Race, Justice & Law: Final Project

Race, Justice and Law

Presented By: Mrs. Frame, Kyra Nathanson

Sarah Kaiser, Moseley Taylor, Tristan CombKatrina Bell, Liam McMahon, Brookes VranaMadeline Blais, Kim LaSpina and Jake Qiunn

What We DidCity Life

Law students at Boston University

Watched “Hard Time”

Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department

Juvenile Public Defender

CITY LIFE

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Tweet: @Qdoba with the #NHSJUA law and race group! Just took a bus and the T to Boston

University. -When we first got into the city we

quickly learned how to navigate throughout the streets.

We took the T and the buses and navigated ourselves throughout the city AKA we looked at a lot of maps.

We ate and shopped at Quincy Market.

What We ThoughtWe were overwhelmed, for the city is

much busier and more crowded than New Hampshire. We tried to stay together although some of us struggled to have a sense of direction. Brookes and Moseley enjoyed giving to the less fortunate, homeless men and woman around the city.

Law Students Boston University

Tweet: Just had some great interviews with Boston university law students it's been an unreal experience #nhsjua

We visited 3L’s (three years of law school). They explained how strenuous law school is as well as how much studying is involved when taking the BAR exam.

They taught us how to defend our rights.

They gave us good advice about future choices for the field of law.

We learned that if you get pulled over by a cop, they cannot search anything in your car that is out of the drivers reach. They are not legally allowed to search the trunk or glove box.

One law student made clear that “You should never take a breathalyzer test”.

What We ThoughtWe though that they were very friendly

and a good source of information. They were helpful of telling us what not to do if pulled over by a cop. Liam took extensive notes on how to deal with the police.

Suffolk County Jail

Tweet: Just had an amazing experience at the jail.... Don't want to be there in the future #NHSJUA

This is the common room of one of the units in Suffolk County. It consists of tables to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as a television and couches. The prisoners cells are lined all around the common area. The prisoners are usually in their cells for 23 hours of the day, though prison workers are allowed to lounge out of their cells.

Deputy Justin Plaza was our “tour guide” as well as our safety blanket while walking through the halls of Suffolk County. While in these units, the prisoners, still locked in their cells, yelled inappropriate comments in our direction.

This is one of the cells in Suffolk County. We walked into the prison with the stereotype of what the prison cells looked like that we learned from movies and television. There are no bars but doors with small windows. Each cell consists of two prisoners.

This is the view looking at Suffolk County. The building is so nice that most people don’t even know that it is a jail.

What We ThoughtThe jail was a life changing experience.

It made us appreciate what we have in everyday life. It was also a good scare. No one wanted to end up in that jail because it is an inhumane way of living.

Juvenile Public Defender

Tweet: had a great meeting with a public offender, asked great questions and found out some interesting points about adolescent prosecution #NHSJUA

We talked about statistics, how the crime rate stayed the same even though the amount of people incarcerated increased 400%.

We learned that a 14 year old can be tried as an adult and sent to an adult prison in MA.

We learned that the percentage of white people in prison decreased since 1980.

What We ThoughtSome of the statistics were surprising.

Most of our guesses at first were completely off. It gave us a better understanding of how the justice system works.