
Speaker 1: our team would be competing in the semifinal, and our
Speaker 1: school on the coin toss, so our coaches chose to
Speaker 1: have Aujany and I go. Then we ended up putting
Speaker 1: on a case in the morning. Harvard was the reigning
Speaker 1: champion of this competition. They had one last year going
Speaker 1: against Harvard. I think, sure, the name is intimidating. And
Speaker 1: when I told my parents, I mean, they were just ecstatic.
Speaker 1: They know how much time has gone into this and
Speaker 1: how much sacrifice I've had to make. Because they're right
Speaker 1: over the bridge in New Jersey. We just knew she
Speaker 1: was preparing. She was up against the big teams that
Speaker 1: have proved themselves in the past, and it was going
Speaker 1: to be a formidable competition. Doctors Lena and Proteston Shaw
Speaker 1: are Angine's parents and when she told us about how
Speaker 1: well their team did unexpectedly and how she did um
Speaker 1: personally on a personal level, how how she excelled, we
Speaker 1: were just so happy and proud of it. Well, to me,
Speaker 1: it was not unexpectedly. To me, it was I knew, no,
Speaker 1: I meant for the team. For the team, like for
Speaker 1: the school in Brooklyn Law School had never had never
Speaker 1: been placed that high in this sort of a competition
Speaker 1: first time during this competition for Brooklyn. If you're passionate
Speaker 1: about something, you can only be successful. Can I make
Speaker 1: you a cup of tea or something? Just want to
Speaker 1: drink some China? Absolutely, it'll be spicy. How about you, Laura,
Speaker 1: I don't know about spicy. It's like it's flavorful. It's yeah,
Speaker 1: we'll try a little bit. Yeah, okay, let me make them.
Speaker 1: This is lose Lift tea. So I got three cups
Speaker 1: of water in there. I have two tea bags. Put
Speaker 1: three spoonfuls of loose lift tea. Then I have this
Speaker 1: is chai masala. Masala is cardamom black pepper clubs. So
Speaker 1: that's the spice. So Angie is the middle child. You know,
Speaker 1: from the day she was born, she already had that
Speaker 1: sense of fairness and justice even when she was much younger,
Speaker 1: Like you know, she would take an issue, however small,
Speaker 1: and just come up with an argument and say why
Speaker 1: this is not right. So I'm basically the first lawyer
Speaker 1: in the family. Kind of something that I had to
Speaker 1: chart by myself. I think I told them after the fact.
Speaker 1: I was like, okay, yeah, I'm on the court team.
Speaker 1: They were like, we have no idea what that is.
Speaker 1: I do think that the color of my skin makes
Speaker 1: it such that I need to be more prepared than
Speaker 1: whoever my adversary is at every turn. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: certainly something I've just had to live with my whole life,
Speaker 1: and at this point it's become a hustle. It's become
Speaker 1: a hard work in a way of life, because I
Speaker 1: know that the only reason my parents got to where
Speaker 1: they were, and subsequently how they've been able to support
Speaker 1: me to get to where I am is because of
Speaker 1: all of that hard work and being more prepared the
Speaker 1: person standing next to them. That's really all it comes
Speaker 1: down to, you, Okay, I'm the oldest of four siblings.
Speaker 1: I lost my dad at a very young age. My
Speaker 1: mother raised us all four by herself. You know, she
Speaker 1: managed to make sure we were all not only just
Speaker 1: provided for, but also went on to be well educated
Speaker 1: in professionals because I went to medical school at a
Speaker 1: very young age. Um like, I was not even eighteen
Speaker 1: when I started medical school. This was in India. So
Speaker 1: I went from a small town to a big city
Speaker 1: to learn medicine. And that's where I met him. And
Speaker 1: he was, you know, a quote unquote foreigner because he
Speaker 1: came from Kenya. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and
Speaker 1: my father was born in Nairobi, Kenya. Kenya was a
Speaker 1: British colony. East Africa was a British colony. My father
Speaker 1: was a very a person of modest means. We lived
Speaker 1: the one bedroom apartment, five of us. I'm the middle
Speaker 1: of three siblings, so my father said, okay, you know
Speaker 1: who's going to become the doctor here, you know, so
Speaker 1: it was left up to me. And being a person
Speaker 1: of modest means, education is very expensive abroad, England, America,
Speaker 1: things like that, and so I opted to go to
Speaker 1: India where the education was cheap. Four and a half
Speaker 1: years in medical school and then I decided to come
Speaker 1: here to the United States. It took me two years
Speaker 1: to find a residency, and it was somebody gives you
Speaker 1: an opportunity. Oh dad, I think the water. He hasn't
Speaker 1: thought of the whole journey in a long time, so
Speaker 1: all like with this much detail, it's all coming back
Speaker 1: to him. So thank you, Kevin. He probably needs no.
Speaker 1: I ended up getting an opportunity from from a residency
Speaker 1: training director. My own director who gave me the externship
Speaker 1: called me up and said, come and do a residency
Speaker 1: with me. I don't need to interview you. I know
Speaker 1: who you are. You're still in touch with him. He's
Speaker 1: your mentor. He was an immigrant himself. Okay, Then I
Speaker 1: flavor it with cardamom, ground up cardamom. Okay. Then I'm
Speaker 1: gonna get some mint, and I'm going to get some ginger,
Speaker 1: fresh mint, fresh ginger. This is the ratio I use.
Speaker 1: Everybody doesn't use the same ratio. So I'll take my
Speaker 1: ginger and I'll greet some ginger in it right always
Speaker 1: you get smell, right, And then I'll take some fresh mint,
Speaker 1: the fresh mint in there, and then I will come
Speaker 1: to a boil, because you've got to let it boil.
Speaker 1: And then you'll lead the mill starting with the plaint
Speaker 1: if you have any other housekeeping matters to cover that
Speaker 1: I have not covered right from the start. The judge
Speaker 1: is tough on Ellie. Yes, your honor, the plaintiff has
Speaker 1: a few housekeeping matters to attend to. Firstly, would your
Speaker 1: honor like a courtesy copy of the plaintiff's notice of appearance? No,
Speaker 1: I don't need one. Would your Honor like a brief
Speaker 1: recitation of the facts for today's case, not as a
Speaker 1: housekeeping matter. Now, your honor, for judicial notice. We have
Speaker 1: discussed our emotions in Lemonade with opposing counsel during pre trial,
Speaker 1: and I've stipulated to exclusion of three pieces of evidence.
Speaker 1: Those are Lemonade matters. I am asking only for housekeeping
Speaker 1: ma or stipulations will cover, Yes, you're owner. Additionally, your
Speaker 1: honor permission to have local roles constructively read into the record.
Speaker 1: Local rules do not need to be read into the record.
Speaker 1: He was a tough clicking for sure, But Ellie, you know,
Speaker 1: she stood her ground. She like recuperated, and she you know,
Speaker 1: she was not phazed, and I'm really proud of her
Speaker 1: for that. And so I was literally sitting on the
Speaker 1: edge of my seat, my whole family was actually watching
Speaker 1: two as spectators, and they were on the edge of
Speaker 1: their seats too. But just because those competitors go to
Speaker 1: Harvard Law School doesn't necessarily make them better advocates than
Speaker 1: us because we go to Brooklyn Law School. You've all
Speaker 1: had the material for the same amount of time, you've
Speaker 1: all been training for the same amount of time, and
Speaker 1: you all have the same resources to a certain extent,
Speaker 1: going against four males. But it's interesting that was the
Speaker 1: first thing Aye and I said to each other, is
Speaker 1: that we're going against all male team and we have
Speaker 1: a male judge. The case is on Ellast questions Phoebe,
Speaker 1: who was acting as a witness, how long have you
Speaker 1: been at shelter Station three and Salford over a year
Speaker 1: and a half. Do you know how much longer you'll
Speaker 1: be there? For? I have no idea, No one has
Speaker 1: actually told me. All I know is that I can't leave.
Speaker 1: Why not all their requirements Before I can leave, detainees
Speaker 1: must work. I have to take classes and hygiene, math
Speaker 1: and English, and I need to pass the test that
Speaker 1: they give us at the end of my every month,
Speaker 1: and the test is really hard. Why is the test her?
Speaker 1: All their whole bunch of word problems on the math test,
Speaker 1: and I don't have enough time to complete the questions.
Speaker 1: They also can't use a calculator. Would you recognize that
Speaker 1: test if you saw it here today? Yes, your honor
Speaker 1: directing witness Court and counts's attention to what has been
Speaker 1: pre marked as child exhibit to premiss to share via
Speaker 1: the screen share function constructively outside the presence of the jury,
Speaker 1: You may proceed. Please let the record collect drown. I
Speaker 1: have an objection to this exhibit on you're premature for
Speaker 1: your hairsay objection precede council on Jenny pushes back against
Speaker 1: the Harvard defense. So let's start by talking about the
Speaker 1: shelter station program. Can you describe it for the jury?
Speaker 1: The shelter station program was a rehabilitated program putent place
Speaker 1: because the state of Columbia was in a state of
Speaker 1: crisis on two grounds, one being speculation and to being
Speaker 1: lack of expertise. And I can explain further your owner,
Speaker 1: if you wish, I have not yet had the witness
Speaker 1: tendered as an expert. So it's a little proper objection
Speaker 1: would be foundation. And if you are disputing the qualifications
Speaker 1: of the expert. You're free to or dire if that's
Speaker 1: your request, Your honor, may I planned if you wish
Speaker 1: to order, are the expert? Yes, rounder may enquire you may.
Speaker 1: Dr Cole. You've based your conclusions today on the established
Speaker 1: principles in our field of urban social symmetry. That's correct.
Speaker 1: Urban social symmetry is a relatively new field. Yes, it's
Speaker 1: an exciting new field. And you testified that urban social
Speaker 1: symmetry is about how demographic groups interact with each other. Correct, exactly,
Speaker 1: and the effects it has on urban life and communities exactly.
Speaker 1: Just a yes or now I will suffice, Dr coll
Speaker 1: Thank you. Dr Cole. You consider homelessness to be one
Speaker 1: part of that broad specialty. That's correct. You're aware that
Speaker 1: the issue in today's case is homelessness. That's correct. We're
Speaker 1: not here to discuss urban social symmetry. No, note that
Speaker 1: the fields the home. That's correct. In fact, today is
Speaker 1: the first time you're testifying about homelessness. Yes, that's correct.
Speaker 1: No of the questions, your honor, he does not meet
Speaker 1: the first requirement a Federal of evidence seven O two
Speaker 1: and should not be tendered as an expert today. As
Speaker 1: on Jenny Cross, examines a key witness. She's honing in
Speaker 1: on Harvard's main line of argument. She denies that shelter
Speaker 1: stations are a way to help homeless people. Instead, on
Speaker 1: Jenny insists the city and state are more interested in
Speaker 1: scoring points with voters for cleaning up the streets. They
Speaker 1: don't really care about helping the homeless. You may proceed,
Speaker 1: cross samination, Yes, Dr Cole, can you hear me all right?
Speaker 1: Yes I have? Dr Cole. Have you testified as an
Speaker 1: expert before? Yes? I have. And you get paid by
Speaker 1: your client each time you testify today, the client paying
Speaker 1: your fees the defendant, right, that's correct. I think I
Speaker 1: saw what they were trying to do, and that actually
Speaker 1: lit a little bit of a fire in me to say,
Speaker 1: this expert is trying to sound really good and pull
Speaker 1: the wool over the jury's eyes and pull the wool
Speaker 1: over my eyes, frankly, and it's not gonna work. And
Speaker 1: you're aware of that Executive Order one one three created
Speaker 1: by Governor Ferris is that issue in this case? Yes,
Speaker 1: I'm aware of that, Dr Cole. You've published research about
Speaker 1: urban social symmetry, that's correct, and much of that research
Speaker 1: is specifically focused on homelessness. Right. Yes. For example, you
Speaker 1: published a piece titled a Societal Sickness, the cancer called homelessness. Yes,
Speaker 1: that's correct. You also published a piece titled a Society
Speaker 1: out of Balance, Homelessness and the Decay of the American Community. Yes, exactly.
Speaker 1: So you've referred to homeless individuals as a cancer. I
Speaker 1: referred to homelessness as a cancer, not homeless individuals. It's
Speaker 1: it's a fine distinction. It's a kind of upon the
Speaker 1: people who inflicts. So you referred to homelessness as a cancer,
Speaker 1: that's corect And you've referred to homelessness as causing the
Speaker 1: decay of America. Yes, it's closing today. That's correct. This
Speaker 1: expert is an expert in urban social symmetry, which is
Speaker 1: just absolutely the most absurd specialty I've ever heard of.
Speaker 1: Sorry to anyone out there who is actually an expert
Speaker 1: in urban social symmetry, I'd like to meet one some day. Yeah.
Speaker 1: I felt that that was the most effective way to
Speaker 1: make this expert really look silly. So those traps were
Speaker 1: very purposefully laid. Everything now depends on the closing. It's
Speaker 1: Ellie against Harvard. She argues that the defendant and affect
Speaker 1: sentenced a veteran too indefinite detention at a shelter station,
Speaker 1: and she denounces the defendant's refusal to take the stand.
Speaker 1: Members of the jury. The defendant didn't even bother to
Speaker 1: show up in court today. The defendant himself has no defense.
Speaker 1: There were countless other ways the defendant could have helped
Speaker 1: the homeless population he chose not to. In its closing argument,
Speaker 1: Harvard flips that fame, claiming the shelter stations are meant
Speaker 1: to help. This is a part of the process that
Speaker 1: activist lawyers relish. Ellie goes straight at the defense in
Speaker 1: her rebuttal ms Taylor and all homeless people in the
Speaker 1: state of Columbia are subject to future indefinite detainment because
Speaker 1: of the fact that they are homeless. The defendant is
Speaker 1: not interested in eradicating homelessness. The defendant is interested in
Speaker 1: eradicating homeless people. The defendant has used belligerent language to
Speaker 1: describe Miss Taylor and other homeless people before. Words like
Speaker 1: vermin and derrelics are simply part of his vocabulary. The
Speaker 1: fact that government officials like Chief Boarden use words like
Speaker 1: this to describe members of the public show he's not
Speaker 1: qualified to be a public servant. Now this executive order
Speaker 1: wants all homeless people together under the definition of vacancy.
Speaker 1: That's not alex and thank you. You guys would like
Speaker 1: to give feedback if you want, and then being little
Speaker 1: common announced which team moved on. This is by far
Speaker 1: one of the best about trials I've witnessed. I've tried
Speaker 1: to take notes. Um, I couldn't see much room for improving.
Speaker 1: I want to take note of when you guys actually
Speaker 1: become lawyers so that i can set my retirement for
Speaker 1: that time, because I'm not going to be able to
Speaker 1: compete next. I was honored to be here today. These
Speaker 1: are two extraordinary teams for extraordinary future lawyers. I'd be
Speaker 1: happy to work with you. Um. My job is on
Speaker 1: the general counsel for three D and forty billion dollar
Speaker 1: financial institutions. I hire lawyers all the time. I've retained
Speaker 1: lawyers all the time. All four of you would be
Speaker 1: in my pool. I'd hire you anytime. You've chosen the
Speaker 1: right profession. You're extraordinary. Judged a number of these my
Speaker 1: trials over the years, and I think this is the
Speaker 1: best that I've see. I have to say, you're all terrific.
Speaker 1: My only suggestion would be that the closing argument probably
Speaker 1: ought to be easier to remember than a long argument.
Speaker 1: I will I will echo those comments that you know,
Speaker 1: when when you get out in practice, you're going to
Speaker 1: find that the hardest part about jury trials or any
Speaker 1: kind of court appearance is standing up in front of
Speaker 1: twelve people who couldn't escape jury duty, or three judges
Speaker 1: that you think know the law so much better than
Speaker 1: you when they really don't, and not stammering and losing
Speaker 1: your place, and then sitting down and realize that you
Speaker 1: didn't sip up your fly after the last trip to
Speaker 1: the restroom. I guarantee you those mistakes will happen to you,
Speaker 1: But I would encourage you to focus your opening statements
Speaker 1: simply on your narrative of the facts. How can you
Speaker 1: explain the facts of your case in a persuasive way
Speaker 1: in three minutes, in a way that would persuade your
Speaker 1: Trump supporting drunk uncle at Thanksgiving to believe your case.
Speaker 1: The judges issue their ruling. Piet Civilian congratulations to all
Speaker 1: teams that made to the semifinals. It was I mean,
Speaker 1: it's been wonderful having you all. This is a very
Speaker 1: very close round. UM, but the team that is advancing
Speaker 1: to the final round is Team f Congrats also team
Speaker 1: and a wonderful job, really really congratulations you all. Everyone's
Speaker 1: been doing wonderful and good luck Team FUM in the
Speaker 1: next round. I do questions. I'm going to jump back
Speaker 1: to the main room, so ask me questions there, but
Speaker 1: otherwise everyone else is free to go. Thank you all.
Speaker 1: Congrats through Harvard advances. Brooklyn is out. You know, they
Speaker 1: through a huge curveball at us. They didn't call the
Speaker 1: defendant and they were representing the defendant in their case.
Speaker 1: And we've run so many hypothetical so we've practiced against
Speaker 1: so many different people, We've combated so many different personalities,
Speaker 1: thinking that we had prepared for every possible scenario. In
Speaker 1: no possible scenario did we ever think the defense would
Speaker 1: not call the defendant. I ended up having to give
Speaker 1: a cross examination that I had never done before because
Speaker 1: I normally crossed the defendant. And I had to rewrite
Speaker 1: my entire closing statement during the trial because my entire
Speaker 1: closing statement was attacking the character of the defendant. So
Speaker 1: there was a lot of agility and adjusting necessary in
Speaker 1: that round. I felt that it was so close. Like, honestly,
Speaker 1: when we were getting the judges feedback, I go through
Speaker 1: the it's like it's been what like a month now.
Speaker 1: I go through this almost like daily in my head
Speaker 1: on my why did we lose? So? I think that
Speaker 1: I felt we won UM just because of how hard
Speaker 1: we worked and how good our trial was, despite the
Speaker 1: craziness of what happened behind the scenes. I felt that
Speaker 1: we watched away as winners UM despite not advancing to
Speaker 1: the final round. Their advocacy was better than our advocacy
Speaker 1: in that round, and that's why they won. Harvard didn't
Speaker 1: call the defendant that was well within their choice. We
Speaker 1: as a team fell short in preparing for that possibility.
Speaker 1: I learned a lot from that competition. I learned more
Speaker 1: than anything, to expect to be thrown off your game.
Speaker 1: It's a matter of anticipating that there is going to
Speaker 1: be something in the course of the trial that you
Speaker 1: are not going to expect, and you need to go
Speaker 1: in being prepared to go outside of your comfort zone,
Speaker 1: going in being prepared to do something differently than what
Speaker 1: you anticipated. It's a little bit of a metaphor for life. Sure,
Speaker 1: it'd be nice to be at Harvard, but the Brooklyn
Speaker 1: team has learned a valuable lesson. Soon they'll be walking
Speaker 1: out the door to take the bar exam, and instead
Speaker 1: of practicing for mock trial, they'll be practicing law and
Speaker 1: on behalf of their real world clients. They'll never let
Speaker 1: someone do that to them again. I think for myself,
Speaker 1: for Anjany, for the rest of our team, and for coaches,
Speaker 1: this isn't a game for us. This is what we
Speaker 1: want to do with our lives, and we're very much
Speaker 1: invested in social change. We're very much invested in the
Speaker 1: issues that this case raised, homelessness, police discretion, poverty, criminal justice,
Speaker 1: constitutional rights, and so for us, this was really an
Speaker 1: introduction to our careers, and so it really wasn't about
Speaker 1: winning or losing. It was about representing our client and
Speaker 1: our values and our morals in the best way that
Speaker 1: we could. I think the biggest update that we have
Speaker 1: is that your pardon is officially filed. Crystal. It's a
Speaker 1: five hundred page application that we sent over to the
Speaker 1: federal part in office and now we just wait. Now
Speaker 1: we just wait for a response. Okay, Crystal, how does
Speaker 1: it make you feel to know that you have this
Speaker 1: exceptional group of people that are just good people as
Speaker 1: human beings, but are exceptional advocates that are working for
Speaker 1: you to help you and your family be able to
Speaker 1: stay in the United States. Afuly, very wonderful, feel very blessed,
Speaker 1: and I thank all of them for their help to
Speaker 1: tell the time. You know, take my case. I understand
Speaker 1: that your family has faced great tragedy and that there
Speaker 1: is this possibility that if you were to return to
Speaker 1: Jamaica that you yourself would be at serious physical risk
Speaker 1: of harm and maybe even death. I can't imagine how
Speaker 1: difficult is for you to have to kind of process
Speaker 1: all of this information. How do you manage this just
Speaker 1: on an emotional level, on a personal level when you
Speaker 1: think about on a day by day basis, like what
Speaker 1: your future maybe let it's not it's hard. It's hard
Speaker 1: for me and my kids because I'm sorry. It's like
Speaker 1: is getting close up to court days and my kids
Speaker 1: cry all the time. You know. Now everybody starts sleeping
Speaker 1: in the room with me, said they're trying to spend
Speaker 1: time with me before and then my family comes over
Speaker 1: Myney's and never said they coming back over for spring breaks.
Speaker 1: It's like it's really sad and Ellie, if you had
Speaker 1: that unfettered, completely free conversation, maybe with the immigration judge,
Speaker 1: or maybe if it was just Joe Biden just sitting
Speaker 1: there across from you, what would you say, Ellie. I'd
Speaker 1: probably read them a couple of paragraphs from the part
Speaker 1: of application. I would just look at the pardon official
Speaker 1: in the eye and asked them, you know, what would
Speaker 1: you do if you couldn't feed your child? And how
Speaker 1: would you want to be treated? Okay, this is an
Speaker 1: introductory paragraph to the entire pardon. In this application, we
Speaker 1: will share Miss Morris's story with you. It is a
Speaker 1: story of resilience. Crystal Morris is a woman who refused
Speaker 1: to let herself be defined by the cruelty and hardships
Speaker 1: inflicted upon her, but instead took the fragmented pieces left
Speaker 1: behind by her abusers and the murderers who took the
Speaker 1: lives of her brothers, and turned these misfortunes into a beautiful,
Speaker 1: complex and full life. Ms Morris has, against all odds,
Speaker 1: created a stable home for herself, her six children, and
Speaker 1: her mother. In this application, we will bring you into
Speaker 1: her life, through the past into the present, and provide
Speaker 1: a window into her future. However, we implore you to
Speaker 1: recognize that Ms. Morris is so much more than we
Speaker 1: could ever explain through words on a page. Crystal Morris
Speaker 1: is joy and grace embodied. We hope to provide you
Speaker 1: with the opportunity to become as moved and inspired by
Speaker 1: Miss Morris's incredible display of strength and perseverance as we
Speaker 1: have been. Crystal. I'm sure that there are miracles, but
Speaker 1: it sounds like you've got angels on Earth oat of
Speaker 1: looking out for you right now in the form of Aliya,
Speaker 1: Michelle and Dan and everybody. So I wish you the
Speaker 1: very best of luck, Crystal. But if I had anybody
Speaker 1: like these fighting people fighting for me, I feel like
Speaker 1: I got a little bit of luck and I got
Speaker 1: a whole lot of some of God's grace helping me
Speaker 1: out right now. Thank you. As for the rest of
Speaker 1: the season for Brooklyn law the team won the Fordham
Speaker 1: University Kelly Competition, beating u C l A. Ellie competed
Speaker 1: in the regional national Championship for the Texas Young Lawyers Association,
Speaker 1: advancing to the quarterfinals. She was then voted on to
Speaker 1: the national team for next season. On Janie competed in
Speaker 1: the Queen's County District Attorney's Competition, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Speaker 1: She was selected to serve as president of the Moot
Speaker 1: Court Honor Society. But I received the phone call saying, hey,
Speaker 1: the judges are saying that you guys are cheating because
Speaker 1: you have one advocate playing all the roles. Before you
Speaker 1: all remove yourselves from the room, can we have the
Speaker 1: team for the plaint We need to verify who which
Speaker 1: one of you all be which portions of the trials.
Speaker 1: So the only thing that's similar to them is that
Speaker 1: they're both latin Us, they're both brown skin. Other than that,
Speaker 1: it's two completely different people and you can't make them up.
Speaker 1: That's next time on class Action. Class Action is a
Speaker 1: production of I Heart Radio and Sound Argument, created, produced, written,
Speaker 1: and edited by Kevin Huffman and Lisa Gray. This episode
Speaker 1: was written by Wendy Nardi. Executive producers are Taylor Chacogne
Speaker 1: and Katrina Nordbell. Sound design, editing and mixing by Evan
Speaker 1: Tire and Taylor Chacogne. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you get your favorite shows.