L leaves the district, unconquered

Yesterday was the last day of my internship and I'll be back to where I belong on Monday. As to the questions I've posed in my first post, here are my thoughts as of today:

1. What makes the Real World real?
The knowledge of your own mortality and mundaneness. The constant weight of your own responsibilities. And the alienation you feel from strangers.

2. How often are people convicted of crimes they didn't commit?
More often then necessary. More often than I thought.

3. What drives people to crime?
I now believe that anybody is capable great violence, but the circumstances of each are so varied that we can never really pinpoint and eradicate it. In many cases, I think crime is borne of humanness and that desire for others to recognize our humanness.

4. What is public defense and what is its purpose?
In other posts, I have spoken of my answer to this question, which is a mix of the virtues of the adversarial justice system and the recognition of the humanity of those we must defend.

5. Can justice ever really be served in the American criminal law system?
That depends on what justice is. If justice is the ability of a jury to render a verdict of "guilty" upon those who have committed a crime, and "not guilty" upon those who have not committed a crime, it's a question that no longer concerns me. I think my sense of justice is one where all of us recognize the humanness of violence and grant everyone the dignity they deserve as human beings.

As for me, I will be studying diligently for my LSAT and, maybe one day, I will return to these streets I have grown to love as an attorney.

All of this was made possible by my amazing benefactors, whose generosity and vision know no bounds. To them, and my wise friends who have offered me good counsel throughout the summer, I send my love and appreciation.

Thanks for reading,

L

L conquers the original

An inmate once told me that the district is the original. We do everything different, he said. For one, the music is unique, he tells me, citing the go-go movement. And crime is different here too, gangs haven't really penetrated the district, because, as he put it, every man has to stand on his own two feet.

The lack of organized crime, however, is more frightening than comforting. With organized crime, there's a rhythm to violence. You know exactly who you need to appease to survive. You know exactly how much your life is worth to them. And you know when you might die. But the district specializes in random violence that isn't exactly random. Sure, those who live risky lifestyles are in more danger, but there are still too many who stumble onto violence unwittingly. I almost would prefer organized crime, where at least you know where the mines are.

In most ways, however, there is nothing original about violence. It's as old as time itself, and I often wonder if is stitched into our DNA.