TMP Oral Defense Questions Flashcards
Abbey, how did the group decide to include Adia’s perspective/lens/conclusions into the overall presentation?
We decided to incorporate Adia’s lens, which was economic, into the overall presentation by focusing on how to solve the problem of inequality in the justice system through financial means, such as allocating funds to different areas of the justice system
Abbey, give one specific way that your thinking changed as a result of learning about Eva’s findings
Eva’s consideration of the media allowed me to think of possible solutions that every citizen could participate in, not just lawmakers or other members of the justice system.
Reflecting on your colleagues’ work, which one had the greatest impact on your overall understanding of the problem your group identified?
The research that Em conducted on the ethical considerations of this problem was invaluable and allowed me to look beyond the more material effects of legal inequality and analyze its moral effects
What is an example of a compelling argument from one of your peer’s individual reports that you decided to exclude from your team presentation and why?
Eva argued that sexism has led to decreased research on the experiences of women in jail. We mainly focused our presentation on racial discrimination, so we decided to leave out gender discrimination. However, inequalities in the way that genders are treated in the justice system is definitely very important to answering our research question
What is a way in which your team’s resolution makes you think differently about your own individual research?
I failed to consider the willingness of lawmakers to put the effort in to review and reform the U.S. justice system. When my group discussed limitations to our final solution, my other team members suggested that policymakers might not be receptive to proposed changes in the justice system. I didn’t think of that before, even though it was very closely related to my political lens
Describe an argument from one of your peer’s individual reports that made you think differently about your team’s solution or conclusion?
Em discussed the harmful effects of racism in the police force on disadvantaged individuals’ experiences in the justice system. Em’s argument that law enforcement contributes to unethical and unequal practices in the legal system allowed our team to develop a more holistic solution that addresses inequalities in both the community and jail.
If you had another team member, what other perspectives or limitations could they have researched that would have made a useful contribution to the project?
Researched social movements because Eva and I didn’t directly talk about them, but they have had a huge impact on reforms in the justice system
If I had another team member, they could have researched social movements and their effect on the inequalities faced by disadvantaged individuals in the justice system. Although Eva looked at sociocultural factors and I looked at political and historical factors, our research did not touch much on social movements. Movements such as the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s and the Black Lives Matter Movement of recent years have had a huge impact on not only the actual inequalities in the legal system, but also the perception of inequalities in the justice system. I believe that it would be very useful and interesting to further research those effects and how they could influence our final solution and overall argument.
Abbey, how did the group decide to include Em’s perspective/lens/conclusions into the overall presentation?
Em talked about the death penalty and police brutality in her IRR. We decided that both of those topics were relevant to our overall claim, especially because Eva and I also discussed the death penalty or police brutality in our IRRs. We used Em’s research of police brutality to develop our final solution
Abbey, how did the group decide to include Eva’s perspective/lens/conclusions into the overall presentation?
We decided to include Eva’s discussion of how mental health and demographics affect prisoners because so much of our argument was based on problems within the prison system and sentencing. Everyone discussed demographics in some way during the presentation, so we felt that it was important for Eva to discuss demographics through a sociocultural lens, too
Abbey, give one specific way that your thinking changed as a result of learning about Adia’s findings
Adia found that there have been programs developed to reduce the wealth gap when citizens stand trial. This makes me more hopeful for the future of the justice system because it demonstrates that policymakers are willing to look at various reforms that make the justice system more equal for disadvantaged indidviduals
Abbey, give one specific way that your thinking changed as a result of learning about Em’s findings
Em’s research encouraged me to look at a more holistic solution instead of one that just addressed the prison system.
I initially didn’t consider police brutality, but Em’s research into the ethics of police brutality as it pertains to disadvantaged individuals was definitely important to our overall presentation. Although the majority of our sources focused on minorities’ experiences during trial and incarceration, it is as - if not more - important to consider minorities’ experiences with the criminal justice system on a daily basis. Em’s research encouraged me to look at a more holistic solution instead of one that just addressed the prison system.
