A Civil Action Position Paper Essay Example For Students

A Civil Action Position Paper Essay Sarah Moshel11/1/98AP American HistoryMrs.RemsteinCivil suits are important because they draw attention to a problem. Even though the case was somewhat of a failure, I feel that it had a great societal impact. It did not fulfill the task of being a vehicle for social change, although it had great potential, and did create an important awareness. Social change is a term conveying that a lawsuit of a civil action should result in justifying the impartiality. This does not always happen- like in A Civil Action. The city of Woburn, Massachusetts had a problem: it was being poisoned. No one quite knew why, but many residents of the community were breaking out into rashes, enduring stomach disorders, falling seriously ill, and the children of Woburn were dying of leukemia in statistically unusual numbers that resulted in a leukemia cluster. Anne Anderson, a Woburn mother whose son Jimmy died of leukemia, drove authorities into investigating the water, which started the case against carelessness by big business companies. Finally, in 1979, two wells supplying drinking water to Woburn were shut down because health officials from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) thought they might have been contaminated by industrial wastes. The two main defendants were the W.R. Grace corporation, a chemical and manufacturing giant that built stainless steel equipment at a plant in Woburn, and Beatrice Foods, another mega-corporation, which operated a tannery there. Toxic chemicals from these operations, many thought, had leaked in and contaminated the wells. The most serious of these chemicals was a carcinogen called trichloroethylene, a solvent used to dissolve grease and oil, which explained the leukemia. In civil suits, the plaintiff wants justice to be served because they claim one to be responsible for their hurt. They want the defendants to pay, in terms of money and in terms of truth, to justify the pain that they have suffered. The issues and complaints in this specific case is that the water in East Woburn, which was consistently used, was contaminated with harmful and toxic chemicals. Because the ingestion of this contaminated water caused many ailments, cell and other defects, symptoms of illnesses such as leukemia, and in some cases death, the plaintiffs wanted compensation and a fair judgment against the defendants. The defendants claimed that the accusations of the plaintiffs toward these prolific companies were false and should not be held responsible for the contamination of the unpalatable and hazardous water in Woburn. There is a certain rule called Rule 11 that was intended to prevent frivolous and irresponsible lawsuits that are baseless or made up assumptions. Cheeseman used this in his first attempt to motion the case. He would base the accusation by showing that there is nothing in the TCE or percs that could cause leukemia because it was stated to be unknown by the EPA. The judge was impressed by Rule 11 because he thought that many cases were stupid and insignificant and this rule should be used more often. Although this rule was not enacted. We also see throughout that this rule was mentioned later again in the book when Schlichtmann appeals the case because he had found more information against Riley and Beatrice. The reason why he uses Rule 11 was that he indicated that he didnt have complete information for the trial and that he made accusations that were frivolous and couldnt be proven without this information. The method of a summary judgment was also used in this case. It is a tool used to assure that a lawsuit isnt an exercise in futility. Although its not always successful, the main purpose is to prove that one has a valid case. It dismisses invalid claims. An example of summary judgment used in this book is when Cheeseman attempted to use this as a motion and asked Judge Skinner to dismiss the case, on the grounds that sclichtmann would be unable to present any competent scientific evidence showing that TCE causes leukemia. It was denied by the judge. We also see later in the book that Facher wants to file for a summary judgment based on the judges findings and the jurys verdict since the trial involving just the tannery would be a hopeless exercise. Through these methods we see the constant resistant of the companies as well as impartialitys by the judge to admit the wrongs of the massive corporate companies. .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce , .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .postImageUrl , .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce , .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:hover , .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:visited , .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:active { border:0!important; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:active , .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8f03dc6b64dc0499562e97a2cb60ffce:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Effects Of HIV Mutations On The Immune System EssayCivil suits are brought everyday although many of them are baseless or called dogs in the book. If they were to be brought to court it would be an excursive in futility, but there are also orphans which has some potential to the case. I think that the potential of this lawsuit to perform social change existed but was denied through Res Judicita. Res Judicita is when a matter once decided in a court of law remains decided, and this is what the judge used to rebuttal the truthful information which contradicted the verdict. This concept was expressed strongly in this book. Once the verdict was made, the judge overlooked the information that forthright proved the verdict to be false. If the information had been uncovered earlier, although money was taken, truth and justice would be entailed as well. I think that this was obviously impartial because it proved the courts decision to be completely false. schlichtmann and the families did not deserve this. One would think that a judge is a person who enforces justice but ironically in this case he was the one that denied justice. Lawsuits are what change and make laws. We constantly see this throughout history with landmark cases that dramatically change our society. This case would have changed social life through justifying wrong and cleansing the water as well as funding studies. A civil action suit is a tool just as much as any other case. Although many cases are baseless, if one were to dig through, they might have some hope of reforming society. We see this through Jan Schlichtmanns determination to win this case. This specific case had great potential to be a vehicle for social change and to seek justice as well as compensate the tormented families of east Woburn. Although this potential was held back greatly by the viciousness of the justice system that is dominated by rich corporate companies. This corrupt justice system cause the epic courtroom showdown that was told about in this book. This case is proof of the negative aspects that the legal system posses. It is a shame that the one true thing that the legal system is based on- justice- is the one thing that is denied. Rather than justice being served, pain and aggravation is served through domination of massive companies and impartialities caused by the people within this terrible justice system. Although this case proved to be a clear failure, it did serve one purpose that was of great importance. This purpose is that it furthered our knowledge about this corrupt justice system as well as expose the truth about the vicious corporate co mpanies dominated by money. I think that because of ones knowledge and expectation that the justice system will deny them justice and truth, one should not hesitate to bring his civil suit to court. For this case might not lead to the results they desire, yet it will fulfill an even greater task, which is to bring attention and awareness to the specific case, as well as show the truth about our established court system. This book did just that. Considering that it was a best seller, this minute Woburn case has touched the minds of many people within our society. This book taught everyone a great lesson about our legal system. A lesson that should push people even more to make their civil suits known and not to turn away from trying and attempting. With this awareness, I believe that the awareness will result in a social change in itself.

Persuasive Outline Essays (1236 words) - Drug Culture, Drug Policy

Persuasive Outline Topic: Legalization of Marijuana Audience: Essay General Purpose: To persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that hearing is very valuable and if some precautions are not taken then it may be lost forever. Thesis: I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: Did you know that the American government spends more than 20 billion a year on marijuana prohibition? B. Reason to Listen: Legalizing marijuana will have a positive effect on our country. C. Thesis Statement: Marijuana prohibition is ineefective because of its high cost, infringement of personal liberties, does not help, and has strong potential for medicinal use. people of all ages. D. Credibility Statement: 1. I have done research on the internet and from reading a TIME magazine article on this topic. 2. I have previous background knowledge on this topic E. Preview of Main Points: III. Conclusion A. Review of Main Points: 1. Liberty: people deserve freedom to use marijuana. 2. Cost: keeping marijuana illegal is expensive. 3. Failure: prohibition doesn't help. B. Restate Thesis: : Marijuana prohibition is ineefective because of its high cost, infringement of personal liberties, does not help, and has strong potential for medicinal use. Point 1 - Liberty: From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. Marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco Marijuana use does not endanger others and so therefore the government has no reasonable cause to ban its use. SUMMARY:Individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should use marijuana. The government should not tell individuals what to do as long as they do not harm others. Point 2 -Cost: keeping marijuana illegal is expensive: It would save our government lots of money. Marijuana users often get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have pay. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would be able to collect taxes on it, and would have a lot more money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes. SUMMARY:We would have more money to spend on important problems if marijuana were legal. Point 3; Fa ilure: prohibition doesn't help There is no good evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, and there are several theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use One unintended effect of marijuana prohibition is that marijuana is very popular in American high schools. SUMMARY:Prohibition does not work. Education and treatment are better ways to address the drug problem. Alejandro Iglesias Communication January 10th 2017 Persuasive Essay Persuasive Essay: Marijuana Legalization If you are concerned about how high taxes are, you may want to listen to this. Did you know that the American government spends more than 20 billion dollars per year on average on marijuana prohibition alone? This is a startling statistic that exemplifies one of many reasons marijuana prohibition is illogical, and hurting your wallet. In this essay we will dispell some common myths that support marijuana prohibition as well as look at some information that shows that legalization is good step for our country Marijuana prohibition is ineffective because of its high cost, infringement of personal liberties, and does not help our country at all. If you want a country with liberty as a strong virtue, lowered taxes, and reduced societal problems, such crime related violence and overcrowded prisons, vote "yes" on local legalization! The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual's actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will. The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. This argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco. Individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should use marijuana. The government should not tell individuals what to do as long as they do not harm others. The second important reason that marijuana should be legal is that it would save our Persuasive Outline Essays (1236 words) - Drug Culture, Drug Policy Persuasive Outline Topic: Legalization of Marijuana Audience: Essay General Purpose: To persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that hearing is very valuable and if some precautions are not taken then it may be lost forever. Thesis: I. Introduction A. Attention Getter: Did you know that the American government spends more than 20 billion a year on marijuana prohibition? B. Reason to Listen: Legalizing marijuana will have a positive effect on our country. C. Thesis Statement: Marijuana prohibition is ineefective because of its high cost, infringement of personal liberties, does not help, and has strong potential for medicinal use. people of all ages. D. Credibility Statement: 1. I have done research on the internet and from reading a TIME magazine article on this topic. 2. I have previous background knowledge on this topic E. Preview of Main Points: III. Conclusion A. Review of Main Points: 1. Liberty: people deserve freedom to use marijuana. 2. Cost: keeping marijuana illegal is expensive. 3. Failure: prohibition doesn't help. B. Restate Thesis: : Marijuana prohibition is ineefective because of its high cost, infringement of personal liberties, does not help, and has strong potential for medicinal use. Point 1 - Liberty: From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. Marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco Marijuana use does not endanger others and so therefore the government has no reasonable cause to ban its use. SUMMARY:Individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should use marijuana. The government should not tell individuals what to do as long as they do not harm others. Point 2 -Cost: keeping marijuana illegal is expensive: It would save our government lots of money. Marijuana users often get locked up in prison and the taxpayers have pay. In addition, if marijuana were legal, the government would be able to collect taxes on it, and would have a lot more money to pay for effective drug education programs and other important causes. SUMMARY:We would have more money to spend on important problems if marijuana were legal. Point 3; Fa ilure: prohibition doesn't help There is no good evidence that prohibition decreases drug use, and there are several theories that suggest prohibition might actually increase drug use One unintended effect of marijuana prohibition is that marijuana is very popular in American high schools. SUMMARY:Prohibition does not work. Education and treatment are better ways to address the drug problem. Alejandro Iglesias Communication January 10th 2017 Persuasive Essay Persuasive Essay: Marijuana Legalization If you are concerned about how high taxes are, you may want to listen to this. Did you know that the American government spends more than 20 billion dollars per year on average on marijuana prohibition alone? This is a startling statistic that exemplifies one of many reasons marijuana prohibition is illogical, and hurting your wallet. In this essay we will dispell some common myths that support marijuana prohibition as well as look at some information that shows that legalization is good step for our country Marijuana prohibition is ineffective because of its high cost, infringement of personal liberties, and does not help our country at all. If you want a country with liberty as a strong virtue, lowered taxes, and reduced societal problems, such crime related violence and overcrowded prisons, vote "yes" on local legalization! The first and most basic reason that marijuana should be legal is that there is no good reason for it not to be legal. From a philosophical point of view, individuals deserve the right to make choices for themselves. The government only has a right to limit those choices if the individual's actions endanger someone else. This does not apply to marijuana, since the individual who chooses to use marijuana does so according to his or her own free will. The government also may have a right to limit individual actions if the actions pose a significant threat to the individual. This argument does not logically apply to marijuana because marijuana is far less dangerous than some drugs which are legal, such as alcohol and tobacco. Individuals deserve the right to decide whether or not they should use marijuana. The government should not tell individuals what to do as long as they do not harm others. The second important reason that marijuana should be legal is that it would save our

Anna Karenina essays

Anna Karenina essays Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy is a novel about love and marriage among the Russian aristocracy in the 1870s. Anna is young, beautiful woman married to a powerful government minister, Karenin. She falls in love with the elegant Count Vronsky and after becoming pregnant by him, leaves her husband Karenin and her son Seryozha to live with her lover. Despite the intervention of friends such as her brother Oblonsky, an adulterer himself, she is unable to obtain a divorce, and lives isolated from the society that once glorified her. As a man, Vronsky enjoys relative social freedom, which causes Anna to have increasingly intense fits of jealousy. Because of her constant suspicion, she thinks that Vronskys love for her is dwindling. Their story is ended by an exciting finale that moves the reader. Interwoven with the story of Anna, is the tale of Levin, a thoughtful, passionate young man who seeks to marry the Princess Catherine Shcherbatskaya, known as Kitty. Kitty rejects his first proposal because she believes that Vronsky, who flirted with her before he met Anna, intends to marry her. Levin is devastated and withdraws to his country estate and works on a book about agriculture. But the couple reunites through another appearance of Oblonsky, Kittys brother in law, and they discover that they are deeply in love. Kitty joyfully accepts Levins second proposal. Once married, they live happily in the country, host their families and guests during the summers, and have a son. Levin's philosophical doubt and religious skepticism trouble him despite his domestic happiness, but, after a spiritual enlightenment, he finally recognizes that the capacity for goodness is innate. He devotes himself to living for his loved ones, and to giving his life meaning by advancing the will of God . Anna Karenina is a timeless classic and has been acclaimed by many literary critics as the best or one of the best novels of all time. One critic te...

The secret history vs the bacchants essays

The secret history vs the bacchants essays The novel of Donna Tartt The Secret Hystory has many similarities with the play of Euripides The Bacchants, but the differences are too contrasting beteween each other that it is safe to say that The Secret Hystory is definetly not a modern day version of The Bacchants. The themes are very different to the point where they contradict each other, the thenes of The Bacchants, that is Fear the gods and follow blindly the gods, is completely different and opposite to the thenes of the secret hystory which is to think ahead and know what effects will an action bring before doing any action. In the other hand the themes from The Bacchants almost urge you to have complete submission to the gods, thats why the theme between the bacchants and the secret history contradict each other. A similatiry is that both themnes of both the novel and the play teach us that if we dont follow their respective themes, we will end up in a tragic en like the charactes of the bacchants and the secret hystory. If you look back at the themes differences paragraph you will see that the themes contradict each other in the aspect of instructions yet, Donna Tartt uses a similar outcome for her characters to the characters of The Bacchants, in other words, Donna Tart is Criticizing Euripides play The Bacchants. The main difference of the plot between The Bacchants and The Secret History are that that Dionysus followers practiced the rituals because they were cursed by Dionysus, but the greek class students did the ritual by their own because they were curious, in other words, the greek students didtheritual by their own will, while the Dionsysus followers had no chice but to follow Dionysus because they were being mind controlled by Dionysus. This is a major plot difference ...

An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge Essay

An Introduction to the Theory of Knowledge - Essay Example Plato invites us to imagine a group of life-long inhabitants of a prison-cave with no knowledge what so ever of the outside world. When shadows appear on the walls of the cave the inhabitants take them to be real entities without knowing that the shadows are actually those posed by the humans outside. This explanation of Plato directs towards the fact that â€Å"most of us live in ignorance most of the time. The worst of this situation is that we do not even know we are ignorant†. (Mitchell, 2008) The truth that we perceive, therefore, seems to be subjective to our experience and conditioning.The emotional states of our inner being determine the way we see the outside world. Great poetry works are inclined to this particular phenomenology. Poet Matthew Arnold, once, sitting over the edge of Dover Beach claimed the â€Å"grating roar† of the pebbles that the sea flung back and forth over the beach to have brought the â€Å"eternal note of sadness in†(stanza 1). Th e withdrawing of the sea from the coast only reminds him of the ignorance of people and their diminishing faith in god. It is the melancholic and sad state of the poet’s mind that makes him behold the sea also as sad. For a sad person, even a bright sunny green day will appear to be boring while for a joyous person, even a rainy, cloudy or a gloomy day might appear to be mirthful! Differences occur among individuals on the way we emotionally react to certain situations. Temper-oriented people do not need much of a reason to go haywire in anger while for those spiritually and morally inclined individuals, even the most aggravating circumstances might be won over by forgiveness. How we take things, therefore, is a matter of our subjective emotional state. The reason that we claim for any happening is purely determined by the kind of mindset we have been brought up with.

Making references to at least two of the operas that we have studied, Essay

Making references to at least two of the operas that we have studied, write on the main features of opera as an art form - Essay Example The ma8in features of opera as an art form are historicism and social reflections, a strong impact on feelings and sensation and authentic nature. Opera is a form of art reflecting historical or social events, criticism and observation of the epoch. For instance, Prelude and Liebestod from "Tristan and Isolda" by wagner show that opera becomes a matter for critical attention in the light of this nostalgia for power it can give its listeners (especially this most famous listener), a nostalgia that works even now as a high-class aestheticist cult and longing for and pursuit of a pure experience. Opera is a phenomenon whose time has come, even if the form is practically speaking dead in terms of new writing and performance of the new. "But within a society which was a structural unity the knowledge of certain types of material could always be relied on, so that the author of a music-drama was always in the closest contact with his audience" (Wellesz and Kean 89). Prelude and Liebestod break up the order of the singing contest by praising sensuality and emotions. These forces, heard in the orchestra, are those of the prelude, whos e music momentarily reappears (Zuckermann 32). Similar to other forms of art, opera has a strong impact on feelings and sensation of the listeners. ... What is more, the emotional listener "fiercely resists all attempts to make him listen structurally -- more fiercely, perhaps, than the culture consumer who for culture's sake might put up even with that." ().In short, emotional listeners display a troubling anti-intellectualism and use music predominantly as an excuse for extramusical emoting. These are people who vigorously reject the romanticized excess of emotional listening. But rather than attempting to move beyond it, into the kind of critical awareness engendered by authentically modern music, they naively retreat to the music of periods which they believe (wrongly) to be safe havens from the forces of reification and the predominantly commodity character of music. Purity and simplicity are highly desirable attributes of music destined for paidela, lest its effects become diluted, mistaken, or confused. Instruments capable of panharmonic playing were therefore particularly troublesome. For instance, in Mozart's Overture from "Don Giovanni" the unique feature is extraordinary expression of desire and emotions in music. What emerges from Prelude and Liebestod from "Tristan and Isolda" is a "sense of Wagner as a way station, revolutionary in the sacralization of art and pursuit of synaesthesia, but still too confined to produce a completely 'pure' experience" (Zuckermann 37). It was not merely a matter of draining off specificity to achieve heightened mystery and a reformulation of the Subject, but also of problematizing the relationship between word and tone (Zuckermann 39). Following Wellesz and Kean (1950) 'the very complicated laws' that govern musical discourse; these lead to two independent spheres that, fused though they may appear to be,

Project risk management of south africa's 2010 world cup challenge Essay

Project risk management of south africa's 2010 world cup challenge - Essay Example These negativities pose a great risk in hosting such a mega event. This country has never got such a chance to propagate its plus points at any previous time in history so it should focus on appropriate planning of strategies and successful management of risks. The political risks are high, as the opposition would always scrutinize each and every effort and actions of the ruling party. Organizing such a big event without any political upheaval is nearly impossible. Reports have already started coming which state that opposition feels that spending so much of money in a gala event is not required when South Africa has other burning issues like poverty, unemployment and underdevelopment to deal with. Each and every issue related to world cup is taking a political angle. There are a section of people who believe that showing so much of interest in this event should not be the priority of the government, instead the focus should be in the overall development of the country. This viewpoint has the risk of further aggravating the political tensions as the opposition may try to project this viewpoint of a small section of society into the opinion of the masses. This entire hullabaloo will negatively impact the feelings of those who are pro FIFA w orld cup in South Africa and give a chance to the opposition in creating a situation that might pose a threat to the hosting and staging of the sports event. All other controversial issues of the South African politics will also come in the fore thus distracting the ruling party’s enthusiasm and focus towards the event. Hence political unrest in the backdrop of this gala event is a major threat to this project. Other major controversies like power shortage in the country and underdeveloped broadcast infrastructure would be greatly emphasized by the opposition which would pose a threat to the South Africa’s image to the entire world. There is a risk from a section of