‘Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson is based on court case dealing with a Japanese- American man on trial for being accused of killing a white man. The story takes place back around the 1940s when World War II was happening and America started being hostile to Japanese-Americans. Throughout the story there is a minor character named Alvin hooks who was the prosecutor which played a huge part in the trail demonstrating the acts of being prejudice against the Japanese. I will be talking about how Alvin hooks displayed his acts of being prejudice towards the Japanese in order to win his case and get Mr. Miyamoto prosecuted.
In the beginning Alvin Hooks brings his very first witness to the stand sheriff Art Moran which was a minor character throughout the story but had to still testify. The sheriff explained that last night it was foggy on the lake and the boat lights where still on. Therefore he and his deputy came out to Carl’s boat later on the next day to see if everything was alright. Once they made their way to the boat they found that everything was clean except for a coffee cup on the floor. Later on, the sheriff found Carl’s net which contained him. They brought up the net from the water which had his dead body in it. They witness that they have seen a wound on the side of Carl’s head. Alvin hooks replies with disgust knowingly convincing the jurors already that Mr. Miyamoto is the one that killed Carl.
In the court room Mr. Hooks makes a point with the evidence he is given and testimonies by witnesses to prosecute Mr. Miyamoto. Mr. Hooks takes some drastic measures by using personal attacks and being prejudice towards the defendant to convince the jurors that Mr. Miyamoto is a killer. During the trail Alvin hooks b...
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...stions to the man, but Kubuo keeps changing his story. Alvin hooks starts to make remarks about Mr. Miyamoto saying “You’re a hard man to trust, Mr. Miyamoto. You sit before us with no expression, keeping a poker face through.” After that remark Mr. Miyamoto stepped down from the stand and the whole juror got a good look at him. Therefore Alvin hooks felt that he was back on track to having the juror side with him then the defendant.
At the end of the court session Alvin hooks does not stop with being prejudice against the Japanese. Making them feel like they are not human and they do not belong here. Alvin hooks is one prosecutor that does not give up on his cases and will use any form of evidence against you. In the end the jurors do not side with him because it was a misunderstanding in how Carl died. Carl died by a mishap of events that caused him to pass away.
Facts: Rex Marshall testified that the deceased came into his store intoxicated, and started whispering things to his wife. The defendant stated that he ordered the deceased out of the store immediately, however the deceased refused to leave and started acting in an aggressive manner; by slamming his hate down on the counter. He then reached for the hammer, the defendant states he had reason to believe the deceased was going to hit him with the hammer attempting to kill him. Once the deceased reached for the hammer the defendant shot him almost immediately.
The court system includes the judges, jury, prosecutors and defense attorneys. The Attorneys convince the suspects to take plea bargains, the judges are sometimes unfair in the decisions they make, and the prosecutors overlook exculpatory evidence. Picking cotton shows in detail some common errors of the court system. During Ronald Cotton 's first trial, His Attorney, Phil Moseley, tried to bring a memory expert to testify on the unreliability of memory but the judge denied his request. After Ronald 's case was overturned by the supreme court, he got a new trial in another court which had even more problems and bias. First, there was racial prejudice during the jury selection. “Four black people from the community got called in for jury duty. The judge himself dismissed one of them and then Mr turner made sure none of the rest sat on my jury” Ronald cotton stated. Because he was black, the four jurors were dismissed and he was left with an all white jury and two white Alternates. Second, the judge “Held something called a “voir dire” hearing, which Phil explained meant he would have to put up all the evidence about Poole in front of the Judge, but not the Jury”(129). Also, Ronald Cotton 's defense attorney explained to the judge the parallelism between Bobby Poole 's case and the rape Ronald Cotton was charged with. Despite the weak physical evidence against Ronald Cotton, the
John smith, the accused, stood up in the courtroom and started yelling at the judge about what he thought of his innocence irrespective of the decision that the judge would make. He also cursed the prosecutor and kept quiet when his lawyer warned him of the negative consequences that would follow if he continued with the same behavior. Smith
Kabuo Assumed Guilty Because of Japanese Heritage in Snow Falling on Cedars by David Guterson
One's identity is a very valuable part of their life, it affects the Day to day treatment others give them which can lead to how the individual feels emotionally. Atticus, defending Tom Robinson, who is an african american man from the plaintiff of the case, Mayella Ewell, who is a caucasian woman, accusing that Tom raped her is supposivly a lob sided case. During the great depression, any court session that contained a person of color against a caucasian would always contain the “white” individual winning the case. The cause of the bias outcome comes from the lawyer of the african american does not try to defend or the jury goes against the person of color simply because their black, this shows the effect of racism to anyone’s identity in the courtroom for a case simply because of race. Atticus, deciding to take Tom Robinson’s case seriously sacrifices his identity as the noble man he is, to being called many names for this action, such as “nigger lover”. He is questioned by
Kabuo Miyamoto comes across to the reader as a sensitive individual who is taking this murder trial in his stride. David Guterson shows that Kabuo was depressed whilst, "been exhiled in the county jail for seventy seven days - the last part of September, all of October and all of November, the first week in December", here Guterson lengthens the description of how long he was in jail for and creates a sense of boredom for Kabuo.
Juror #10, a garage owner, segregates and divides the world stereotypically into ‘us’ and ‘them.’ ‘Us’ being people living around the rich or middle-class areas, and ‘them’ being people of a different race, or possessing a contrasting skin color, born and raised in the slums (poorer parts of town). It is because of this that he has a bias against the young man on trial, for the young man was born in the slums and was victim to domestic violence since the age of 5. Also, the boy is of a Hispanic descent and is of a different race than this juror, making him fall under the juror’s discriminatory description of a criminal. This is proven on when juror #10 rants: “They don’t need any real big reason to kill someone, either. You know, they get drunk, and bang, someone’s lying in the gutter… most of them, it’s like they have no feelings (59).
“He was active in local affairs, a devoted Christian and solid citizen who believed in public service and always ready to volunteer”(1) .Ben had no rhyme or reason to murder Bill because Grisham demonstrates how bill has no character traits to have any enemies therefore the murder was done in cold blood. All these quotes which are background information and personal experience strategy are given so the reader has a sense of who Bill was and a sense of who Ben was a way of showing how effective background information is to a reader.
... I've lived among them all my life. You can't believe a word they say. You know that. I mean, they're born liars.” In this statement you can clearly tell his prejudice against the kid, just because of where he was raised. Juror # 10 and juror # 3 has prejudice against the kid. Juror # 3 has personal experience with a kid like the accused. “Reminded of his own family's personal crisis, Juror # 3 tells the jurors of his own disrespectful, teen aged boy who hit him on the jaw when he was 16. Now 22 years old, the boy hasn't been seen for two years, and the juror is embittered: "Kids! Ya work your heart out."” This is a direct example of juror # 3’s prejudice against the accused. When prejudice was in effect in the movie, it clouded the judgments of the jurors that were prejudice against the boy just because he was raised in the slums.
To begin, parallel and conflicting characteristics can be realized by exploring the judges of the two cases. Judge Horton and Judge Taylor both presided over the cases. Judge Horton was the second of three judges in the Scottsboro cases, and Judge Taylor was the fictional judge in To Kill a Mockingbird. The two both exhibited undeniable sympathy to the defendants in the cases. Judge Horton sympathizes with the nine Scottsboro boys by declaring, “You are not trying whether or not the defendant is white or black … you are trying whether or not this defendant forcibly ravished a woman” (People and Events). It is obvious that Judge Horton was unprejudiced and believed the boys should be treated with equality. This attitude is akin to the one of Judge Taylor; Taylor assigned Atticus Finch, a notable lawyer, to the case of the fictional black character Tom Robinson. Maxwell Green, an inexperience rookie, should have been assigned the case; however due to Taylor’s empathy, Tom obtained a decent lawyer who would do h...
This movie goes to show how such crucial facts and minuet evidence if not processed fully and clearly can change the outcome in such a big way. In this jury you have 12 men from all different walks of life, 12 different times, and 12 different personalities. Who have an obligation to come to one conclusion and that's whether or not the young man on trial is guilty of murdering his father or is innocent beyond a reasonable doubt. Under much frustration and lack of patience these 12 men began to get unruly and unfocused. Throughout this distraction key terms get misused, facts get turned around and more importantly emotions start to cross making it hard for these men to produce a verdict.
The victim, Carl Heine, is of European descent; the accused man, Kabuo Miyamoto, is of Japanese ancestry. There is also a small community of Japanese residents on San Piedro Island. David Guterson’s novel Snow Falling on Cedars includes themes of love and war, but none is more central than racism and prejudice as a choice of the heart and mind of the individual. The collection of characters, complex or flat, that Guterson presents sets the tension and focuses on the issue of individual choice. The trial is in its opening stages, but already the reader can experience the racial tension in the atmosphere.
Johannes Mehserle was arrested on January 13th for the murder of Oscar Grant. Mehserle was granted bail; it was set at three million dollars (Bulwa). He testified that he thought that Oscar Grant had a weapon and was going to stock him with his stun gun but by accident he pulled out his gun. The prosecutors were trying to get him convicted of second-degree murder, by saying Mehserle was angry with Grant for resting the arres...
... believed in the innocence of the young man and convinced the others to view the evidence and examine the true events that occurred. He struggled with the other jurors because he became the deviant one in the group, not willing to follow along with the rest. His reasoning and his need to examine things prevailed because one by one, the jurors started to see his perspective and they voted not guilty. Some jurors were not convinced, no matter how much evidence was there, especially Juror #3. His issues with his son affected his decision-making but in the end, he only examined the evidence and concluded that the young man was not guilty.
It was a hot and dusty day when Bass Reeves, the biggest most powerful man in the West was awoken. Feared by many and respected by all Bass was no joke. Word of a murder spread around the small town like a wild fire and work for Bass soon began. Upon arrival at the scene it became all to evident who committed the crime. A friend turned enemy, family turned foe.. his own blood. After a few minutes of intensive questioning and intimidation's, Bass finally came face to face with him, Bennie. As they stood in front of each other, Reeves towering over Beenie with rage filled eyes. The showdown was about to commence. Beenie came full charge at Reeves with everything he had in him. As Beenie neared the skilled Bass simple sent a gust of wind his