rkuhn21ahsgov

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #9: FINAL INFOGRAPHIC

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #8: CIVIC ACTION ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

1.  I have not yet volunteered for this issue

2.  In the future, there are some ways I think I can support my civic action issue.  First of all, I am turning 18 this month, and I will be able to use my vote to support this civic action issue.  I will make sure to continue to stay informed on news and legislation surrounding Criminal Law Reform, and with that mindset I will vote accordingly.  I also think donating to causes that support Criminal Law Reform, like the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is another way I can contribute.  Finally, engaging in forms of civic action like going out and volunteering or protesting if needed is something I am willing to do post COVID.

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #7: LEGISLATIVE AND EXECUTIVE ACTION

Bill #3884, titled More Act of 2019.

The bill seems to have originated in the House and passed the House, but not the Senate yet.

This bill would remove marijuana from a list of substances that are part of the Controlled Substances Act, and decriminalizes it, so a marijuana user, buyer, or dealer would not be charged with criminal penalties.

This bill was sponsored by almost completely Democrats, with one Republican sponsor.  This indicates the majority of Republicans oppose the bill, so whether the bill will pass or not depends on Republicans keeping the senate majority.

There are multiple listed assigned committees for this bill, but the top one seems to be the House Agriculture committee.

I would encourage my representative to vote yea because I think that low level marijuana offenses don’t actually reduce crime or drug use, they instead feed the prison industrial complex and contribute to mass incarceration, especially considering that based on data minorities are arrested for these offenses much more than white people.

Department of Justice.

Their mission statement is basically to uphold and enforce the law, and protect the country against foreign and domestic threats.  This does relate to my issue, as criminal law reform has a lot to do with how laws are declared and enforced, which the Department of Justice has a big part in.

William Barr is the Attorney General, he seems qualified for the position as he worked in the white house under Ronald Reagan and was Deputy Attorney General under George Bush, so he has definitely had experience related to this position.  He has also been working as a lawyer since the late 70’s so he has long term legal experience as well.  This seems like a good thing for the department and hopefully his experience gives him a good insight into my issue.

  I didn't know where to find the programs and services, but I did find a listing of programs components and initiatives, so I used that.  A lot of these would be useful for responding to my issue, like the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, or the Civil Rights Division.  There are too many departments and offices to list so those three are the specific ones that seem like they would relate to my issue the most.

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #6: CALIFORNIA PROPOSITION ASSESSMENT

 Prop 20:  Changes to criminal penalties and parole

This proposition essentially is aimed at reclassifying misdemeanors as more serious crimes, and also takes additional steps to react to certain types of misdemeanors, like the collecting of DNA and additional criteria needed to apply for parole.

Increase in state and local costs by tens of millions of dollars annually.

This proposition did not win the majority vote in California.  This is not necessarily surprising to me.

Unsurprisingly, Prop 20 is supported by police unions.  This is what would be expected from a proposition advocating for a harsher justice system.  The republican party also supports this, which hI would also say is unsurprising since republican voters are more likely to support something like this.  I think these supporters don’t really show any sneaky motive, as its understandable that police would want people off the street for longer, and it's understandable that police and prison reform groups would oppose that.

-Arguments for are that some serious crimes like human trafficking, drive by shootings, and drugging and raping, are only considered misdemeanors in California, and those should be bumped up to felonies as they are much more serious.

-Arguments against this are that it could lead to the tearing down of hard fought prison reforms and could lead to more mass incarceration

At first glance I would have voted no on this proposition because I think it could hurt prison reforms, however after looking at the arguments for it I am concerned that some of the crimes listed aren’t felonies and would have to do more research to see which crimes on the bill would be moved up to felonies before making a vote

Both the people promoting and people against this proposition raised over 5 million dollars to fund their campaigns about it

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #5: POLITICAL INTEREST GROUPS AND PACS ASSESSMENT

1. Restorative justice online

2. The goal of this interest group is to promote restorative justice in the criminal justice systems around the world

3.

(a) Wants restorative justice globally, not only America

(b) Promotes the use of restorative justice mainly through policing, in courtrooms, and in prison

(c) Supports laws and movements that would lead to restorative justice being implemented in these areas

(d) Supports and advocates for building local restorative justice programs in order to get grass roots support

(e) Also advocates for changes in justice system to make sure the victim of crimes is treated better

4.  This group is responsible for the Sycamore Tree Project, which is currently being implemented in 34 countries with over 3/500 victims and prisoners participating annually.  This project brings victims of crime to prisons to meet with unrelated offenders to discuss their stories and the perspective on crime.

5. This groups headquarters seems to be in Washington DC, it does not say wether there are more local groups from this organization, but there are some links to contact them digitally.

6. There are both volunteer, internship, and employment opportunities.  Unfortunately, the website links to access the specifics of these opportunities were not loading, so I cannot get any more detailed than this.

7. They have a library on their website which provides access to tons of resources concerning criminal justice reform and restorative justice.

Next, go to Open Secrets: Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan, independent research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effects on elections and public policy.   Scroll down and choose a super PAC that represents your civic action issue.  Include:

1. Americans for Police and Trooper Safety

2. Perspective is independent politically, advocating for police and trooper safety

3. They have raised $5,383,704 in total.  They have spent $370,000 in independent expenditures as well.

4. This PAC has raised $156,000 for republicans and $214,000 for democrats.  It has not spent money against either party.  It is rather surprising to me that it has raised more money for democrats, as in todays time the republican party seems like the one that would be more likely to focus on police safety.

5. A lot of their donors seem to be regular people making donations of a couple hundred to a few hundred dollars.  Lots of people had regular occupations, like one who worked at an oil plant or one who was a school teacher.  This seems good to me, as I am a lot more comfortable with a PAC being funded by a lot of regular people rather than few very wealthy people.  

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #4: ELECTION 2020 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ASSESSMENT

Howie Hawkins/Angela Nicole Walker, Green:

Statement:  Focusing on police accountability, racial accountability, ending war on drugs and decriminalizing some drugs, fight against mass surveillance

My Opinion:  I agree with their position, I am pro criminal law reform, so these steps seem like good ideas to me

Similarity to Platform:  Seems pretty similar to the party platform, although the party platform was more comprehensive  

Donald J. Trump/Michael R. Pence, Republican:

Statement:  Not a plan as much as a list of achievements, notable ones were granting more funding to police and expanding their supplies, laws passed that promote crime reduction strategies and violent crime reduction in cities, and more funds for police to stop organized crime

My Opinion:  I do not agree with these candidates stances on police funding, but I do agree with the and hope for more of the laws that promote violent crime reduction, although I am not sure exactly how they work

Similarity to Platform:  These candidates stances actually seems to contradict their party platform, as one of the main points in the platform was that the police were over federalized, and a lot of these candidates achievements listed seem to involved federal funds and power being used to buffer the police

Gloria La Riva/Sunil Freeman, Peace and Freedom:

Statement:   Very focused on racial reform involving police and police brutality, ending mass incarceration, and freeing political prisoners

My Opinion:  I agree with their platform mostly, except I would have to look into these political prisoners they want free and decide for myself weather I would agree with that

Similarity to Platform:  Very similar to platform, as both are very pro criminal justice reform

Roque De La Fuente "Rocky" Guerra/Kanye Omari West, American Independent]:

Statement:  Stance not listed

My Opinion:  Stance not listed

Similarity to Platform:  Stance not listed

Because there were no stances listed concerning Criminal Justice Reform on their website, I contacted Roque De La Fuente with the following email:

Dear Roque De La Fuente,

The issue I am concerned about is criminal justice reform.  I am concerned about this issue because I think it is very important, and because a lot of recent events concerning criminal justice and police brutality have taken place this year.  I am currently a senior at Acalanes High School and I am researching this issue for my senior Government class.  Please clarify your stance on this issue.  Thank you so much for your time and good luck.

Sincerely,

Robert Kuhn

Robert.kuhn21@auhsdschools.org

 Jo Jorgensen/Jeremy "Spike" Cohen, Libertarian:

Statement:  Focused on ending mass incarceration and war on drugs, decriminalization of all drugs, and reform police as well as limit their power and access to unneeded weaponry

My Opinion:  I don’t know if I agree with legalizing every single drug, but I definitely agree with the police reform stance

Similarity to Platform:  Seems similar to platform, with a focus on increasing the power of the individual citizen

Joseph R. Biden/Kamala D. Harris, Democratic:

Statement:  Reduce incarceration, reform racial / gender / income bias, focus on rehabilitation, expand DOJ to be able to adress police brutality, eliminate death penalty, reform juvenile justice

My Opinion:  I agree with these candidates stances, as I am pro criminal justice reform and so are they

Similarity to Platform:  These stances are similar to the party platform, as both of them are very comprehensive and pro criminal justice, also focusing on juvenile justice reform

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #3: POLITICAL PARTY ACTION

Peace and Freedom Party:

Very strong on criminal justice reform, with focus on adressing and stopping police brutality and decriminlizing crimes and making sentences and the justice system less harsh for nonviolent offenders.

My opinion:  I am also pro criminal justice reform, so I support this parties platform.

Green Party:

Similar points to PFP party, focusing on the same issues of police brutality and reducing harshness of system against those who don’t deserve it.  Additional emphasis on victim rights as well as additional benefits for jurors.

My opinion:  I am also pro criminal justice reform, so I support this party's platform.

Libertarian Party:

Not as much as other parties said about criminal law reform, but main points are decriminilizing victimless crimes, allowing jurors to be critical of laws when deciding cases, and victim rights.

My opinion:  I am pro criminal justice reform, so I support the stances this party has made, however I believe that more criminal justice reform issues could be included in this party's platform.

Democratic Party:

Very strong criminal justice platform, calling for reform on almost every level, with focus on police brutality, decriminilization, benefits for nonviolent offenders, focus on rehabilitation, and particular emphasis on racial reforms in the criminal justice and policing system, as well as reforms that would make the criminal justice system less threatening to youth.

My opinion:  I am also pro criminal justice reform, so I support this party's platform.

Republican Party:

Sides with police on issue of police brutality although stance was not completely clear.  In terms of actual reform, had emphasis on the importance of every human life, opposed over criminilization and over federilization of the criminal justice system, believing it is an overstep of power by the federal government.  Calls for efforts to make justice more restorative.

My opinion:  I am pro criminal justice reform, so I support some aspects of this partys platform, like the opposition to over criminalization of the justice system, and I agree with calls to make the justice system more restorative.  However, though I agree that “human lives matter”, I disagree with this party's sidestepping the issue of race that is negatively impacting our criminal justice system as well as our policing systems, and I disagree with the idea that police are being overly harassed and disrespected, and instead counter with the argument that our policing system needs major reform and accountability checks.

 I think I identify with the Democratic party most, although I totally agree with the platforms of the Green party, Peace and Freedom party, and Libertarian party as well.  Overall though, I think the Democratic party platform has the most comprehensive discussion of criminal justice reform issues on their website, and because of that, I identify with them most.  If I was 18 and could vote, I would vote for the Democratic party's candidate, Joe Biden.

Criminal Law Reform was discussed a little bit in the debate, mainly the issue of police brutality and the candidates views were as follows:

Joe Biden:  Wanted to adress racism in police force, stop police brutality, and overall seemed to support criminal justice reform measures

Donald Trump:  Did not exactly adress the idea that there are issues of racism in the criminal justice and policing system, but did go out of his way to oppose police senstivity training, which implies a less progressive view of criminal justice reform.

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #2: MEDIA ASSESSMENT OF ISSUE

Article #1:  https://www.reuters.com/article/us-minneapolis-police-protests-videos-in-idUSKBN23U1KU

SUBJECT:  Looking at videos of alleged police brutality 

AUTHOR:  Three authors, all of them seem to write about Trump a lot (possible left lean?) but other than that solid

CONTEXT:  Published in late June, so this is when protests were really a big deal in media, it would be very topical for them to publish at that time

AUDIENCE:  No particular audience, just showing the videos and then describing the consequences the officers faced and various opinions on them

PERSPECTIVE:  Seems objective, shows opinions of both sides and has all ranges of opinions

SIGNIFICANCE:  Entire article is based on anylizing videos, so they have links to the videos and have quotes from people about the videos as evidence

Article #2:

https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/08/us/us-police-floyd-protests-country-comparisons-intl/index.html

SUBJECT:  Trying to prove how the US policing system is negatively impacting society by killing and imprisoning too many people

AUTHOR:  Writes a lot of international stuff, stuff for UK and Australia, seems like he does a lot of writing for CNN

CONTEXT:  This was published in early June, so same as the Reuters article it was a very topical time to cover police brutality

AUDIENCE:  Seems definitely like it is looking for audience sympathetic to protesters

PERSPECTIVE:  Definitely favors the protesters side of things, and the main argument of the piece is designed to undermine the pro police argument

SIGNIFICANCE:  Uses lots of graphs and statistics to support the claims made, also uses data on range of different topics, from prison statistics to fatality statistics

Article #3:

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/after-years-of-union-objections-police-reform-legislation-advances

SUBJECT:  Police Unions objections to the advancement of police reform

AUTHOR:  Writes a lot for Fox and wrote previously for New York Post, seems to write on perspectives of different sides of the aisle, based on looking at other articles 

CONTEXT:  Published mid june, so same as the other 2 articles, very topical time to look into police reform

AUDIENCE:  Seems to have a slightly different perspective, focusing more on policies reactions to these changes happening

PERSPECTIVE:  Probably a little partial towards police, and seems to attack more the police unions as the problem rather than police themselves

SIGNIFICANCE: I dont really see any statistical data, but it does seem to have a lot of quotes from people who are prominent in  law enforcement, so while it is maybe biased towards law enforcement there is evidence there

3.  It seems all 3 sources see a problem with police brutality, but the difference is that the CNN source sees it as a systemic problem, that needs reform, while the Fox source sees it as a problem of overworking and stress and pressure that police face

4.  I most identify with the Reuters source because it is the most objective, and I think that is important with big issues like this, and instead of trying to make a point, it just reviews the facts, which is better for me so that I can make my own informed decision about the information I am seeing rather than being told what I should think

[rkuhn21ahsgov]

BLOG POST #1 CONCEPTUALIZING THE ISSUE AND ASSESSING TYPES OF ACTION

What civic action issue did you choose and why?

I chose Criminal Law Reform because it is a subject I think needs to be talked about more, and I know a little bit about the topic but I don’t know a lot, and I wanted to learn more.  I also think it is very topical, especially the element of police reform, with current events.

Describe the issue in your own words and how it relates to government.

In my own words and with my limited knowledge, I think this topic relates to the flaws in our current justice system and policing system, and how those could be solved or reformed.  This relates to government because an essential element of our democracy are the freedoms granted to us, and the promise that you are not judged by the justice system unfairly, so if there are problems with the justice system, then unless those problems are solved it will lead to bigger problems in our democracy and government as a whole

What type of action do you think needs to be taken to address this issue?

Some type of reform or revision is probably needed to fix the various issues I am expecting to learn about, but I don’t know enough about the topic yet to know for sure.