Literacy Narrative: "Law and English" (Final Draft)

The City College of New York

Freshman Composition - English 11000

September of 2013

Omar Rafael

Law and English

“Chief justice, and may it please the court. My name is Omar Rafael and I along with my co-counselor, Jesse Reiff, represent the petitioners, Manny Slater and his parents...”

My mind raced as I delivered my opening. I forced a nervous smile and slowly scanned the panel of judges in efforts to figure out if I had caught their attention. Upon seeing the judge on the far-right return a smile, I slowly loosened my grip of the podium and began to feel comfortable. In just a matter of minutes, this would all be over. 

Moot court was one of the most rewarding experiences throughout my years in high school. Not only did it help me meet one of my closest friends during freshman year and give me a taste of what it is like to be an attorney, moot court ultimately provided a worthwhile experience that lead me to embrace and enjoy the intricacies of the English language. 

In a succinct fashion, moot court simulates an appellate court or arbitral case, the latter being more similar to the cases that appear before the U.S. Supreme Court. Contrary to what one sees on shows like Law&Order, moot court is not a trial. Instead, it is more concerned with the interpretation and application of the law to a particular case. Moot court generally only involves the attorneys presenting their arguments for the parties they are representing and a panel of judges. 

Townsend Harris High School participates in the annual citywide Mentor Moot Court Competition that is held at Fordham Law School beginning in November. The NYC Bar Association pairs participating high schools with law firms that help prepare teams for the competition. Each year, the case for the competition is unveiled in early October and from there on, students and law firms work together to prepare a basic argument for the competition as the heart of the competition lies in how competitors fare against a bench and the questions they pose in efforts to make the competitor falter. Amid this process, competitors are scored based on their understanding of the law, their application of the law to the case at hand, their ability and effectiveness to address the concerns voiced by the panel, and their overall presentation. 

In retrospect, I do not know what drove me to want to join this academic team. Since elementary school, I have always yearned to become an engineer. All I can remember is that from the moment I started attending the team meetings, I had decided to work towards becoming a competitor. I truly struck out that year. Freshmen were generally not favored to compete for obvious reasons but because two seniors had left the year before, auditions were held for the available spots. This screening process was where I met my close friend Jesse as me and him were the only two freshmen to try out that year. 

After ingeniously debating our way through the fabricated prompts, Jesse and I were warmly welcomed into the competing team of four. From there on, it was all work. In a span of four weeks, the competitors have to learn the basics of law, read and fully know the case distributed that year, peruse a lot of case-law to gain insights on the issues and laws pertaining to the case, and finally, prepare a roadmap, essentially an outline of the points you hope to make before the panel of judges. It was through this scaffolding process that I learned to appreciate the beauty of the English language.

English is key in law. With this I do not just mean that one has to be fluent. No. Instead, if you truly want to succeed, you need to dominate the language so that it completely works to your advantage. If I had to describe it in simple terms, law is basically English on steroids. Everything comes into play. Diction and one’s word choice is important. Rhetoric is crucial. When you are arguing before the panel, not only do you have to believe what you yourself are saying, you have to persuade the judges that what you are saying is the only logical solution. Even imagery helps as you want to ultimately paint a picture where what you are advocating makes perfect sense.

In that year’s case, the plaintiff was a disabled child who claimed that the school he attended had not done enough to accommodate his needs and that as a consequence, he had been harmed. The school on the other hand responded by saying that although they did not entirely abide by Manny’s Individualized Education Program (IEP), a plan customized to Manny that outlined what accommodations he needed, that Manny made significant progress and therefore did not cause Manny any harm. This is the simplified version. In the case, there were many technicalities that both helped and harmed both sides. For instance, there were two major laws that were set as precedent for cases of this nature. The one I was advocating to be used looked to whether or not the school made a meaningful effort to help the child. Just in that phrasing there are many problems. For one, what constitutes a “meaningful effort”? Delving further into the case, if the school could not abide by Manny’s IEP plan because they simply did not have the resources, could they be held liable? The second part of this law looked to whether the school’s alleged failures were to a significant extent where the child suffered harm. Well, what constitutes a “significant failure”? What constitutes a “harm”? It were these little but important questions that had to be addressed one way or another if you intended to prove your case. 

When drafting my road map, I remember initially thinking that these little questions were nothing but trivial. The theme of my first road map was that a school had an obligation to cater to the needs of disabled students under the Free Appropriate Public Education statute that called for schools to follow a disabled child’s IEP. However, as we started to simulate the competition or moot each other, it quickly became evident that an argument of that sort would never hold in court. If you intended to win, you needed to tackle the technicalities of the laws. You had to show you understood them. You had to clearly define any ambiguous phrase in a way that favored you. Still, it did not end there. If the court completely neglected your case-law and instead chose to go with the opposing side’s logic and law, you had to be willing to go the extra mile and embrace and adapt those laws so that they favored you. 

As the competition drew nearer and nearer, it was truly heartening to see my argument go from being very vague and primitive to something much more tailored and conspicuous. With the guidance of the attorneys whom we worked with for two hours weekly, after each test run I gave my argument, I would make sure I knew how to explain everything I mentioned in it, and that it did not contain anything unnecessary. By the time the competition came around, the team was ready to the point where we would not need papers to go up with us - we all knew our arguments so well that no matter what curveballs were thrown at us, we could stand our own. 

Moot court provided a valuable and significant literary experience in my life. Going beyond learning to simply win or lose a competition, it enabled me to hone and strengthen my skills as both a reader and a writer. All the countless hours spent reading case-law were not for nothing. In the beginning, I have to admit that it was tough sifting through all the texts for specific examples or phrases that would strengthen my argument. As I did this more and more however, this gradually became easier. Through the process of editing my argument, I learned to weed out unnecessary information and thereby how to become more direct in my writing. I learned there are many ways of phrasing the same information and that each phrasing has its own particular effect on the listener. I learned that depending on what you intend to accomplish, that certain literary techniques work better then others. It was through all of this that moot court made me appreciate English. Although the we have yet to earn the privilege of being the best in the city, Townsend Harris always places among the top teams in the competition at Fordham. I think that this just goes to show that no matter how well you believe you have learned something, that there is always room for improvement. I have deviated from this activity for now but I know for certain that everything I learned in moot court will not leave me. Now, I just hope to build upon the foundations I already have to become both a better reader and writer. 

Literacy Narrative: "English and Law" (First Draft)

  “Chief justice, and may it please the court. My name is Omar Rafael and I along with my co-counselor, Jesse Reiff, represent the petitioners, Manny Slater and his parents...”

My mind raced as I delivered my opening. I forced a nervous smile and slowly scanned the panel of judges in efforts to figure out if I had caught their attention. Upon seeing the judge on the far-right return a smile, I slowly loosened my grip of the podium and began to feel comfortable. In just a matter of minutes, this would all be over. 

Moot court was one of the most rewarding experiences throughout my years in high school. Not only did it help me meet one of my closest friends during freshman year and give me a taste of what it is like to be an attorney, moot court ultimately provided a worthwhile experience that lead me to embrace and enjoy the intricacies of the English language. 

In a succinct manner, moot court simulates an appellate court or arbitral case, the latter being more similar to the cases that appear before the U.S. Supreme Court. Contrary to what one sees on shows like Law&Order or CSI, moot court is not a trial. Instead, it is more concerned on the interpretation and application of the law to a particular case. Moot court generally only involves a panel of judges and the attorneys presenting their arguments for the party that they are representing. 

Townsend Harris High School participates in the annual citywide Mentor Moot Court Competition that is held at Fordham Law School beginning in November. The NYC Bar Association pairs participating high schools with law firms that help prepare teams for the actual competition. Each year, the case for the competition is unveiled in early October and from there on, students and law firms work together to prepare a basic argument for the competition as the heart of the competition lies in how competitors fair against a bench and the questions they pose in efforts to make the competitor falter. Amid this process, competitors are scored based on their understanding of the law, their application of the law to the case at hand, their ability and effectiveness to address the concerns voiced by the panel, and their overall presentation. 

In retrospective, I do not know what drove me to want to join this academic team. Since elementary school, I have always yearned to become an engineer. All I can remember is that from the moment I started attending the team meetings, I had decided to work towards becoming an actual competitor. I truly struck out that year. Freshmen were generally not favored to compete for obvious reasons but because two seniors had left the year before, auditions were held for the available spots. This screening process was where I met my close friend Jesse as he and I were the only two freshmen trying out to be on the team that air. 

Once we had earned our spots onto the competing team of four, it was all work. In a span of four weeks, the competitors have to learn the basics of law, read and fully know the case distributed that year as if they had written it, peruse a lot of case-law to gain insights on the issues and laws pertaining to the case, and finally, prepare a roadmap, essentially an outline of the points you hope to make before the panel of judges. It was through this scaffolding process that I learned to appreciate the beauty of the English language.

English is key in law. With this I do not just mean that one has to be fluent. No. Instead, if you truly want to succeed, you need to dominate the language so that it completely works to your advantage. If I had to describe it in simple terms, law is basically English on steroids. Everything comes into play. Diction, or one’s word choice is important. Rhetoric is crucial. When you are arguing before the panel, not only do you have to believe what you yourself are saying, you have to persuade the judges that what you are saying is the best way to go about. Even imagery helps as you want to paint a picture where what you’re advocating makes perfect sense. 

In that year’s case, the plaintiff was a disabled child who claimed that the school he attended had not done enough to accommodate his needs and that as a consequence, he had been harmed. The school on the other hand responded by saying that although they did not entirely abide by Manny’s IEP plan, a plan customized to Manny that outlined what accommodations he needed, that Manny made significant progress and therefore did not cause Manny any harm. This is the simplified version. In the case, there were many technicalities that both helped and harmed both sides. For instance, the there were two major laws that were set as precedent for cases of this nature. The one I was advocating to be used looked to whether or not the school made a meaningful effort to help the child. Just in that phrasing there are many problems. For one, what constitutes a “meaningful effort”? Delving further into the case, if the school could not abide by Manny’s IEP plan because they simply did not have the resources, could they be held liable? The second part of this law looked to whether the school’s alleged failures were to a significant extent where the child suffered harm. Well, what constitutes a “significant failure”? What constitutes a “harm”? It were these little but important questions that had to be addressed one way or another if you intended to prove your case. 

When drafting up my road map, I remember initially thinking that these little questions were nothing but trivial. The theme of my first road map was that a school had an obligation to cater to the needs of disabled students under the Free Appropriate Public Education statute that called for schools to follow a disabled child’s IEP. As we started to moot each other however, it quickly became evident that an argument of that sort would never hold in court. If you intended to win, you needed to tackle the technicalities of the laws. You had to show you understood them. You had to clearly define any ambiguous phrase in a way that favored you. However, it did not end there. If the court completely neglected your case-law and instead chose to go with the opposing side’s logic and law, you had to be willing to go the extra mile and embrace and adapt those laws so that they favored you. 

As the competition drew nearer and nearer, it was truly comforting to see my argument go from being very primitive and vague to something much more tailored and conspicuous. With the guidance of the attorneys whom we worked with for two hours weekly, after each test run I gave my argument, I would make sure I knew how to explain everything I mentioned in it, and that it did not contain anything that was unnecessary. By the time the competition came around, the team was ready to the point where we would not need paper to go up with us - we had all gotten to know our arguments so well that no matter what curveballs were thrown at us, we could stand our own. 

Moot court provided a valuable and significant experience in my life. Going beyond winning or losing a competition, it enabled me to hone and strengthen my skills as both a reader and a writer. All the countless hours spent reading case-law were not for nothing. In the beginning, I have to admit that it was tough sifting through all the texts for specific examples or phrases that would strengthen my argument. As I did this more and more however, this gradually became easier. Through the process of drafting my argument, I learned to weed out unnecessary information and thereby how to become more direct in my writing. I learned there are many ways of phrasing the same information and that each phrasing has its own particular effect on the listener. I learned that depending on what you intend to accomplish, that certain literary techniques work better then others. It was through all of this that moot court made me appreciate English. Although I have deviated from this activity for now, I know for certain that everything I learned in moot court will not leave me. Now, I just hope to build upon the foundations I already have to become a better reader and writer. 

Blog Prompt - Literacy and Rhetoric

The concepts of rhetoric and literacy do appear to be related as it seems that you cannot have one without the other. In simple terms, literacy is basically the ability to read and write, and rhetoric concerns the art of being persuasive whether it be through words or writing. As we briefly touched upon in class, the ability to both read and write are very powerful once they are given careful thought. For example, while growing up these two abilities enable every single child to develop. Once a child begins to be able to read and write they also begin to expand their horizons. Now, slowly but surely, they will be able to have all their questions answered by researching and reading on what they wish to know, and they will also be able to better communicate their thoughts. As the literacy of a child develops, their rhetoric will too. In the example described above, one can see that literacy and rhetoric can be empowering forces. However, in history we have seen that these can also serve as oppressive forces. Not being able to read or write greatly hinders those who seek progress. Take the cases of all the minorities that struggled to free themselves from slavery in early history. In Russia, the serfs were confined to agriculture. In Latin America, the mestizos and the mulattos were confined to the haciendas, and in the U.S., African Americans were forced to work on the plantations. Slave owners were constantly warned of the “dangers” that would arise if slaves were thought to read and write. Those in power knew that enabling their workers to read and write would eventually lead to them revolting. 

My most recent literary experience occurred over the summer. It had been a long time since I had picked up a book to read on my own. After consulting many people, I gathered a couple of titles that I hoped to read before the summer ended. Of these, the books that really had an impact on me were Tuesdays With Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven, both by Mitch Alborn. These two books really made me reflect on my life. They forced me to consider everything that I had done until this point. I think I can even say that I learned a thing or two from both. I consider both books, although I believe they are fiction, to be philosophical in a sense. This experience was very significant to me because I believe it made me grow was a person. While reading, I could not help but feel as if I was having little epiphanies here and there. Coming from someone who is used to being described as stoic, these two books really made me explore the ideas of empathy and sympathy. This literary experience is one that I know I’ll remember for a while. I know that I will be rereading these books every once in a while because of all the emotions that they stir in me as a reader. 

Letter of Introduction

Dear Wesley Mathewson,

My name is Omar Rafael and I am part of the Freshmen Composition class that you teach on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9:30 AM to 10:45 AM. Before I begin to discuss the pertinent information, I must admit that I’m not particularly fond of assignments of this nature. I think that writing about oneself is difficult as it suggests to me that whatever is discussed has been set in stone. Putting aside that personal thought though, here is what I’ve come up with.

I am of Mexican descent and I am the eldest of four. I know both English and Spanish equally, or at least I would like to think so. Being the oldest has its perks but you also have a lot more responsibility. If all else goes wrong, more than anything, I want to make sure that I set a good example for my siblings. 

I am currently an incoming freshman at CCNY enrolled in the Grove School for Engineering. I plan to work towards eventually becoming a practicing civil engineer. My passion for engineering sprouted at a young age. I remember always wondering how it was exactly that bridges, tunnels, and other large structures worked. They simply amazed me and I could not fathom how they were constructed nor how someone had thought of them. As I grew up, I always made sure to venture out and explore other academic possibilities. I was avidly involved in athletic and academic teams while in High School that had no correlation whatsoever with the engineering field. I can even say that at some point, after having much success in the Moot Court and Mock Trial teams, that I considered pursuing a law degree. However, even after all this, engineering still seemed to be my vocation. Now that I have been given an opportunity to accomplish this goal, I plan to make the most of it.

When I have time to myself there are a couple of things that you might find me doing. I enjoy reading, running, watching movies, and simply listening to music. My love for running started about three years ago. I find this sport intriguing as it is truly a mental sport. You have to fight that little voice in you head when it tells you to stop, especially when you are covering a couple of miles in a run. Reading has always been one of my favorite things to do. I remember always going to the public libraries during the summer vacation back when I was in elementary school. As I climbed the educational system, I slowly began to read less and less for pleasure and more and more because it was assigned. This past year however, I have started to find time to squeeze in a couple of books that I actually wanted to read. The most notable titles I’ve recently read are The Five People You Meet in Heaven and Tuesdays With Morrie both by Mitch Albom. I enjoy books of this sort, books that force you to reflect on life. I like to watch movies too. Although I lean towards action movies, I will watch anything as long as its good. My latest favorite movie is definitely The Dark Knight Rises. In terms of my love for music, I listen to a bit of everything but I am fond of jazz and classic rock.

My relationship with writing has always been one characterized by ambivalence. There are times where writing comes naturally, but there are also times where it can be hard to get words on paper. I think that the more one writes, the more comfortable that they become with it. From this course I simply expect to become a stronger writer. I look forward to learning more about the art of writing. 

                                                                                         

                                                                                                                                                         Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                             Omar Rafael