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Wednesday, June 17, 2026
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Opinion

The Observer

Need for guaranteed civil representation

By Justice Mory · Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020

In the U.S., a citizen's ability to secure favorable legal outcomes largely depends on the proficiency of legal representation. In the 1963 U.S. Supreme Court case Gideon v. Wainwright, the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee a right to legal counsel for all accused of a crime. This ensures a fair trial and due process for the accused person standing against his or her accusers. It is established then that the right to a fair trial can only be protected if a person has access to adequate legal representation, regardless of his or her financial status.

The Observer

Why we feel helpless

Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2020

We read nutritional labels looking for the two or three values that make a food “healthy.” We often assess learning in neat categories with established titles and well-defined precedents. We admire bold acts and risk-taking as aspirational models. Many times, we express surges of emotion with grand acts that feel commensurate with their intensity … And when we cannot, we are thrown out of our comfort zone and we feel helpless, trapped and desperate.

The Observer

Civility is hard for the oppressed

Monday, Oct. 26, 2020

I'm not saying that we should silence those who have no stakes in the argument. Many of these ideas require opinions from everyone to be exchanged for solutions to be produced.  I'm just that saying maybe the message should shift to listening to others who are different than you. Talking to only like-minded individuals from similar backgrounds is not political discourse; it's reaffirming your own beliefs. Politics are intersectional; to avoid talking about ideas that are divisive does not do anyone any good.

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