The Grand Jury: Justice or Injustice?

Have ever heard of The Grand Jury System? It is a unique judicial system of U.S. However, recent issues like the Ferguson incident brought serious questions on its justice. One of our members wrote it and shared his idea. Feel free to express your opinions through the comments!

The Grand Jury: Justice or Injustice?

Sulki Jeong

Pusan National University

Law and Global Studies

             In general, court needs indictment to take the case and make the decision. The United States (US) is no exception. These days, with regard to the matter of the Ferguson incident, the grand juries consisting of local citizens made the decision not to indict the police man to the court.

             The grand jury system is originated from Magna Carta in Britain history. Its purpose used to be maintaining the check and balance against the king, allowing citizens to participate in court hearing. Now it is abolished in Britain and the US is the only state that retains this system. Some of the states, however, do not have it. Ferguson, the city belonging to the state of Missouri, is applicable with grand juries system.

             In the process of grand juries system, there is no judge or lawyer. Only a prosecutor, juries and witnesses present. Juries will hear the facts of an incident from witnesses and legal explanations from the prosecutor. The decision-making process will be done based on supermajority, and the number of requirement for indictment is different depending on the jurisdiction of each state.

             The original purpose was to protect the citizens from the super power like king. Some criticize, however, that the prosecutor has shifted the Ferguson case to the grand juries in order to avoid the public criticism for their incompetence. Their argument is that the prosecutor should be competent enough to indict the police man and prove his guilt. Some stand by the prosecutor, saying he has shown the best efforts he can. The fundamental principle of criminal case is that defendant is innocent when it is beyond a reasonable doubt.

             So, what do you think? The grand jury system applied to the case of Ferguson, is this buck-passing or the best efforts that prosecutor could make?

‘The Newsroom’ Reminds the Difference Between Fact and Truth

Do you like the TV show 'The Newsroom'? Here is an writing that one of our members wrote on it. She loves the show and she wants to share what she thought on this TV show. If you like the Korean TV show 'Pinocchio', you will like this more. Your thoughts and opinions are always welcome!

‘The Newsroom’ Reminds the Difference Between Fact and Truth

Yunzee Kim

Graduated from Dongseo University

Broadcasting and Media Studies

“He got knocked down!” (The Newsroom, Season 3 Episode 1)

This is what Charlie (Atlantis Cable News, aka ACN, president) said when he saw that CNN admitted that the earlier report on the Boston Marathon explosion was wrong. It gets staff at ACN-the imaginary station in this TV show- more nervous and cautious since it alarms the importance of reporting facts to them. CNN broadcasted in a rush and did not check the contents of the reports and it lost many viewers who expected it to be trust-worthy. From then, ACN starts to focus more on fact check for more accurate reports on the explosion.

This story, in the Newsroom, reminds me that media can remain faithful only when they deliver accurate and trust-worthy news. Actually, this accuracy is important not only for the stations’ sake but also for the people who could be influenced by the news. Sometimes, when inaccurate reports go out, troubles happen.

The recent Korean TV Drama, Pinocchio, is a good example of this. There is a fire accident and a rescue team goes inside and they all die for a huge explosion. All bodies of the rescue team are found but one body, the chief of rescue team, is missing. Then, a man witnessed someone who looks like the chief. This man, who insists on what he witnessed, actually has Pinocchio Syndrome, which indicates someone who cannot lie. (Of course, this syndrome is made up!) Due to his testimony, all media starts to blame the chief. He is the one who gets the rescue team in danger. Harsh reports on the chief impact his family and the family gets crushed and the wife commits suicide.

These two stories in The Newsroom and Pinocchio force me to think of my definition of the difference between the fact and the truth. In my opinion, since a fact is what is shown exactly, it is objective. On the other hand, since truth can be concluded by all facts and people who connect several facts to one truth, it could be subjective. Therefore, in this process, media takes an important role of fact-check to reveal what is a truth behind an incident. If media takes it seriously, I am sure it could have good influence on the public and it would get faith from viewers.

Now, I want to ask you “To you, what is the difference between the fact and the truth?” 

The Great Gatsby

Have you ever read "The Great Gatsby"? One of our members want to share his thoughts and ideas on the book. Anyone can comment on this article, feel free to do it! 

The Great Gatsby

Seunghyun Kim

Political Science & Dipolomacy

Yeungnam University

The Great Gatsby is one of the most famous works of literature from the United States of America. Some people may ask why "The Great Gatsby" is famous and even considered masterpiece. The reason is that the Great Gatsby shows the situation of the U.S.A. and the thoughts of young people in the 1920s.

As we know, The U.S.A. is made up of immigrants, and most of them had the American Dream when they decided to immigrate to the U.S.A. This work discusses the early immigrants’ hopes that anyone could be rich. It shows this dream with the Green Light. From now, we will summaries and discuss some features 1920s through the Great Gatsby.

The narrator, Nick Carraway, is Gatsby's neighbor in West Egg. He visits his cousin, Daisy Buchanan, and her husband, Tom. Like Nick, Tom Buchanan graduated from Yale, and comes from a privileged Midwestern family. When Nick returns home, he sees Gatsby gazing at a mysterious green light across the bay. One day, Nick attends a party at Gatsby’s mansion and meets Gatsby.

Before the party, Jordan Baker, a beautiful young woman with a cold, tells Nick that she has learned some remarkable news. Later, Gatsby asks Nick to arrange a meeting between himself and Daisy. Nick realizes that Gatsby wants Daisy to renounce her husband and her marriage. Thanks to Nick, Gatsby has a reunion with Daisy. Daisy invites Gatsby, Nick and Jordan to lunch at her house, and she tells Gatsby that she loves him. As soon as Tom notices this air, he forces the group to drive into the city: there, Tom and Gatsby have a bitter confrontation.

 On the trip back to East Egg, Gatsby allows Daisy to drive in order to calm her nerves. Passing Wilson’s garage, Daisy swerves to avoid another car, but her car hits Myrtle, Tom’s mistress. She is killed instantly. Nick advises Gatsby to leave town until the situation calms, but he refuses to leave. George Wilson, driven nearly mad by the death of his wife, is desperate to find her killer, and Tom tells him that Gatsby was in the car. Wilson shoots Gatsby before committing suicide himself.

The work ends with the death Gatsby. I think that Gatsby’s death represents one side of the American Dream; in other words, early immigrants tried to get a lot of money, but most of their attempts ended in failure. Besides, we know that Gatsby made his money by selling bootleg liquor. Notably, Gatsby’s party displays a lot of young people who tended to live meaninglessly; many young people focused on meaningless things such as drugs, drinking, sex, etc. in the 1920’s. Like these, we are able to understand situations and people’s thoughts in those days by reading literature. Finally, understanding the cultural or economical situations of those days is one of the best ways to read literature.