Mr. Amsterdam would be an ideal mentor for my capstone because he has a huge amount of experience with law. Of all the teachers and other staff here at SLA, I feel like Mr. Amsterdam’s expertise could benefit me most with this project. Mr. Amsterdam will help me dig deep within law and to document his personal experiences along with my desired research.
Focus: Researching and learning about two different points of views within law (from a lawyer’s perspective and from the other side of the fence).
For as long as I could remember I have been a huge fan of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and The First 48 etc. However, it makes for good television I believe that there is always more to the story than what they show. With this project I really want to learn more of the legal process that lawyers and offenders follow often. I would really like to see the ins and outs of what lawyers go through daily with their line of work. I want to inform people and let them know that there is more than a person just being arrested. People should know that there are specific procedures, protocols and courses of action that needs to be taken when dealing with law.
Proposal: A possible documentary that splits the focal points of two points.
Since I want to focus in on two different viewpoints of the legal system, a documentary would be the most effective presentation for my capstone. In my documentary I would go in depth with the two sides and show my audience just what these two parties deal with on a daily basis. I would like the documentary to be no more than an hour in length.
Reflection:
Getting this far with the capstone project has been the most challenging thing that I’ve ever had to do. Since I wanted to do a project that focuses on law, I had the difficult task of actually narrowing down what I wanted to look at more closely in the process. Other than that I feel that I am off to a great start with this. I am really anxious to see just where I am going with this capstone. It will be interesting to watch this baby evolve and become a fully polished senior product at the end. One thing that I am really excited about is working with Mr. Amsterdam because I think that he will challenge my logic and well as push me to go deep below the surface with this.
Timeline:
1). Have a sit-down with Mr. Amsterdam to discuss further ideas for the capstone once a week, 2 weeks 1/21-2/4/
2). Set up meetings with District Attorney
Documentation:
Written: I will be keeping track of the notes that I take when I talk to Mr. Amsterdam and my outside mentor by using a notebook.
Core Values In Capstone:
INQUIRY
o How does one own thoughts in the criminal process affect an individual?
o How does one (i.e. lawyers and offenders) interact with the surrounding world when going through this process? RESEARCH
o Different types of law (specific courses criminal justice and law majors take) COLLABORATION
o Talk to Mr. Amsterdam about his own personal experiences with law PRESENTATION
o A well edited, polished documentary that demonstrates the perspectives of two worlds
o A written component that demonstrates my growth over the past couple of months REFLECTION
o Throughout the course of the project I will be documenting what I learn as I interact with the district attorney.
SLA Mentor: Mr. Amsterdam
Outside Mentor:
Mr. Amsterdam would be an ideal mentor for my capstone because he has a huge amount of experience with law. Of all the teachers and other staff here at SLA, I feel like Mr. Amsterdam’s expertise could benefit me most with this project. Mr. Amsterdam will help me dig deep within law and to document his personal experiences along with my desired research.
Focus: Researching and learning about two different points of views within law (from a lawyer’s perspective and from the other side of the fence).
For as long as I could remember I have been a huge fan of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit and The First 48 etc. However, it makes for good television I believe that there is always more to the story than what they show. With this project I really want to learn more of the legal process that lawyers and offenders follow often. I would really like to see the ins and outs of what lawyers go through daily with their line of work. I want to inform people and let them know that there is more than a person just being arrested. People should know that there are specific procedures, protocols and courses of action that needs to be taken when dealing with law.
Proposal: A possible documentary that splits the focal points of two points.
Since I want to focus in on two different viewpoints of the legal system, a documentary would be the most effective presentation for my capstone. In my documentary I would go in depth with the two sides and show my audience just what these two parties deal with on a daily basis. I would like the documentary to be no more than an hour in length.
Reflection:
Getting this far with the capstone project has been the most challenging thing that I’ve ever had to do. Since I wanted to do a project that focuses on law, I had the difficult task of actually narrowing down what I wanted to look at more closely in the process. Other than that I feel that I am off to a great start with this. I am really anxious to see just where I am going with this capstone. It will be interesting to watch this baby evolve and become a fully polished senior product at the end. One thing that I am really excited about is working with Mr. Amsterdam because I think that he will challenge my logic and well as push me to go deep below the surface with this.
Timeline:
1). Have a sit-down with Mr. Amsterdam to discuss further ideas for the capstone once a week, 2 weeks 1/21-2/4/
2). Set up meetings with District Attorney
Documentation:
Written: I will be keeping track of the notes that I take when I talk to Mr. Amsterdam and my outside mentor by using a notebook.
Core Values In Capstone:
INQUIRY
o How does one own thoughts in the criminal process affect an individual?
o How does one (i.e. lawyers and offenders) interact with the surrounding world when going through this process?
RESEARCH
o Different types of law (specific courses criminal justice and law majors take)
COLLABORATION
o Talk to Mr. Amsterdam about his own personal experiences with law
PRESENTATION
o A well edited, polished documentary that demonstrates the perspectives of two worlds
o A written component that demonstrates my growth over the past couple of months
REFLECTION
o Throughout the course of the project I will be documenting what I learn as I interact with the district attorney.