Blog 16: Independent Component #1

• LITERAL
  (a) Write: “I, Paula Montano, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 34 hours of work.”
  (b) Cite your source regarding who or what article or book helped you complete the independent component.
• I watched a total of 11 movies, and Rivas my amazing house teacher was the one who gave me the idea to watch the films and review them. And my mentor Noreen Barcena recommended me to watch Lincoln Lawyer.

• 

  A scene from End of Watch Bryan and Miguel are checking out a complaint.

  Movie

  To Kill A Mockingbird

  Lincoln Lawyer

  12 Angry Men

  The Witness for the Prosecution

  My Cousin Vinny

  Presumed Innocent

  A Few Good Men

  The Paper Chase

  And Justice For All

  Conviction

  End of Watch

  
  
• 
  (c) Update your hours in your Senior Project Hours link. Make sure it is clearly labeled with hours for individual sessions as well as total hours.
• 
  

  Date	Movie	Movie Length	Hours Spent
  12/21/2015	To Kill A Mockingbird	2 hrs 9 mins	4 hours
  12/22/2015	Lincoln Lawyer	1 hr 58 mins	3 hours 30 mins
  12/29/2015	12 Angry Men	1 hr 36 mins	3 hours
  12/31/2015	The Witness for the Prosecution	1 hr 56 mins	3 hours
  1/2/2016	My Cousin Vinny	2 hrs	3 hours 30 mins
  1/8/2016	Presumed Innocent	2 hrs 7 mins	3 hours
  1/9/2016	A Few Good Men	2 hrs 18 mins	3 hours 30 mins
  1/12/2016	The Paper Chase	1 hr 53 mins	3 hours
  1/15/2016	And Justice For All	2 hrs	3 hours
  1/21/2016	Conviction	1 hr 47 mins	2 hrs 30 mins
  1/25/2016	End of Watch	1 hr 49 mins	2 hours 23 mins
  Total Time:	34 hours 23 mins

  
  
• (d) Explain what you completed.    
• I watched 11 criminal justice films, and reviewed them. I was able to see different scenarios and interpret them in whichever way I wanted.
• INTERPRETIVE 
  Defend your work and explain its significance to your project and how it demonstrates 30 hours of work.   Provide evidence (photos, transcript, art work, videos, etc) of the 30 hours of work.  
  



I was watching "To Kill a Mockingbird" and I was taking a break from watching the movie. I stopped at this scene and it made me giggle so I had fun with it,

• Each movie was able to show me a bit of what the criminal justice is like. They might be films, but when it comes to film there has to be an influence of real life. Courtroom scenarios, attorneys strategies, and police procedures are some of the important factors I was able to get from this.
• APPLIED
• How did the component help you understand the foundation of your topic better?  Please include specific examples to illustrate this. 
• I already knew that everything in the criminal justice system was one big web, but watching these films gave me an idea of how it works when you focus on just one specific branch of the criminal justice system. The court room is a complete different process to what its like when someone is actually being arrested. I was able to view it from the jury, convict, and the attorneys side. The fact that evidence was really important was a repeating factor I saw.

Blog 15: Lesson 2 Reflection

1.What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?
I'm most proud of my activity, I was nervous that people wouldn't participate. As I was walking around I was able to see that people were actually putting an effort into thinking about it. No one was was just sitting there as I came around to check up on them.

2. a.     What assessment would you give yourself on your Lesson 2 Presentation (self-assessment)?

       AE       P          AP       CR       NC

I would give myself an AP/P. I feel like I could've done better, but from what my peers tell me I did good and knew what I was talking about. I knew everything I wanted to say, but there was moments where I would let my nerves get to me, and get a bit lost.

     b.     Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.
From what my peers were telling me I was clear, and I was a professional about it. I spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, and managed to get their attentions as I was presenting. In my opinion I organized my lesson the correct way by doing my activity first. It was an easier transition that benefited me.In could have explained my answer a bit more into detail, but I don't feel like I lost any of them during my presentation.

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?
I was able to get the classes attention at the beginning, and keep it during the rest of the presentation. They participated, and gave their thoughts when I was walking around during the lesson.I know my topic, and I was able give the presentation without completely looking at my slide the entire time. 

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?
If I could go back I would make sure to double check all my materials, and make sure any errors are corrected. Not everyone noticed I made a mistake, but I still told everyone, in case they were to shy to say anything.

5. What do you think your answer #2 is going to be?
I already have a few more events that I can use for my answer two, but I just need to do a but more research on them.

Blog 14: Third Interview Preparation

1.  Who do you plan to interview?  What is this person's area of expertise?
I plan to interview 

I plan to interview my mentors dad, Gustavo Barcena. He is an attorney with more then 20 years of experience. I have interacted with him while at mentor ship, and I think he'd be a great person to interview. He has so much experience and getting to get his perspective of the law would be great.

2.  Verify that you have called your interviewee to schedule an interview.  What is the date and time of the interview? 

I have not yet verified a date with Mr.Barcena, yet i see him every week at mentor ship he has not yet confirmed a day in which we can have an uninterrupted session. I plan to interview him this month and if that doesn't happen than the first week of February will be a definite time.

3.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you find research resources that would help to answer the EQ.

How can I work on expanding my connections, to use as resources? Throughout your early years of experience how did you increase your horizons?

4.  Phrase an open-ended question that will help you think about other useful activities you might do to help you answer the EQ (IC2, possible experts to talk to, etc).

After I introduce my EQ.....Who can I talk to? Or what can I get involved with that can teach me more? 

5.  Phrase two open-ended questions that help you to understand your interviewee's perspective on an aspect of your EQ. 

1) From your experience is there a difference in the American Justice System from when you first started, to were it is today?

2) Is there a particular law passed over the course of your career that really became a game changer in the world of law?

3) What are some of your court experiences like now vs. how they were in the beginning?

4) Do you think that there are any major events that have influenced our American Justice system,if so how do you think it would be if they hadn't have happened?

Blog 13: 10 Hour Mentorship Check-In

1.   Where are you doing your mentorship?

I am doing my mentorship at Law Offices of Noreen L. Barcena, located in East LA.

2.   Who is your contact?  What makes this person an expert?

I am doing my mentorship with Noreen Barcena, who is an immigration, family, and criminal justice attorney. She has a practice in East LA, along with her father and some other associates. She has been practicing law for about 2 years and a half, and also has a lot of connections which is very important to have, as an attorney.

3.   How many  hours have you done during the school year? (Summer Mentorship Hours and Mentorship Hours should be reflected separately in your Senior Project Hours log located on the right hand side of your blog).

I have completed 13 hours with my mentor. There's usually times when we can't meet, but the times we do meet they are productive, and my mentor is great at including me as much as she can.

4.   Succinctly summarize what you did, how well you and your mentor worked together, and how you plan to complete the remaining hours.

During mentorship depending on whether there is a client to meet that day, I can sit in and observe the process. Other days when she doesn't have clients coming in we sit in her office and discuss some of her past cases, or she lets me ask her any questions I have. She also tells me about her training she has to go through every year. Basically she lets me in on as much as she can, and I find it really interesting and a great learning environment. I plan to start going twice a week for a couple of hours.

Blog 12: Holiday Project Update

1.  It is important to consistently work on your senior project, whether it is break or we are in school.  What did you do over the break with your senior project?

During my break I was having a lot of fun until, I remembered about the senior project. I figured something had to get done. So during my break I looked for some material I could use for research check, and some films I could use for my IC. 

             

 Some movies for my IC:                                       1) Lincoln Lawyer

                 2) To Kill A Mocking Bird

                 3) Fixing the System (VICE)

                 4) The Trials of Darryl Hunt

                 5) The Iceman Tapes

          

2.  What was the most important thing you learned from what you did, and why?  What was the source of what you learned?

The most important piece of information I obtained was about the five components of the criminal justice system. I was reading an article that talked about the importance of these components and how they all work together, 

  

3.  Your third interview will be a 10 question interview related to possible answers for your EQ. Who do you plan to talk to and why?

I plan to interview my mentors well respected father who is an attorney, can really help me because he's so experienced.