I definitely feel like I’m exploring answers to my essential question, just not in the way I had originally planned. All of the different things I’ve done have sort of been different ways of approaching my essential question, whereas my original pre-corona plan would have answered it more directly. My online class is teaching me a lot about the philosophical, ideological basis for the creation of the American justice system. For example, rather than learning about the exact history behind who proposed what, (which is information that I’d already learned in my tenth grade and DIA history classes) I feel like I have a better understanding of the intellectual background that framed the creation of our justice system, and the ideologies that oppose or undermine certain aspects of it. 

Through the books I’ve read, I feel like I’ve learned a lot about the processes within the justice system, such as appeals, plea bargains etc. However, I still feel like this is an area where I have a lot left to learn, especially because some of the books are pretty dense. This week, I started the OJ Simpson TV series, which is adapted from the book The Run of His Lifetime by the reporter Jeffery Toobin. I’ve almost finished it, and I’ve found it incredibly interesting because it really shows you how both the prosecution and the defense work to craft cases, and how they use evidence and witnesses. The show is obviously documenting a very unique case, so it’s crazy to see how much publicity and the media enter and influence the courtroom. Another thing I’ve learned a lot about from the show is how a jury functions, which I hope to learn more about by reading the book We, The Jury.