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Misconduct In Pre-Court Cases

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On Monday, July 25, I spent most of my time reviewing the trials scheduled for this Tuesday. Rather than attending pre-trial conferences with Liz this Tuesday, Kathleen has permitted me to sit in on one of her bargaining meetings, so I decided to only research the afternoon trials that I will sit in on rather than the usual cases scheduled for pre-trial. I am excited for this opportunity to learn more about contract law and to observe the proceedings of a bargaining meeting. There are two cases set for trial on Tuesday, each being some form of theft. The first case is retail theft, meaning that Liz must prove that the defendant violated Manitowoc municipal code ordinance 14.600 (2) stating that the defendant intentionally altered indicia of …show more content…

Often times, this kind of evidence is not admitted due to a lack of relevance to this case or attempting to use the defendant’s character as proof that he/she is guilty is this case. As a research project, Liz had me find some ways to admit prior cases of theft using the book Evidentiary Foundations: Seventh Edition by Edward J Imwinkelried which gives an in depth explanation of the Federal Rules of Evidence. I found that according to rule 404(b), the prosecution may introduce evidence of uncharged misconduct in order to serve as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, etc. I then compiled a draft of a direct examination in which Liz would be able to admit information about the defendant’s history of theft onto the record. Liz was impressed with the line of question that I came up with, and even incorporated it into the direct examination that she would give on …show more content…

I noticed this particular phenomenon this week in the bargaining meeting between the city and the transit union. Something brought up in the meeting was that the union wants funeral leave for the death of an aunt or uncle added into their contract, and brought up a story of a former transit driver not receiving leave for the death of his uncle to justify why this additional leave is necessary. From a legal standpoint, Kathleen rejected the union’s proposal, because most employment contracts do not include leave for the death of an aunt or uncle, and as a lawyer, she was not convinced by their sob story. I think that narrowing stories down the the legal aspect is an important trait of a lawyer, however, in some cases (especially criminals, domestic violence, etc.) it is also important to consider what the client has to say about the situation. I think

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