Miracle Day and the Unexpected Career Choice

[sariagray]

That sounds like a really bizarre children's book.

Anyway.

Earlier this past week, I had my New Employee Orientation. This is extra hilarious, as I'd been a temp there for the past 2.5 years and no one even bothered to show me how the copier worked, let alone the intricacies of policy and grants management.

It started with some lovely stories and speeches from remarkable people. There was a brief history of the agency, too. Finally, a gentleman stood up to have us go through an activity. We would have to go through a host of grant proposals and choose which three we would bid on. I got our group organized and we decided after I did a bit of pro-education persuasion. I loved it; it reminded me of the foreign policy course I took, and the model UN event up at Yale (I was Ireland and in the World Health sector - I had to play around a lot with the WHO). 

 

Then we had a lovely bit of fun going over the policies (child safety, harassment, etc) of the agency. Again, we were given an activity - review a situation and discuss how to manage it based on our policies. Well, one line said something like, "While talking to Paul, you smell alcohol on his breath."

 

The following discussion took place:

 

Coworker 1: Fire him!

Me: There is absolutely no proof that he'd been drinking.

Coworker 2: There could've been an event, he may only have had a glass of wine.

Me: Right. Also, there are diseases that can make one's breath smell like alcohol. Or maybe he used mouthwash. Or maybe we just aren't smelling the right thing.

Coworker 1: What does the policy say?

Legal: *Something about "under the influence"*

Me: Define "under the influence," though? What blood-alcohol levels are we looking at, here?

Legal: Are you a lawyer?

 

I  laughed it off; my ex was in law school and, while I helped her study for her LSATs, edit her briefs, lobby for SBA president, and talk through some of the more ridiculous Law Review articles, I do NOT want to go through that! I am such a lazy ass when it comes to Work I Have To Do With No Immediate Benefit To Me. And I NEVER read textbooks. I couldn't handle those damn monstrosities they expect you to read cover-to-cover in a weekend. Besides, I am an artist! *Flings scarf over shoulder*

 

Then I watched Torchwood last night, and became IRATE when the PC (or whomever) implied (by which I mean "flat out informed") that they were no longer booking for murder because people weren't dead; they were booking for assault, instead. I don't know how the legal system in the UK works, and despite my previous history of the law (mostly centered around the dog bite statutes in Connecticut and the legalities of gender when applied to transgender individuals in sports), I'm still iffy on US law, too, but I have some major issues with this.

 

1) This is a decision for the courts to decide. There would have to be hearings, at least, but most likely a definitive court case brought about by a specific instance. The law would then have to be changed, and this would take time, as the court case would most likely be long and arduous.

 

2) Assault is a very broad charge. Even IF Murder is off the table, there is still Attempted Murder. 

 

3) I can see some forms of manslaughter being taken off the table, as there is no intent. But Murder and/or Attempted Murder? And that's just the vague scope. First-Degree Murder (willful and premeditated), Second-Degree Murder (willful, not premeditated, but also not in a moment of passion), Voluntary Manslaughter (willful, moment of passion), etc. And each state has different terminology and slightly different interpretations (in the US, at any rate). 

 

4) Even if all of the above are removed, new laws and standard procedures would be immediately adapted. There has to be a defining line. If a specific injury, applied with intent, would cause fatality in a victim prior to the miracle, it needs to be treated differently than Assault. Maybe we call it something else, but it needs to be separate and it needs a higher penalty than Assault. This would be seen to with relative speed, I should think.

 

I understand the implications - overcrowding in prisons and police stations caused by a lack of consequences, general anarchy, etc. But the situation just didn't strike me as generally...accurate. 

 

And then I realized that I should probably go to law school. Eventually. Because I love this stuff, and kept wanting the show to go back to it rather than rambling about medical claptrap all of the time. Unless it was the legalities of certain medical practices, or debates brought up on the ethical treatment of patients by law.

 

And then I realized I should look into politics, too.

 

Bachelor's first, though, yes? *Sigh* And can I go to law school without the law school culture? Does that exist somewhere?

 

(I also didn't know that lemonade could ever be...fizzy).

 

 

 

Comments

[stlscape.livejournal.com]

Unfizzy lemonade - it's like orange squash, except lemon. Basically some lemon juice with lots of water and sugar.

ETA: as so many have responded above. Guess I should read the whole thread before posting, huh?