Courtroom Technology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Courtroom Technology - Essay Example The result was a massive media spectacle. Some judges disapprove of cameras in the courtroom, suggesting that judges may end up playing up to the camera. It is generally considered a negative thing to have a great deal of media attention surrounding a trial as it may prejudice those involved. Different jurisdictions have different rules relating to this issue. Indeed, even some Supreme Court Justices have been somewhat schizophrenic on this issue. A few years ago, Justice Antonin Scalia, who has always taken a hard line against technology in the courtroom, expanded the notion of where technology was acceptable during a public speech he gave: During an April 7 speech by Scalia at a high school in Hattiesburg, a deputy federal marshal, Melanie Rube, demanded that AP reporter Denise Grones and Hattiesburg American reporter Antoinette Konz erase recordings of the justice's remarks. The reporters had not been told before the speech that they could not use tape recorders. When Grones resis ted, the marshal took the digital recorder out of her hands. The reporter then showed Rube how to erase the recording (AP). This issue caused a great deal of controversy at the time, and eventually led to an apology. Nevertheless, it has been reported that Justice Scalia is fond of the Ipad and uses it regularly. Clearly, the position of courts have everywhere have been evolving over the years. A timeline would suggest they have moved from conservative restriction to a more permissive, liberal approach. Standards vary from one jurisdiction and one judge to another. Indeed, other supreme court judges have been equally happy about the result of technology in the courtroom. One of the court's recent appointees, Justice Kagan, has the following to say about the huge amount of legal pleadings that justices have to work their way through: â€Å"At times there are as many as 50 friend-of-the-court briefs for one case. That is on top of the motions submitted directly by the named parties. So there is a lot of reading . . . And you know that's a big part of the job and if a Kindle or an iPad can make it easier, that's terrific" (Beahm). We see that people intimately involved in the judicial system have embraced technology in some ways, while rejecting it in others. We need to find ways to effectively implement technology across the board so long as it is helpful. There are a number of other ways that technology can be useful to those involved in the legal profession. For example, electronic discovery has made life very difficult for many lawyers. The sheer quantity of electronic documents involved in some cases makes it impossible to physically go through every document or email by hand. Special software is required to deal with these large quantities. This software can search through keywords to find important phrases or names. It can dramatically shorten the amount of time required to find what a lawyer is looking for. Both courts and lawyers can work together as pa rtners to develop and implement technologies in the courtroom. One system currently being used is called Digital Evidence Presentation System and allows for electronic, integrated presentation in the courtroom. As one expert says: â€Å"Although attorneys have significant control over the systems in the courtroom, the court has instantaneous override capability. With the touch of a button, a judge can turn off every screen in the courtroom, including the screens in the jury box and the large screen displaying

Critical Review of the Film Slumdog Millionaire Essay

Critical Review of the Film Slumdog Millionaire - Essay Example These themes underscore the overlapping narratives in the film Slumdog Millionaire, 2008, a British production with Indian cast and crew, using both English and Hindi, with English subtitles for international viewing. The film is directed by Danny Boyle, produced by Christian Colson, screenplay written by Simon Beaufoy, and based on Vikas Swarup’s book Q & A (IMDb, 2012). It won eight out of ten Academy Awards, 2009, along that of ‘Best Picture’, as well as several other international awards (Paul, 2011). Thesis Statement: The purpose of this paper is to critically review the film â€Å"Slumdog Millionaire†. It will be argued that Orientalist discourses circulate in the film, and media representations of cultural images influence how people identify themselves and their place in the world. Thus, globalization and the politics of identity creation, as well as spatial and economic inequality in an increasingly interconnected world will be examined. Globalizat ion and the Politics of Identity Creation in â€Å"Slumdog Millionaire† The world today is distinguished by a new role for the imagination in social life. Thus, focusing on the image, the imagined and the imaginary, Appadurai (2004) indicates that critical changes are emerging in global cultural processes, with the imagination becoming part of social practice, enabling negotiation between action and globally defined fields of possibility. Film-makers attempt to please the audience by imaginatively using the cultural mythology of the era. â€Å"Myths are transformations of fundamental conflicts or contradictions that in reality cannot be resolved† (Paul, 2011, p.451). Similar to dreams functioning as wish fulfillments in several cases, films provide wish-fulfilling solutions to human dilemmas. This forms the main theme of the film Slumdog Millionaire, in which the 18-year-old Jamal Malik, a Muslim youth played by new comer Dev Patel, is about to win a jackpot of 20 mill ion rupees on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. However, during a break before the final round, convinced that this uneducated boy must have cheated, the quiz master gets Jamal taken away to be interrogated by the inspector of police. The film uses the questions on the quiz show that Jamal miraculously answers, to reveal his life story in flash backs. He answers each question correctly due to specific incidents in his past that coincidentally gave him the required information or knowledge (Gilbey, 2009). Media representation of cultural images influences how people identify themselves and their place in the world. According to Peralta (2010), art, storytelling and history are inter-connected with cultural identity. The medium of cinema is a form of art which narrates a story, and it is directly related to cultural influences. Cinema creates identity-formation particularly in the contemporary globalized world. Stories convey cultural memories besides relaying morali ty, judgment, history, and life lessons. Further, â€Å"like art, stories can create a place where we begin to understand or make sense of our world† (Peralta, 2010, p.27). Narratives are used to explain oneself to others, and in turn help in understanding the other. With the increasing interconnectedness of globalization, the media representatio