Seeing the Michigan Supreme Court
I am not a sentimental person. But something very cool happened last week that I wish to share.
Michigan Supreme Court came to my school and held session for 3 cases. I signed up to here one of them, a criminal law case.
I walked thru a metal detector, which had previously not been in my school, and was guided in by an usher shortly before the arguments to my case started.
The facts of the case: Guy gets woken up out of bed by a buddy and told that he was needed to drive him (buddy) to another's house. The driver (guy who was woken up) was told that the purpose of this venture was to drive to another's house (the victim) and "fuck him up". So the driver takes the buddy to the victim's house where they proceed to both attack. The driver (guy who was woken up) kicked the victim a few times, punched him several times, etc. As the buddy (the guy who was driven there) began to escalate the seriousness of the attack, the driver decides to leave. Upon leaving the house he hears a shot. It becomes clear that his buddy shot the victim. The driver is charged and convicted of 2nd Deg Murder for his part in both (1) driving his buddy to the scene of the murder and (2) participating in the substantial harm of the victim (even tho he himself didn't shoot). The issue before the court was whether the conviction should be REVERSED.
Well the legal part of this is too complicated to go into, but basically the Michigan Supreme Court was going to decide whether this guy would go away for years for murder, or rather to REVERSE that conviction.
Watching the lawyers both give their arguments to the 7 powerful people in the front of the room - I came to the realization that I was literarlly WATCHING the law change and form in front of me.
The justices are brilliant people. I know smart people. I'm around them every day at school and I try my best to fake my way as one of them. But these people in front of me were truly some of the most brilliant minds Michigan had to offer.
They shot questions at the lawyers (who by the way I think I could have done a better job answering than they did sometimes). Some of these questions were brutal. Basically ripping apart the atty's whole argument.
The chief justice spoke in a slow fatherly manner which I swear resembled the voice of God. Some of the justices seemed to get angry at the atty's. Some didn't say a word.
I was struck with the power that these people held. Most matters that affect our every day life the federal courts simply don't have Constitutional jurisdiction. These include property disputes, negligence claims, contract disputes, and probably the most important - Criminal cases. I was looking at the people who decide what the answers to these questions are.
If you look in the Michigan Compiled Laws you won't find a definition for Manslaughter. It'll refer to case law. Case law is written by the people I was watching up front. Lawyers were arguing what they thought the law should be and I was listening to the judge's questions as they decided what would happen to this driver.
These 7 men and women would decide the life of the driver, and I'll never forget my first hand opportunity to search their eyes, carefully in person, for a hint of what the future of Michigan law would be.
Michigan Supreme Court came to my school and held session for 3 cases. I signed up to here one of them, a criminal law case.
I walked thru a metal detector, which had previously not been in my school, and was guided in by an usher shortly before the arguments to my case started.
The facts of the case: Guy gets woken up out of bed by a buddy and told that he was needed to drive him (buddy) to another's house. The driver (guy who was woken up) was told that the purpose of this venture was to drive to another's house (the victim) and "fuck him up". So the driver takes the buddy to the victim's house where they proceed to both attack. The driver (guy who was woken up) kicked the victim a few times, punched him several times, etc. As the buddy (the guy who was driven there) began to escalate the seriousness of the attack, the driver decides to leave. Upon leaving the house he hears a shot. It becomes clear that his buddy shot the victim. The driver is charged and convicted of 2nd Deg Murder for his part in both (1) driving his buddy to the scene of the murder and (2) participating in the substantial harm of the victim (even tho he himself didn't shoot). The issue before the court was whether the conviction should be REVERSED.
Well the legal part of this is too complicated to go into, but basically the Michigan Supreme Court was going to decide whether this guy would go away for years for murder, or rather to REVERSE that conviction.
Watching the lawyers both give their arguments to the 7 powerful people in the front of the room - I came to the realization that I was literarlly WATCHING the law change and form in front of me.
The justices are brilliant people. I know smart people. I'm around them every day at school and I try my best to fake my way as one of them. But these people in front of me were truly some of the most brilliant minds Michigan had to offer.
They shot questions at the lawyers (who by the way I think I could have done a better job answering than they did sometimes). Some of these questions were brutal. Basically ripping apart the atty's whole argument.
The chief justice spoke in a slow fatherly manner which I swear resembled the voice of God. Some of the justices seemed to get angry at the atty's. Some didn't say a word.
I was struck with the power that these people held. Most matters that affect our every day life the federal courts simply don't have Constitutional jurisdiction. These include property disputes, negligence claims, contract disputes, and probably the most important - Criminal cases. I was looking at the people who decide what the answers to these questions are.
If you look in the Michigan Compiled Laws you won't find a definition for Manslaughter. It'll refer to case law. Case law is written by the people I was watching up front. Lawyers were arguing what they thought the law should be and I was listening to the judge's questions as they decided what would happen to this driver.
These 7 men and women would decide the life of the driver, and I'll never forget my first hand opportunity to search their eyes, carefully in person, for a hint of what the future of Michigan law would be.