The Fourth of July approaches and my thoughts turn to liberty. I want you to imagine something. It is a crime to drive recklessly. One can reasonably argue that anyone driving more than fifteen miles per hour over the speed limit is a criminal. We could have cameras in the highways or GPS devices in peoples' cars transmit such violations to the government. Then periodically, we could send notices of criminal violations to people's homes. And if people didn't show up in court, we could send armed agents to their homes to conduct raids, holding everyone at gun point while agents arrest the offender. We could say, "we have no choice. We must live under the law and not ignore it."
From pregnancy discrimination to negative actions against parents
While great strides have been made to improve workplace conditions and increase economic opportunities for women, there continues to be discrimination. Pregnancy discrimination is one of the most common.
Dealing with job search depression
Much of our practice is meeting with people who are losing their position. Especially when the person is older than 45, the time it may take to find a new job can be excruciatingly long. I always advise people not to take a break but to throw themselves into the search. I also advise them to stick to their habits. Set the alarm; leave the house; go to a set place and treat the day at work. The new job is looking for a job. I recommend daily or at least every other day meetings. Buy people breakfast and coffees. Increasingly one gets work either from headhunters or from one's own network. Forcing one's self to network and look good for meetings keeps one focused and limits depressive procrastination.
Far reaching consequences of sexual assault accusations
It's a story that should have had a happy ending. A young man plays football at a prestigious university. A professional team offers him a spot on their roster. While playing for the team, a newspaper prints a story about how the young man was banned from campus due to false allegations of sexual assault. Shortly after, the professional team cuts him from the roster.
The passage of time and human error
What seems so clear in one moment can seem so misguided years later. This NY Times article, "Linda Fairstein, Once Cheered Faces Storms After 'When They See Us", by Elizabeth Harris and Julie Jacobs discusses the career of the famous sex crimes prosecutor, Linda Fairstein. Fairstein did much to develop modern prosecutorial approaches to rape. She helped professionalize the rape units in county prosecutor offices and her lectures and her example excited thousands of prosecutors to organize their careers along her model in the last thirty years. Law and Order SVU was inspired by her example. After she stopped prosecuting, she wrote 20 crime and mystery novels.
