...“My Cousin Vinny” versus the criminal justice system Though “My Cousin Vinny” is a good comedy it is a just parallel of the criminal justice system. In due course the procedures as outlined in our text, mirrors that of the movie. Though the movie does not show the reporting and only peripheral glances into the preliminary investigation of the crime, it is apparent that such events took place in accordance to the rules and regulations set forth by our judicial system. The crime as reported/discovered by the police was first degree felony robbery and murder. The store was robbed and the clerk was discovered shot to death. The charges stemming from the incident subsequently was murder in the first degree; armed robbery with serious bodily injury; criminal conspiracy, fleeing and alluding to avoid apprehension. As in present day policing the nature of the crime in its entirety was represented and in immediate investigation followed suit. Over the course of the movie time is ill represented yet all procedures are justly followed to the letter. It is not explained at what point the investigation of the four witness’s took place. As customary in reality when a crime is discovered an APB or all-points bulletin was cast. However, in accordance to chapter 4 of our text both defendants, Billy Gambini played by Ralph Macchio and his friend Stan Rothenstein played by Mitchell Whitfield, were pulled over due to reasonable suspicion. In this case reasonable suspicion was that two males...
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...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Monday, March 12, 2012 My Cousin Vinny: a story about legal education The Abnormal Use blog is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the release of the movie My Cousin Vinny by publishing a series of comments and interviews and also by sponsoring a multi-blog discussion on the movie. Go here to get more information. When my students ask me to recommend movies, I give them a list I have prepared over the years in which I have organized the titles under certain main “themes.” No one is surprised to see My Cousin Vinny on the list, but some are surprised I have listed it under the theme of “legal education.” So, I thought I’d use my contribution to the Abnormal Use blog’s celebration to explain why. One reason I place My Cousin Vinny under the theme of legal education is that it provides so much material you can use in the classroom. For example, you can use the movie to discuss criminal procedure, courtroom decorum, professional responsibility, unethical behavior, the role of the judge in a trial, efficient cross-examination, the role of expert witnesses and effective trial advocacy. Go here, here and here for more on this. But the reference to legal education goes deeper. I think you can use the movie to discuss the most common topic of debate within legal education itself. Interestingly, however, in My Cousin Vinny, the issue is turned on its head. After Vinny’s girlfriend Mona Lisa bails him out for a second time after having been...
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...To me, one of the most prominent themes in My Cousin Vinny would be the growth and change of each character throughout the movie. This change is seen in all of the major characters, whether it is a dramatic change or just a small change. One of the most notable changes in throughout this movie is the growth and change of Vinny Gambini, the lawyer and cousin of Bill Gambini. Other characters that represent growth and change in this movie include Judge Chamberlain, Stan Rothenstein and Bill Gambini, as well as the witnesses and jury. All of these characters show how time and experience can change someone, whether it is for the better, or not. One of the most notable changes in my opinion is the change that Vinny went through, from the time he rode into town in his leather coat, to the time he leaves town in a professional suit and tie. Though his suits may not be an important indicator of his change over time, I believe that it is a metaphor to his real growth and development both as a lawyer and as a person in general. In the beginning of the movie he appeared to be unqualified, and temperamental. As time went by and...
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...Knowledge Integration Exam Jeremy Thomas Gugliotta University of Maryland University College This case involving Angela has the ethical decision of what action to do is not that difficult to assess, using the information provided she must act accordingly within the parameters set forth by the law. Angela is a mid-level manager at a transitional pharmaceutical company who happens to be a widowed mother of 3, depending on her 80 thousand dollar salary from work. Angela has been very pleased to work for this employer due to their prestigious standings. The pharmaceutical company has just finished its second phase of testing on their new Ebola drug. The drug is a very important piece to the company and their strategic growth plan. One of the problems that the company must overcome is that of animal testing in an attempt to get approval from the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to begin their stage of human testing. Without successful human testing their drug will never possess the ability to go on the market. Unfortunately for Angela her boss in a private meeting requested that she change her report to show false information, to a federal agency, to assist the company. This in fact is the issue that Angela is faced with, what to do? When her boss requested this, it puts Angela in a very hard position; lie and hurt the company, or tell the truth and possibly be punished by the company? In falsifying a report to the FDA, Angela would be committing a felony. The request of such...
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...The movie, My Cousin Vinny, was a perfect mixture of court room drama with slap stick comedy. Though the elements of criminal justice and court room policies and procedures deviated somewhat from reality, the movie incited constructive debate for years to come. In the movie, Bill and Stan are pulled over and arrested. They had inadvertently taken a can of tuna without paying for it and they thought they were being arrested for shoplifting but little did they know, that was far from the case. The first thing that I noticed during the arrest is that the sheriff had his weapon pulled. The sheriff was arresting them because he thought they had committed a felony. He had every right to have his weapon drawn in this case. During the initial arrest Bill and Stan were not informed about what crime they had been arrested for, which they should have been. Once the young men were transported to the police station they were still not read their Miranda rights but they were asked if they knew their rights prior to being interrogated by the sheriff. After a few misleading questions and an obviously coerced confession they were made aware of what they were being accused of. Bill and Stan get implicated as suspects in a murder case. The booking process was unconventional at best, downright illegal at worst. The movie did not show whether or not they were formally booked which consists of positive identification, being informed of the charges against them and providing fingerprints and photographs...
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...My Cousin Vinny is a story centered around the trial of Bill and Stan, two Italian-American high school graduates from New York City who happen to get into trouble on the way to Los Angeles. During a stop in Alabama, they stop at a convenience store to get some food and accidentally shoplift a can of tuna. Soon after they leave, the store clerk is shot and killed and Billy and Stan are arrested and charged for murder. Since Bill and Stan, Italian Americans, are foreigners of the South and New Yorkers, also known as Yankees, the town people raise suspicion towards them. This comes from history of the feud between Yankees and Southerners as a result of each group’s largely different beliefs. Bill's family organize for a relative lawyer who is from the Bronx to defend them. Vinny, the lawyer, is inexperienced. Vinny comes to Alabama with his fiancé Lisa. Vinny and Lisa are both Italian American and New Yorkers. They are portrayed with a common mob culture stereotype associated with Italian-Americans. When they first get to the town they are dressed in all black leather, wearing gold and silver jewelry, and black sunglasses. Also when Lisa first steps out of the car she asks about...
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...This month marks the twentieth anniversary of the premiere of the film My Cousin Vinny and, to commemorate the occasion, our friends over at Abnormal Use have invited legal bloggers to post their thoughts on the film. Abnormal Use itself will feature a series of posts over the week, including interviews with Vinny’s producer and screenwriter. You should check them out. To me, Vinny is not only a great courtroom movie; it’s a great comedy. I think the comedic elements that make it so great come from the fact that we have two fishes out of water here — Brooklynite Vinny and the befuddled Beechum County citizens who are forced to deal with him. Both sides are aware of their difference, yet neither condescends to the other; they are all humble, likeable people searching for common ground. At one particularly bungling moment, Vinny’s fiancee mocks him, “Gotta let everyone know you’re a tourist.” As Vinny replies, “What are you, a f—— world traveler?” Vinny’s full of braggadocio and confidence, but he doesn’t think he knows it all. But the heart of comedy is an elusive subject and too often, in talking about it, the comedy slips through the critic’s fingers. And so I think, rather than analyzing what makes Vinnysuch a hilarious movie, I’ll stick to what I should know best: how Vinny rates as a courtroom movie, in terms of its courtroom realism. No movie makes perfect marks on this score. The urge for screenwriters and producers to crank up the courtroom drama always trumps the impulse...
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...Final Project: Fiction versus Reality CJS/220 May 7, 2011 Timothy Hanson There are many aspects of a working courtroom, and each aspect has a special value that it adds to justice proceedings. However, the courtroom proceedings seen in movies, or on television, are rarely the same as what. The reality of what happens in a courtroom has been completely sensationalized to make it more exciting. The complexity of what takes place in real life courtrooms has remained consistent throughout the years. Looking at the novelty of fictional drama and comparing that to what takes place in a traditional courtroom will show the differences, if any. Take into consideration the movie, “My Cousin Vinny.” This movie is mostly held in a courtroom. Included are the judge, the prosecution and defense attorneys, the jury, the bailiff, court recorder, witnesses, even an audience included in the scenes and processes of the case. While in a completely fictional movie, the roles and actions of each individual seem to be indicative of reality. Keeping in mind that there has been a major amount of comedic properties added to the characters of the movie to make it more entertaining, the true roles of the characters stayed very true to reality. The defense and prosecuting attorneys exchange information during discovery, and interviewing witnesses. Also involved, are the examinations and cross examinations done by the attorneys are very comparable to reality. Then there is the court...
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...To What Extent is Eddie Carbone the Tragic hero of the Play ? ‘A view from the bridge’, an intriguing play written by a graduated journalist named Arthur Miller. Miller was born in New York, 1915. He started to write plays while he was at University of Michigan, and even carried on after graduating. Miller grew up in Brooklyn; this was where the play was set. As Miller was trying to make a name for himself, he worked at a shipyard for two years. He heard stories form his Italian friends he works alongside about how some men coming over to work illegally and being betrayed. This is where ‘A View from the Bridge’ was first inspired. Tragedy: it is a dramatic event where the main character is tested in certain circumstances in which the characters real form becomes unmasked. Aristotle was a famous Greek philosopher and writer, who defined the word tragedy. He said it should represent ‘terrible and piteous’ and lead the audience to experience ‘catharsis’ or feel sorrow. Miller used this technique to create a modern equivalent of a Greek tragedy. In addition, Aristotle also said that every tragedy must have a tragic hero; the protagonist of the play. Aristotle also talks about how a “Tragic Hero” This essay will be exploring how Eddie could be the “Tragic Hero” of the play – “A View from the Bridge”. Aristotle’s definition of a “Tragic Hero” should be good at the beginning but not entirely as this unrealistic. The character should be “appropriate” – meaning men should be manly...
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...Ganssle Group logo In any electrical circuit, appliances and wiring will burn out to protect fuses. - Robert Byrnes Seminars Newsletter Videos Tool & Book Reviews Special Reports Articles Random Rants Computer Humor Contact/Search Memo To My Boss The logo for The Embedded Muse For novel ideas about building embedded systems (both hardware and firmware), join the 25,000+ engineers who subscribe to The Embedded Muse, a free biweekly newsletter. The Muse has no hype, no vendor PR. It takes just a few seconds (just enter your email, which is shared with absolutely no one) to subscribe. By Jack Ganssle Published in Embedded Systems Programming, November, 2001 MEMO To: Bob Smith, CEO From: Jake Schmidt Attch: resig.doc Dear Bob, I wanted to respond to your memo of the 16th. Circulated as it was to seemingly half the company I feel we developers are now operating under an insurmountable stigma. Yes, we all know the product shipped late. Very late. You want to know why the schedule was missed so badly, and want an action plan to assure this problem will never reoccur. I was just one of many developers on the project. Others on the team will probably respond with apologetic platitudes. However, you'll note my resignation is attached so I feel no pressure to paper over the very real problems with politically-correct but worthless suggestions. Let me assure you, that, contrary to your strongly-stated opinion, we were not "spending half our time surfing...
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...Quotes from Famous Directors about the Role of Music in Films Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Manhattan) "Too broad a question. Let's just say it covers a multitude of sins." Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep, Demonlover) "Usually I'm happy when the score doesn't spoil the film. Redundant music can absolutely put to pieces the work of actors.” Patrice Chéreau (La Reine Margot, Intimacy) "A film without music is one-legged. And I would prefer not to make cinema rather than return to an age without cinematic music." Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Conversation) "Music is a big factor in helping the illusion of the film come to life. The same way music brings back different periods of our lives." Roger Corman (The Little Shop of Horrors, The Trip) "Music best enhances a film when it evokes and modulates a specific emotional response in the audience to the unfolding story without the audience being aware of it. In Hollywood today, however, this can be difficult to achieve because very often music has to compete with louder and louder sound effects. As a consequence, there is a tendency for the music to oversimplify and overstate its themes. The manipulation of emotion in the audience has probably become cruder, generally speaking." Alex Cox "I don't think it does anymore, music is overused and someone should do a film without any music at all." Cameron Crowe (Jerry Maguire, Almost Famous) "The best soundtrack music by-passes your mind and goes straight to your soul. It sort of trips...
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...Jury Trial Analysis Paper University of Phoenix CJA/364 Criminal Procedure MU11BCJ05 Jury Trial Analysis The modern jury has evolved since about 1700 into a complex process involving a number of distinct steps (Zalman, 2008). Since the evolution of jury trials, the main goal is to form a jury panel, provide them with all the facts of the case, and decide a verdict. Each step that makes up the jury trial is unique within itself. It is unique because there is a starting point, finishing point, and steps in between. Every step is crucial and there is no room for error. The writer is going to discuss all of these steps in detail, and will also provide in depth analysis of constitutional trial rights enacted during a trial. One of the most important steps in a jury trial is jury selection. “First, the court or a jury commission creates a master jury list of all eligible jurors, using methods that produce a statistically accurate cross-section of the community” (Zalman, 2008. p. 544). Upon omission on the master jury list, each individual in the jury pool goes through a set of questions that will decide who qualifies, also known as voir dire. “The process of voir dire allows the judge, attorneys, or both to question jurors to determine whether they are biased” (Zalman, 2008. p. 544). Once the jury is selected, the court process begins with an opening statement that outlines the main points of the case. The lawyers often try to make good first impressions on jurors...
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...2015 GRADUATE POLICIES FROM 2013/2014 BULLETIN POLICY ON ACADEMIC HONESTY Academic dishonesty is a serious ethical and professional infraction. “Hofstra University places high value upon educating students about academic honesty. At the same time, the University will not tolerate dishonesty, and it will not offer the privileges of the community to the repeat offender.” Please refer to at the Graduate Policy at http://www.hofstra.edu/pdf/Faculty/Senate/senate_FPS_11G.pdf for details about what constitutes academic dishonesty, including plagiarism, and Hofstra’s procedures for handling violations. UNIVERSITY POLICY ON GRADUATE INCOMPLETE GRADES When requested by the student, the instructor may grant, at her/his discretion, a grade of Incomplete (‘I’). An ‘I’ grade should be given only when unforeseen circumstances prevent the student from completing course work on time. As part of the normal final-grade process, the instructor must submit an ‘I’ grade online to the Office of Academic Records/Registrar with a default grade, the grade the student will receive if the missing work is not completed. The default final grade must be a letter grade or a permanent Incomplete (‘INC’); a UW is not an acceptable default grade. In unusual circumstances, the faculty member may submit an ‘I’ grade without prior discussion with the student. The instructor will decide the time frame in which the student will complete the required course work. However, the deadline may not exceed...
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...THE ART OF DECEPTION Controlling the Human Element of Security KEVIN D. MITNICK & William L. Simon Foreword by Steve Wozniak Scanned by kineticstomp, revised and enlarged by swift For Reba Vartanian, Shelly Jaffe, Chickie Leventhal, and Mitchell Mitnick, and for the late Alan Mitnick, Adam Mitnick, and Jack Biello For Arynne, Victoria, and David, Sheldon,Vincent, and Elena. Social Engineering Social Engineering uses influence and persuasion to deceive people by convincing them that the social engineer is someone he is not, or by manipulation. As a result, the social engineer is able to take advantage of people to obtain information with or without the use of technology. Contents Foreword Preface Introduction Part 1 Behind the Scenes Chapter 1 Security's Weakest Link Part 2 The Art of the Attacker Chapter 2 When Innocuous Information Isn't Chapter 3 The Direct Attack: Just Asking for it Chapter 4 Building Trust Chapter 5 "Let Me Help You" Chapter 6 "Can You Help Me?" Chapter 7 Phony Sites and Dangerous Attachments Chapter 8 Using Sympathy, Guilt and Intimidation Chapter 9 The Reverse Sting Part 3 Intruder Alert Chapter 10 Entering the Premises Chapter 11 Combining Technology and Social Engineering Chapter 12 Attacks on the Entry-Level Employee Chapter 13 Clever Cons Chapter 14 Industrial Espionage Part 4 Raising the Bar Chapter 15 Information Security Awareness and Training Chapter 16 Recommended Corporate Information Security Policies Security at a Glance Sources...
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...Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 14:44 24 March 2014 Football, Violence and Social Identity Downloaded by [University of Ottawa] at 14:44 24 March 2014 As the 1994 World Cup competition in the USA again demonstrates, football is one of the most popular participant and spectator sports around the world. The fortunes of teams can have great significance for the communities they represent at both local and national levels. Social and cultural analysts have only recently started to investigate the wide variety of customs, values and social patterns that surround the game in different societies. This volume contributes to the widening focus of research by presenting new data and explanations of football-related violence. Episodes of violence associated with football are relatively infrequent, but the occasional violent events which attract great media attention have their roots in the rituals of the matches, the loyalties and identities of players and crowds and the wider cultures and politics of the host societies. This book provides a unique cross-national examination of patterns of order and conflict surrounding football matches from this perspective with examples provided by expert contributors from Scotland, England, Norway, the Netherlands, Italy, Argentina and the USA. This book will be of interest to an international readership of informed soccer and sport enthusiasts and students of sport, leisure, society, deviance and culture. Richard Giulianotti, Norman...
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