A Hypothetical Dilemma of Ethics

I am going to write this hypothetically…to see what you guys think. I honestly need a bit of advice about this topic. I am very protective of my time, privileged information, and being subjected to gossip/nonsense when dealing with my education.

With that said, here are the issues and my questions of these “hypothetical” situations:

Issue and Question 1:

Imagine if you are a client, and your paralegal teaches pre-law students in the area of legal research and writing. It would be safe to say that such paralegal with a good legal education (completion of law school) should and would disclose whether or not they have been granted a release to use a case for teaching purposes.

My question is:

Without the disclosure to you, as a student, would you assume that the client has signed such a release, and should that release be provided with coursework in writing? How do you approach the hypothetical breach of the privilege of the instructor’s client?

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Issue and Question 2:

Imagine that you are a student in a law-oriented writing class, and the professor discloses some information that you feel is protected under the attorney-client privilege. The clues given in class lead you to knowing what to search for to find the person they are talking about, and you find that person.

My question is:

Would you speak to the professor about your issue with divulging privileged information, or would you go to the person that oversees the law program? If you have a better relationship with the program director, does this change your answer?

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Issue and Question 3:

Imagine that you have to sit in a classroom for nearly 4 hours listening to lecture. (Time is precious in this long of a class.)You would expect the professor to lecture and give supportive material to the reading in this time period. You would also expect that you would learn something in that 4 hours. Instead, you are given class materials in printed form, which are then read to you by the professor…with no learning methods applied to those materials.

No lecture…just a person reading to you in front of the class.

Imagine then after being read to for nearly an hour and a half of class time that you get told to take a 20 minute break. After the break is over, you go back to class expecting to begin the next part of the lecture, except you sit there for another 20 minutes while the instructor gossips, shows their Facebook and Instagram to talk about their cats, and takes forever to get back to lecture.

After realizing that there is only an hour of class left after all of this nonsense, the instructor rushes through over 100 slides…reading every single one to the class without any additional lecture.

My question is:

What would you do? Would you feel like your time is being wasted?

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I will be eager to see what you would do in these hypotheticals…it’s a moral and ethical dilemma for a very eager pre-law student that needs our help 🧐 That may or may not be me.

(*disclaimer*: any information provided in this post may or may not be real facts)

In community,

Amy

Bullies for Baldwin

claytoonz

A 72-year-old man is the suspect in a mass shooting yesterday that killed ten and injured ten more in a dance studio in Monterey Park, California. The shooting occurred while the city’s large Asian American community was celebrating Lunar New Year weekend. The suspected shooter killed himself in a van after a standoff with police. The first reaction from the right was “Yay, the shooter’s not a white guy.”

Look at what Donald Trump Jr tweeted. “You think you’d hear a lot more about the mass shooting of 10 people in California… But don’t worry you won’t hear anything about it because it wasn’t done by a white conservative man with an assault rifle. Doesn’t work for the narrative so it basically never happened!”

Trumpy Jr didn’t even pause to phone in thoughts and prayers. He immediately politicized it to attack the media. And the reason he feels the need…

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A Republic — If You Can Keep It

Filosofa's Word

Legend has it a woman asked Benjamin Franklin a question as he exited Independence Hall after the Constitutional Convention in 1787. “Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy?” Franklin supposedly replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”

As I’ve expressed before, I keep looking around at what’s happening in this country, both in our government and among our society, and I’m not liking what I see in either place.  I see a nation divided, one in which half the population is increasingly bigoted, intolerant of those who either don’t look, act, or think in the same manner as they do.  I see a nation in which violence is becoming an accepted norm.  I see a situation that is untenable, that must either be resolved by peaceful means, by acceptance and mutual cooperation, else will be resolved by violent means.  With the Big Lie that began even…

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Update: College is Legit!

Photo by Frans van Heerden on Pexels.com

Hi everyone!

I am happy that I have not waited nearly four months to do a post! I just got home from my full day of Monday classes, and OMG! I should have gotten more sleep LOL!!

All I will say (without revealing too much of my actual schedule) is that getting up at 7 AM and listening to lectures until nearly 10 PM is going to take some practice. I am going to need to find the happy medium on keeping alert enough to drive home. Normally, I am not out after dark, and I got a little sleepy on my way home because the heat was up. I made it though 🤗

Before I start…oh wait. I already started. 🤣

So, before I continue, let me just say that I am not complaining about my classes. I really enjoy this semester (besides the Keyboarding 2 still). Legit is good! It means that I am being challenged, which sometimes is rare for me. I don’t mean that to “toot my own horn”, it’s just the fact of my experience throughout life. School was always so easy for me. Previous college classes were super easy for me. The only subjects that I struggled with were in subjects that I hated, like Statistics and Biology.

My takeaway is that I give these professors big…actually, HUGE…kudos for working all day, going to court, etc., and then giving me a piece of their time to teach me what they do. The way I think about things has already been enhanced (not altered) when thinking about all things concerning law, democracy, constitutional rights, and human rights. It’s a different way to see the values involved in the paralegal profession along with the integrity someone has to have to be a paralegal or legal assistant. Even the office assistants that sit at the front desk get my respect.

With my eyes struggling to look at anymore words tonight, I will close this post for now. This one may get an update after update. It will be good to see the progress on this post.

In community,

Amy

[Honouring] Dr. Martin Luther King … — Filosofa’s Word

If you look inside my personal dictionary, you would see “A life worth celebrating” as the definition of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He will always be one of my influencers, and I do idolize him. Even though James Earl Ray took him from the world far too soon, his voice lives in the souls of those that loved and respected him. His voice sings into the ears of the people who are just now learning his name, and his memory sits with the fallen heroes that fell in the fight for social justice.

Thank you, Dr. King for making me a better person.

Please take some time to read what Jill has shared below. Click the link to read the entire article.

Today is Martin Luther King Day, a federal holiday in the United States to honour one of the greatest men who ever lived in this country.  I first wrote this tribute to Dr. King in 2017, and each year I reprise it, with slight changes or minor additions, for I find that it still says […]

Honouring Dr. Martin Luther King … — Filosofa’s Word

Spring 2023 Classes

Hi everyone! My Spring 2023 semester will begin on January 17, and it will run until May 24. I had hoped to catch up on here more before the next one started, but life happens. This semester is going to be nose-in-the-book the entire semester. I will try to come up for air when I need the break.

Here are my classes (in no particular order):

I am excited for the majority of those classes, especially the legal research and the civil procedures. I am also stoked to take the law class with one of my favorite instructors from the Fall. The bottom two classes are needed for my Pathway to Law program, and the other three are focused within the paralegal degree.

Instructors should realize that first impressions matter from the students that are accessing the material ahead of time. The reason I say this is because of the first class on the list… He is going to have to work hard at gaining my trust and respect because right now…I’m a bit ticked off.

The reason that I am not excited about the Keyboarding one because of the rules he sets forth seem to be an invasion of privacy and resemble being treated like an 8th grader. I am stoked to learn the advanced features of Word, but I will have to see how him and I get along after the first class. The first impression against him is negative for me after viewing the syllabus and supporting documents.

For example, I buy all my books for school through VitalSource because of the features that accompany the books. So, my tablet will be the main source of my textbook for that class. Sometimes I bring the Fire, and sometimes I bring my laptop. I am pre-law. I have a lot of stuff I don’t want to close out, and I have all my books open to where I left off.

His rule is that every Tuesday when I come to class that I have to bring my tablet up to him for an inspection to gain his approval to use it. Not once…but EACH class period. Then he says my brightness has to be high enough for him to see it when he walks by, and I am only allowed one tab to be open when he inspects it.

It feels juvenile to me, and I am not comfortable with my device being inspected by someone like that. I may have to visit him before or after class to go over what I feel is acceptable of my devices.

Am I being petty, or is it the career path that I am on that thinks this is a huge invasion of privacy?

As a 46 yo woman, I am not going to be snapping or tweeting while I am in class. I am not going to be going live on IG, and I would be bringing my devices to class to work on work in his class. It makes me wonder if anyone else has freaked out about his rules, or if I am just a pain in the ass lol.

In Community,

Amy

Daily Prompt: Living Forever

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Do you want to live forever?

#dailyprompt

I could not imagine living forever, but I also fear dying and watching and feeling myself age.

The ideal situation would be vampirism, I suppose. I would have wanted to freeze myself from aging at around 30. I liked my 30s more than my 20s and 40s. I wouldn’t want to be stuck as a teenager or child because of all the trauma I experienced in those years. However, fangs to attack those that attacked me would have been awesome. I spent a large amount of my younger years being bullied and abused. Thank goodness I am not a person that holds grudges LOL.

When thinking of all that comes with vampirism and the myths…I am not sure that drinking blood and fearing the daylight would prove to be more desirable. There is always a choice of what is acceptable in our lives. Drinking blood and only coming out at night sounds like a better option than losing my life.

While it is unnatural to live forever, it’s also unnatural to be an immortal being. Is there really a choice?

Maybe.

I am not one of those that believe in heaven and hell. If I was to summarize my perception of heaven and hell, I would say that we are already living in hell, and when we die…we go back into the Earth and are reincarnated to live a different life. Life is energy, and it recycles itself. That’s why we get deja vu…

Now back to the question…no. I would not want to live forever. I would just want a life that I would never forget.

Thoughts On Human Adaptability … And Hearing! [Reblog]

This is a must read! Take a few minutes and feel the words she is speaking about human conditioning. It’s when we stop accepting “new normals” that change is made.
In Community,
Amy

Filosofa's Word

For Christmas, my daughter bought me a set of hearing aids.  Now, I was born with defective ears, and when I was very young, I think around 8 years old, I tried hearing aids … this was back in the late 1950s when hearing aids meant a box strapped to the chest with wires leading from the box to big, bulky pieces in both ears.  Well, long story short, they didn’t work out for me and the audiologist said that my particular hearing problem could not be resolved with hearing aids.  As I aged, the problem grew worse and today I am about 95% deaf.  But, with the improvements in the hearing aid technology in recent years, my daughter thought it was worth a shot.  Her order was delayed, so it was a late Christmas present, arriving just before New Year’s, and a complete surprise to me, for while we…

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So, Where Do We Go From Here?

This is a great read concerning the state of the House of Reps with McCarthy in the seat that none of us with a sound mind wanted him in. In redistricting here in California, I got the displeasure of having this man elected as my district’s representative. I will be a huge thorn in his side because he works for me.

This article is great, and I thank my Sis, Jill, for sharing the post from Robert Hubbell. Please take some time to read her post and visit the original post here:
https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/the-loyal-opposition?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
In Community,
Amy

Filosofa's Word

As he so often does, Robert Hubbell has done an excellent job of summarizing the events of last week in the U.S. House of Representatives and what the coming weeks/months might bring.

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The loyal opposition!

January 9, 2023

By Robert Hubbell

After the painful spectacle of Kevin McCarthy’s election as Speaker late Friday, I opened the Comments section to all readers to allow them to express their feelings about the confluence of the January 6th anniversary and McCarthy’s corrupt bargain to become Speaker. Several hundred readers took the opportunity to express themselves. Understandably, feelings of upset, anger, disappointment, and dejection were more common than usual from readers of this newsletter. While there is much to discuss regarding what McCarthy’s election as Speaker portends for America, those details will unfold over time (and may shift in the coming days). I want to start my discussion with the emotional reaction to McCarthy’s…

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Not A Nice Man — Filosofa’s Word

The following is from an email by evangelical Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, an ultra-conservative ‘Christian’ hate group … Earlier this week, President Biden signed the so-called Respect for Marriage Act, which not only codifies same-sex marriage into federal law but also opens wide the door to endless litigation and persecution of […]

Not A Nice Man — Filosofa’s Word

Catching Up

So, while I was away, my theme started asking me questions and giving me prompts when I start a post. That’s pretty awesome if you are trying to figure out what to write about.

LOL see how easily I am amused 🤣It feels awesome to be back!

I feel like I have been gone a year, but I think my last post was in August after my surgery. All has gone well with the surgery. I had my cast off within 11 days, and I do not have the nerve pain in my right arm anymore (except in my armpit, which is the torn labrum). Three days after that surgery, I started classes full-time, and I lost the time to spend with my blog and all of you.

Here are pictures of my hand and elbow:

My homework for my Introduction to Paralegalism was comparative to what I would be doing on the job, and an assignment with just 10 questions could turn out to be 7-10 pages depending on how layered the question was. I did well. It felt good at the end of the semester when my professor asked me for all the .docx files to use in future classes as an example of what she is looking for when students complete their homework.

This class also opened my eyes to the Pathway to Law Program, and I am currently working on my application for that. For the first time, it feels like law school is not far away.

My ETHN 001 class (Black American Studies) was so interesting, and I learned so much about my craft in that class. There was a needed discomfort in the course material, and I fell in love with my path even more with the addition of that class.

Legal Terminology was simple for me because I was familiar with all of the terms through case law research and past experiences with the legal system.

One of my elective classes was Sociology of Deviance, and that was a pretty cool class. It gave a different perspective on deviance on a variety of issues, like drug abuse, mental illness, privileged/underprivileged crimes, etc.

The last class was my Business Communications, which covered business plans, reports, letters, presentations, etc. I did complete that class with a 96%, and all grades are in for that one.

In other news, I did get to go watch my New Orleans Saints play the 49ers at Levi Stadium up in the San Jose area. It was fun, but I do prefer watching them at home and yelling at my television screen. 😂

As soon as my other four final grades post up, I will show you all the fruits of my labor. 😊

Peek a Boo

Photo by Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.com

I just got done with finals! It really was one of my hardest semesters of college, and I apologize that I had to go radio silent.

I love being here more than anything, but I am easily distracted. In order to achieve the highest success in my classes, I had to be quiet for a little bit.

It paid off! My grades are sitting pretty, and I am waiting on grades for 3 finals, a final presentation, and 2 homework assignments before my final grade reveals itself. My face has been buried in my laptop learning new skills in my trade, and I definitely got more knowledge than I could have imagined or expected.

You guys get me for a month before my next set of classes takes me away again. I have all kinds of news to share, and I have missed blogging with all of you!

In community,

Amy!

I made it home from surgery

I made it home from surgery

♫ How Can You Mend A Broken Heart ♫ — Filosofa’s Word

My bestie and long distance sister shared this beautiful song with me after I mentioned it is one of my favorites by Al Green. I didn’t know that the Bee Gees wrote this song, and I love the Bee Gees also. One of these days I need to share my music with all of you. I have a pretty eclectic list of music that would appeal to everyone.

Thanks, dear Sis for sharing this song with me! I love ya!!!!

xoxo Amy

Sometimes, I actually remember when someone asks me to play a certain song, but most often things don’t stick around in my brain for very long!  Luckily, I wrote this one down when my dear friend Amy asked me to play it!  Unluckily, I forgot I had written it down and just came across my […]

♫ How Can You Mend A Broken Heart ♫ — Filosofa’s Word

My CNN 5 Things ~ 7/26/2022

I recently signed up to receive CNN’s 5 Things, which is a newsletter that comes to your email with the top 5 things happening around the world.

This was the collection today:

1: January 6

Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to return to Washington, DC, today for the first time since leaving office. He is set to make a speech at a policy summit for former aides and officials from his administration. Trump’s appearance comes in the wake of fresh evidence from the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot and new testimony released by the committee that revealed the then-President crossed out lines in a speech condemning lawbreakers. President Joe Biden also fired off his harshest criticism yet of his predecessor, saying law enforcement officers on January 6 were subject to a “medieval hell” for three hours while Trump watched the violence unfold. 

2: Abortion

Indiana lawmakers reconvened on Monday to consider more restrictions on abortion, the first state to hold a special session with the goal of potentially curtailing abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Indiana’s Senate Republicans, who have control of the state’s legislature, said they hope to have a final vote on the abortion ban by Friday. If passed, the bill would go into effect on September 1. Although many states nationwide are examining their laws after Roe v. Wade’s reversal, particular attention has been paid to Indiana after a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio crossed state lines to get an abortion. Separately, medical students at the University of Michigan are receiving attention on social media for walking out of their induction ceremony to protest a keynote speaker with anti-abortion views.

3: Covid-19

Since testing positive for Covid-19 last week, President Joe Biden said he is “feeling great” as his symptoms begin to wane. On Monday, Biden’s physician said his symptoms had “almost completely resolved” after five days with the illness. “So far, everything’s good,” Biden said, adding that he’s been participating in various tests every evening, checking “everything, from the temperature to the oxygen in my blood, to my pulse.” The White House has sought to underscore that Biden’s symptoms have been mild because he is vaccinated and boosted, and he began a course of the antiviral Paxlovid as soon as he tested positive. Separately, two key moderate senators — Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska — said they have tested positive for Covid-19.

4: Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia is waging an “overt gas war” against Europe, after announcing it would further reduce gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline — a vital artery linking Russia’s vast gas reserves to Europe. European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson called the move a “politically motivated step” with “no technical reason” behind it. On the ground, Russian forces have made small advances in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine amid intense shelling along the front line. And in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner made a brief court appearance in Moscow today as her defense team presented evidence. Griner, who was arrested at a Russian airport in February for carrying cannabis oil in her luggage, will be cross-examined as part of her drug trial on Wednesday, her lawyers said.

5: Marriage equality

Democrats are reacting with immense scrutiny to Republicans’ opposition to codifying same-sex marriage, with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg becoming the latest Democrat to chime in on the hot button issue. Buttigieg, who is gay, recently reacted to comments from Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who said it’s a “stupid waste of time” to vote on a bill that protects same-sex marriage. “If [Rubio’s] got time to fight against Disney, I don’t know why he wouldn’t have time to help safeguard marriages like mine.” While the Democrat-led House of Representatives last Tuesday voted to pass a bill that would enshrine protections for same-sex marriage into federal law, it still remains unclear whether the bill can pass the Senate. And in an interesting turn of events, Republican congressman Glenn Thompson attended his gay son’s wedding last week, three days after opposing the bill in the US House that would protect same-sex marriage. 

CNN, Alexandra Meeks

That’s a lot of news to take in, but Alexandra Meeks did a great job of collecting the news to start my day and reflect upon. The first Thing she shares about Trump (Orange #45) made me nauseated. He does not belong anywhere in or near D.C. unless it is to be arrested by federal agents.

Did you ever think that the main news topics in 2022 would be about marriage equality, abortion for a 10-year-old, a madman inciting violence, a pandemic that is political, and a war overseas with another madman?

There are just so many biased decisions being made by the people we elect, and I feel a sense of urgency when I read these stories, as we all should feel this way. Our country is one that is unrecognizable, and I fear for my grandchild and my children who have to become adults into this detriment. We somehow managed to break the world back to the 1800s.

In Community,

Amy