Introduction and Overview

Hi everyone! My name is Poom Pipatjarasgit, and the purpose of my blog is to document what I am experiencing during my Winterim Independent Study, Perspectives: The American Justice System. In my Winterim, I will be exploring the legal system of the United States with the help of my independent study sponsor, The Honorable Jeffrey J. Helmick, through shadowing legal professionals, observing meetings in Judge Helmick's chambers,  and attending court proceedings. Court proceedings include hearings, jury selections, trials, and sentencing proceedings. Legal professionals whom I intend to meet include judges, defense attorneys, prosecutors, and probation officers. My Winterim will take place at the Civic Mall in Downtown Toledo.

My specific learning goals are to gain an overview on how courts of the United States function, with a particular emphasis on the federal court system. I would then like to use what I learn to write a proposal on how to reform the jury selection system for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio. This means I would need to learn what the roles of participants within the justice system are, such as how lawyers decide on which arguments to make and what a prosecutor does in trying to enforce criminal laws. By spending time with all of these individuals, I will be able to get everyone's perspective on a particular case from most of the participants in the legal system.

The choice of the term "perspectives" stems from the view that there are many parts and people involved in the legal system, all of whom have their own goals and agendas. My intention is to have an understanding of the different perspectives that individuals involved with the legal system may have.

Regarding my proposal, it will be directed towards the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio on how to reform the jury selection system. The issue with the jury selection system of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio is that juries tend not to represent race and socioeconomic backgrounds fairly. My mission is to find out why this is so and to propose changes.

The proposal, to be finished by Tuesday, January 27, 2015, can be found on the page "Proposal."