#district session court jobs

[cinnamorollcrybaby]

Couldddd you please write something with hiromi?? I'd appreciate itttt so muchh :)

At Law

Tags: Hiromi Higuruma x fem!Reader, modern!au, nsfw, mdni, academic rivals, enemies to lovers, hate fucking, unhinged!hiromi, depictions of violence including murder

Synopsis: Being the state’s district attorney was your dream job. After years of law school and hard work, you were finally appointed the job and allowed to represent the state in court. You singlehandedly decided which cases to prosecute and who to bring to justice. When your old academic rival, Hiromi, shows up as a defense attorney in court one evening, you know he’s going to give you a hard trial… and a hard fuck.

An: Anything for you nepobaby :)) Hope you enjoy this. I swear I'm going to make these shorter every time, but then, I start writing and literally can't stop.

You two have been chasing each other for the longest time.

It started in law school. You don't exactly remember how it happened, but slowly over time, you and Hiromi began playing your little academic race.

Both of you were brilliant, quick, and determined. Honestly, you two were like a professor's dream to have.

You found yourself studying longer, committing to all-nighters just to read over several codes of law and past cases in the court. All of it just to score a little bit higher than him on a test.

But dammit, he was faster than you when answering questions the professor proposes. His photographic memory serves him well as he's able to distinctly remember what code a law comes from and where the code is at in the Code of Federal Regulations.

Don't even get me started on how mock trials went. The professor would actually have to stop pairing you two against each other because it would become so toxic and brutal between the two.

As law school progressed, the workload just got worse. The school expected you to complete assignments, study for the bar, and take on unpaid internships. You were a slave for your degree.

Hiromi wasn't immune to those types of pressures either, and as much as he hated to admit it, study partners help retain information better. It would help effectively consume the source material in half the time. Unfortunately, the rest of his peers were just so beneath him...

Well, besides you.

All-nighters weren't lonely anymore. You and Hiromi would drink enough caffeine to kill an elephant and go through weeks worth of content in a night.

"You know... the release of endorphins can help concentration and reduce stress, thus helping students study." Hiromi said one early morning.

It was around four a.m, and you two were covering the petty crimes section. To say it was incredibly boring was an understatement. Students like you and Hiromi would never represent or prosecute clients in petty crimes. You two were destined for so much more.

"What are you suggesting, Hiro?" You ask before a small yawn escapes your mouth. You hadn't even looked up from your book.

"I'm suggesting that we help each other by taking a quick break." He responds as he shoves the book away from your lap. Your surprised eyes look up at his tired ones, and he cups your cheeks before he leans down to kiss you.

You would walk into class sore the next day. As soon as the adrenaline from one round wore off, you two were gunning for the next.

Your study sessions continued on and so did your competitiveness.

When you scored one point higher than him on the bar, he hate fucked you until morning.

Then, he made it his mission to surpass you everywhere else too. Recruiters and attorneys personally from different law firms were ringing Hiromi's phone constantly.

You genuinely believed that he would take the calls on speakerphone just to fucking spite you. You could hear the lawyers on the phone praise him so highly, practically begging for him to come practice at their firm.

Of course, you were getting some recruitment opportunities too, but it was still somehow harder for women to find jobs in the criminal justice field than it was for men. You also hadn't been selling yourself to these firms as much as he was because you had your mind set on working for the state. You wanted to be a prosecutor for the district attorney.

The icing on the cake was when you two were having one of your "study breaks" (aka Hiromi had you bent over your bed, and he was delivering the deepest, most toe curling backshots known to man), and he took a phone call from the district attorney's office.

His hand covered your mouth as he continued to thrust roughly into you while the man on the phone offered Hiromi a job.

"Hm? Oh, thank you for the opportunity." He graciously spoke over the phone as he was absolutely bullying your insides. Your stomach coiled from anger and arousal. You fucking hated him so much. "I'm weighing out all of my options now, but I'll have an answer for you by the end of the week, sir."

After more pleasantries, he hung up the phone and bent over to where he could whisper in your hear. "Hear that, little dove? I'm getting job opportunities from the state while you're under me getting ruined."

"You know, I'll probably be too busy from here on out to play this childish games with you." Thrust. "That'll be too bad, won't it?" Thrust. "Can't say I'll miss you though." Thrust. "Maybe this pretty cunt, but that'll probably be it." Thrust. "Better make this last one count, shouldn't we?" Thrust.

Oh, and he made good on his word. Your entire body ached after he made you finish for the nth time that evening. "I'll see you around, little dove." He whispered in your ear before pressing a kiss to your cheek and leaving your dorm.

He made good on his word about that too. He never returned to your dorm. Sure, you two were graduating in two days, but some small part of you thought he'd might come over for a celebration.

No, he left you behind. He left you behind. You lost.

The anger burned hot for a few months as you gathered barrings after law school, especially when you'd see his name in the papers.

Defense Attorney Higuruma gets a non-guilty verdict for alleged drug trafficker!

Higuruma sways jury in closing argument, providing the most gut-wrenching speech!

Higuruma, Higuruma, Higuruma.

He was a fucking sensation in the criminal justice field, and his name left a sour taste in your mouth.

The anger only started to subside once you landed your dream job after a long internship. You were finally a prosecutor in a major circuit court in the crimes division.

Hiromi's name finally fled from your brain as you started to flood the newspapers.

Prosecutor helps put away notorious serial killer for life.

Cartel drug lord behind bars after district attorney helps deliver a guilty verdict for over 32 charges.

You finally felt like you hadn't been left behind. You were living the life you wanted to live ever since you were little. Did you imagine you'd be married by now? Yeah, sure. You just... hadn't met the right one yet.

Dating was hard while maintaining a professional career. You had to be extremely choosey for one. It would be scandalous to see a prosecutor dating someone with a criminal record.

And the men were sweet, don't get me wrong. They'd take you on nice dates, write you pitiful love letters, and treat you like a princess... They were all so collectively boring, especially in bed.

You'd tell them! You'd give them incredibly detailed instruction to be rough and mean to you, but they'd always laugh and make some excuse for not wanting to hurt you. Ugh.

Maybe you were ruined by Hiromi... because the only thing that got you off nowadays was the thought of him whispering hateful words into your ear while pounding himself into you with little concern or remorse.

Slowly, the gifts would start appearing.

A bouquet of white roses sitting on your desk. Do you miss me, LD?

You thought it was a simple mistake or a sick prank from one of the criminals you help lock away. You would quietly dispose of the gifts until the slowly became more alarming.

Miss your sweet sounds, LD. An audio recording of you moaning on a tape recorder played.

Who are you trying to look nice for, LD? None of those men could treat you like I did. Pictures of you going out on a date.

I'll take care of them for you. Don't worry your pretty little head, LD. A dead dove.

This was enough to get a harassment and stalking charge, but you didn't want to concern the local police. For one, you knew how lousy the police were when it came to crimes like this from working alongside them. They were honestly an embarrassment. For two, you didn't want this getting out to the public because then copy cats would start up.

You tried investigating on your own, but you came up to a dead end every time. The way this person called you LD made your head spin. That's not even your initials, but the gifts were certainly intended for you.

The only refuge for you was when you were in a court room. You felt safe and protected. A stalker of this degree wouldn't be ballsy enough to confront you in a courtroom while you're surrounded by police and bailiffs constantly.

Your refuge was short-lived by catching a glimpse of a familiar face in court one evening.

He looked as handsome as he did in law school. Hiromi's tired eyes met yours, and he almost immediately cracked a smile as he approached you during recess.

"Well look at you, dove." He smiled as he looked down at you. Hiromi's dark hair laid messily on the top of his head, and he was wearing a full business suit that framed his body nicely. "I see the district attorney's office settled for the second best option after I turned them down. Good for them."

He was still as arrogant and competitive as ever, making your heart flutter like it did back in law school. "Very funny, Hiro." You roll your eyes as you stand to look up at him.

"It's all harmless jokes. I promise. I'm proud of you, really." He assures as his eyes wander your body for just a moment.

You're not use to his praise. Normally, you're not the type to enjoy it, but hearing those words made you clench around nothing as your stomach swirled with butterflies.

"Thanks... I've heard good things about you as well.." You murmur quietly, suddenly losing all your nerve. "So, are you representing someone?"

"I am. I didn't just come here to watch you for fun. Though, I would've had I known you were such a big shot." He nudges your arm gently, causing you to laugh softly. "I'm representing a young man charged with murder. I'm sure you heard about it. Big news all over the television."

"Who was the victim?" You ask as you flip through your case files. If this was a first setting, surely you wouldn't go to trial today, but the thought of going to trial against Hiromi made your heart pound with excitement. Not many lawyers gave you too much trouble during court, but Hiromi... he would be a good match.

"They can't identify the victim. Male, John Doe, early twenties. That's all the information the cops have." He explains, and you start skimming through the case file quickly. It's astonishing that the police made an arrest when there was hardly a body to work from.

"Huh." You muse quietly as you look through the crime scene photos and pictures of the defendant's hands covered in soot from a fire. The victim had been burned.

"I'll be making a motion to dismiss this case based on a lack of substantial evidence linking my defendant to the body. Just a heads up." He then winks at you and walks away from your bar as the judge comes back and sits on the bench.

It seems as though you and Hiromi will have one last back and forth like old times.

When his case gets called before the judge, Hiromi takes the pleasure in speaking first. His client is handcuffed, sitting down next to him. The defendant was young, maybe nineteen. The evidence supporting his conviction was weak, but it was still there. Convincing a jury to convict him will be tough, and that's if the judge doesn't dismiss the charges outright.

After a long, drawn out argument between you and Hiromi about the proponderance of evidence, the judge decides to not dismiss the case.

"In that case, your honor, we would like to request a hearing today." Hiromi speaks with such confidence as he stands before the judge.

"Your honor, the state hasn't had adequate time to prepare for a hearing, and this is first setting. We'd like to request a reset date to prepare our defense." You immediately follow up as you also stand up.

"Your honor, my client has been incarcerated for over twenty-five days for a charge that has flimsy evidence at best. He has a right to a speedy trial." Hiromi rebuttals.

"Enough. We'll have a trial today whether the state is ready to proceed or not." The judge decides. Wonderful.

The trial is as painful as you imagined it to be. The evidence is flimsy, and Hiromi is practically bullying the witnesses on the stand, and when it's your turn for redirect, he practically bullies you with objection after objection.

"And what did the police-"

"Objection hearsay." Hiromi stands from his chair and eyes you with that cold stare of his.

"Your honor, I haven't even finished my question without the defense counsel butting in." You argue to the judge.

"Overruled. Counsel, let her finish." The judge warns.

Your head is practically throbbing by the end of it. The jury deliberates for two hours before coming back with the sentence. You tried your hardest and made good work with what evidence you had.

"On the charge of first-degree murder, we the jury find the defendant... not guilty."

Dammit. Hiromi won once again.

"On the charge of abuse of a corpse, we the jury find the defendant... guilty. On the charge of tampering with physical evidence, we the jury find the defendant... guilty. On the charge of arson, we the jury find the defendant... guilty."

He didn't win.

"On these charges, I will impose a sentence of twenty-five years in the Fuchu Prison with the possibility of parole after ten years." The judge sentences before whacking his gavel down.

You let out an exhausting sigh as you slowly gather your things after court adjourns. Today was likely the hardest day in your career, and you can't help but think about that young nineteen-year-old who won't see freedom until he's twenty-nine.

Hiromi approaches you after the courtroom is completely empty.

"You seem tired, dove." He muses as he loosens his tie from around his neck. He'd never admit it, but you absolutely gave him a run for his money.

"It's not everyday someone gives me that much trouble in court." You softly laugh as you look up at him. You feel your cheeks warm as you realize how close he is to you.

"Yeah? Did it bring back old memories?" He steps closer as his hand slowly reaches up to cup your cheek.

"Hm? Of me winning our mock trials?" You ask with a cheeky grin, and his grip tightens a bit.

"I distinctly remember our record being 15-13 with me having 15 wins." He replies as he leans down to you. He remembers the score you two kept from back in law school?

"You must be still sore about me outscoring you on the bar if you kept up with our scores from mock trials."

"Mmm, quite the contrary actually, you've always been my favorite opponent, even if you piss me off." He replies as he leans down towards you and presses his lips against yours.

The kiss was full of everything you could ever imagine: heat, lust, a hint of resentment towards each other. Before you know it, you're pressed against the table as Hiromi's hands roam your body like he's in a frenzy.

"Hiro.." You moan as he kisses down your neck roughly biting on your flesh. "My office.." You whine, trying to get him to ease up on you just long enough so you two could get out of the courtroom.

"And if I say no, little dove?" He whispers in your ear as his hand slips underneath your dress with such ease. "You'd let me take you right here, wouldn't you?"

"Hiro~" You whine in a breathy tone as his fingers trace around your clit like they did so long ago.

"That's not an answer, little dove." He demands as he applies more pressure. "I asked if you'd let me fuck you on this bar until you forgot your own name."

"Yes-!" You gasp as his fingers skillfully play with your most sensitive area.

"That's what i figured. You were always such a slut back then too. Somethings never change, hm?" He muses as he goes back to sucking and kissing on your neck. His fingers tease near your entrance, but they slowly trail back up to your clit.

"You're lucky I respect you enough." He growls lowly before he removes his hand. "Lead the way to your office."

As soon as you two are behind closed doors in your modest office, clothes are being thrown onto the floor, moans and small whispers of sweet nothings were exchanged. You could quite literally feel your heartbeat fluttering deep inside your cunt.

He gently nudges you to lay down on the leather couch you had in your office for the late nights you spent reviewing evidence. Your skin connects with the soft leather as he gets between your legs. "I wonder if you still taste the same, little dove."

His tongue gently laps at you, and he immediately hums with satisfaction. "Somehow sweeter, actually." He answers his own question as flattens his tongue and licks you from entrance to clit, savoring your fluids of arousal on his tongue.

Your hands find his hair, and you gently tug on it as he helps himself to your wetness. He takes his time, lapping at you slowly while gently suckling on the small bundle of nerves. Sometimes you swear he's spelling his name into your cunt with his tongue before he shoves his tongue directly inside you, drinking your nectar straight from the source.

"H-hiro~!" You whimper as you try to shuffle your hips away. The stimulation was too much to handle.

"Don't try to run from me, little dove." He grunts as he wraps his arms around your thighs and pulls you right back down onto his mouth.

His nose bumps into your clit as you subconsciously ride his face, searching for release. "Yeeahh, there we gooo. There's my little dove.. bein' such a slut." He coos as he buries his face deeper into your core.

His entire face is damp from your delicious juices. He's such a messy eater, getting it all over his chin and nose. His tired eyes flutter up to look at you as you're on the crux of your orgasm.

"Cum on my face, little dove. Let me have you." He instructs before lapping at your cunt like a starved man.

Your voice goes high pitched and breathy as you grab onto his hair tightly, forcing him in even more before you finish all over his mouth. He gratefully continues to run his tongue along your folds until your legs are trembling on his shoulders.

You softly pant as you relax into the couch. You hadn't had an orgasm like that in so long. You had almost forgotten how they feel.

Hiromi looks up at you with a confident smirk and an intoxicated gaze. "Seems like you missed me, little dove."

"Please, I only missed when you're too preoccupied to run your mouth." You retort with a grin.

"Is that so?" He questions as he pulls down his boxers, and his length springs up from the constraints of the fabric. You tug your bottom lip between your teeth as you're reminded of how big he is.

As if on muscle memory, you turn to get in doggy position because that was his and your position of choice back in college, but he grabs your thighs and prevents you from moving.

"Nuh uh. You're gonna look at me when I take you this time." He grins as he positions himself between your thighs. He fists his length a few times before slowly dragging his fat tip up and down your sopping wet folds, savoring the feeling with a small groan. "I wanna see the tears in your pretty eyes, little dove."

You're about to argue and protest about the tears part, but he's quick to shut you up by forcing his length into you all at once. Hiromi's not only long, but he's very girthy, stretching you so deliciously. White hot pain courses through you as your nails dig into the couch.

"Ah-! F-fuck!" You curse as you try to get use to his size.

"Mmm~ you're tight, dove. How long has it been for you, hm? Surely you've fucked someone since college, unless you've been hopelessly waiting for me." He grins as his hips are slow. He allows you the space to almost get use to him before he shoves into you aggressively, making you see stars.

"Ngh... p-probably like.. uh.. oh god, six months?" You answer as you stutter over your words. Your last hookup had ghosted you after you slept with him. Though, it didn't really bother you. He wasn't good in bed at all, and he called you crazy for asking him to be mean to you during the deed.

Hiromi simply smirks down at you, proud of himself for how fast he can make you a mess underneath him.

"Oh, you poor thing... hah.. No one can take care of this pussy like I can, hm?" He taunts as his hands grab ahold of your hips. His eyes are fixated on where you two are connects. He loves watching his length sink inside you.

Your warm wet entrance only serves to suck him in further, causing him to groan and continue his deep, ruthless pacing.

"N-no..." You're not even able to deny it to him and play hard to get. No one comes close to making you feel as good as he does.

His hips snap forward harshly, fucking you deeper into the black leather of the couch beneath you. Your entire body jolts with each rough thrust.

"Only I'm good for you, isn't that right little dove? You're mine, aren't you?" He asks as his hand reaches up and wraps around your throat, gently applying pressure. His eyes are now staring deeply into yours, waiting for an answer.

"Fuck, Hiro.." You whine, unable to commit to saying you're his. He applies a bit more pressure with his thumb and fingertips.

"I asked you a question." He grits as he slams back into you at a dizzying rate. "Are you mine?"

"Oh~ fuck.. I-" You can barely get a word out as he's ruthlessly abusing your little cunt. This was the roughness you had begged all those other guys for. "Yes-! God, fuck, yes." You cry as you feel your stomach clenching with the burning passion of another orgasm.

"I'm gonna let you in on a little secret because you're mine now, dove." He mumbles lowly as he leans closer towards you. His hips keep up with his rhythm as his face is close to your ear. "That guy you sent to prison today was innocent of all counts."

Your hands reach up and hold onto his back muscles as he's rutting deep inside of you, reaching new places with his new position.

"What-? Hiro... I don't.."

"You sent an innocent man to prison, little dove. Doesn't that bother you? You're sick just like me." He continues on, making you feel all confused.

"How... ah~ how do you know he's innocent?" You ask as your eyebrows furrow. Your hands search his back, and your legs wrap around him as if you're hugging him.

"Because I did it." He growls into your ear. "That pathetic excuse for a man wasn't good enough for you, LD."

Chills immediately shoot through your body from him calling you by those damn initials. LD. You cling to him for a moment, unsure of what to even feel or say. His hips continue to rut inside of you.

"What's the matter, little dove?"

LD. Little dove. You squeeze your eyes shut as you finally piece everything together. Your last hookup didn't disappear. Your stalker, Hiromi, took care of him just like he promised he would.

For some sick reason, your stomach continues to clench as he's rocking back and forth. Your eyes meet his.

"Hiro... that's so.." You can't get the words out before you're finishing all over his cock with a high-pitched squeal.

Hiromi grins wildly as he watches you come undone from your orgasm. "My little dove is just as sick as I am, isn't she?" He coos before he leans back up.

His hips starts to drill into you mercilessly, not giving you a chance to catch your breath or even think. "Oh, fuck!" He curses as he's chasing his high deep inside you. “Mmnph~ gonna cum inside you and really make you mine.” He coos as his hips start moving sloppily.

You know it’s so wrong and taboo, but you couldn’t help but feel your arousal start building again. He just confessed to you about a serious crime, yet your pussy was still soaked, making the most delicious plap! plap! plap! noises as he pounded into you.

“Fuuuuck~” He groans as you feel his thick length twitching inside of you as he spills deep into your womb.

For a moment, you’re completely speechless. Hiromi softly pants as he presses small kisses into your collarbones. “‘m sorry. I had to do it, dove. I couldn’t let him get close to you.” He murmurs quietly. “Only I get to hear your sweet sounds. No one knows you better than me.”

Taking a deep breath, you realize that if this ever gets brought to light, you and Hiromi are going down for life. You gently nuzzle your face into his neck. “Hiro, you’re insane.”

“I know that, I do.” His voice is so sweet, cooing to you. “But we can get away with it, even if we’re miraculously caught.” He presses a sweet kiss to your temple.

Well, a year later, and the two renowned lawyers are married. At least you didn’t marry someone with a criminal record ;)

[beardedmrbean]

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday made it harder for the federal government to win court orders when it suspects a company of interfering in unionization campaigns in a case that stemmed from a labor dispute with Starbucks.

The justices tightened the standards for when a federal court should issue an order to protect the jobs of workers during a union organizing campaign.

The court rejected a rule that some courts had applied to orders sought by the National Labor Relations Board in favor of a higher threshold, sought by Starbucks, that must be met in most other fights over court orders, or injunctions.

The NLRB had argued that the National Labor Relations Act, the law that governs the agency, has for more than 75 years allowed courts to grant temporary injunctions if they find requests “just and proper.” The agency said the law doesn’t require it to prove other factors and was intended to limit the role of the courts.

The case began in February 2022, when Starbucks fired seven workers who were trying to unionize their Tennessee store. The NLRB obtained a court order forcing the company to rehire the workers while the case wound its way through the agency’s administrative proceedings. Such proceedings can take up to two years.

A district court judge agreed with the NLRB and issued a temporary injunction ordering Starbucks to rehire the workers in August 2022. After the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that ruling, Starbucks appealed to the Supreme Court.

Five of the seven workers are still employed at the Memphis store, while the other two remain involved with the organizing effort, according to Workers United, the union organizing Starbucks workers. The Memphis store voted to unionize in June 2022.

As as the case proceeded, animosity between Workers United and Starbucks began to fade. The two sides announced in February that they would restart talks with the aim of reaching contract agreements this year, and they held their first bargaining session in nearly a year in late April.

Workers at 437 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores have voted to unionize since late 2021, according to the NLRB, but none of those stores has secured a labor agreement with Starbucks.

[destinygoldenstar]

Just A Couple Of Fun Headcanons Of TD Characters (Courtney)

- Courtney was born a princess. Okay, not literally. She was born as the daughter of a very rich high class society. Her parents were judges in Provincial Courts, and several of their friends were lawyers who spent more time in their home than them.

- Courtney is an only child.

- Courtney, for her entire upbringing, would be surrounded by wealthy famous people. That alone was enough to influence quite a bit of her desperation.

- On the day of her birth, everyone around her treated her like she was an adult. They’d have very adult conversations around her about their jobs, their hardships, the terrible work industry, etc. Her parents, her lawyers, they all did this. Courtney picked up on that as soon as age three. By five, she never spoke in the mindset of a small child.

- Courtney was always deemed the good girl. She needed the validation that she was a good girl. Who ever wanted a bad girl after all? That was worse than a bad boy.

- Courtney was definitely the responsible one of her schools. It kind of drove other kids away. 

- When she was in the first grade, she was given the lead for a school presentation for districts. She was so excited for this role that she stayed up all night looking through the lines. That caused her to forget every line and humiliate not only herself, but her entire school. Upon this failure, Courtney forced her excitement into suppression to perfect her management with time, to make sure this never happened again.

- Courtney was heavily stimulated. She always handled the situation poorly. Enough so that instead of bottled up temper tantrums, she could’ve just been pacing around or playing with her hands. 

- Courtney had a coloring book she cherished, of all kinds of fairy tales. But she got made fun for it in school, and that kid got a broken nose. She blamed the book, so she dumped it in the garbage in favor of her only dream being to become a lawyer.

- Courtney’s parents weren’t really into things like consolation or playtime. Her parents were always busy with work, so she’d either play with herself or with a lawyer taking a day off. If she even played at all. Their form of ‘consoling each other’ was either brushing off whatever was bothering them, or if it was serious enough, it warranted a law lecture, or punishment and then claim that’s the solution. 

- Failed a test? Grounded for an entire semester. Got a cold to skip schoolwork? Take an all-nighter writing forty pages of amendments on why you think you’re smart for ‘faking it.’ Mediocre presentation? Watch everyone else do it better than you just to rub it in.

- In this household, this is peak parenting and exactly how children become successful and precious angels. (Spoilers: It’s very toxic)

- Courtney was always taught from her parents that she HAD to do things ‘the right way’. There was no other way to success. If it wasn’t ‘the right way’, it was wrong.

- Courtney always wanted to make sure she was doing things right. She didn’t want to disappoint anyone, or most certainly herself. Her environment basically told her that if she wasn’t perfect, she wasn’t good enough. 

- When Courtney was six, she gave herself violin lessons. When she was seven, she put herself on the debate team. When she was eight, she put herself in choir lessons. She put herself in after school study sessions that’d last nearly four hours a day. Her parents didn’t really ask her to do this, but when she did, they were very proud of it. 

- Courtney was a perfect straight A student. No flunking whatsoever. A 100 was a casualty. If it was literally ANYTHING below 100, she beat herself up for the rest of the day.

- One time, she got a 99.5 on a final, and she had a tantrum for the rest of that week thinking it was the biggest failure of her life.

- Courtney had pretty good relationships with her lawyers, and saw them more as friends than her parents. One of them goes to her violin performances just to support her. Another is a great tutor for her. They always support her and her needs to make her happy.

- Courtney decided her dream to become a lawyer mostly on her own. In her eyes, lawyers were the best of heroes who brought justice to all that is wrong and unjust. A part of her just wants to have a name for herself besides ‘daughter of rich people’ with nothing else to offer under her belt.

- Courtney became a CIT solely because of her academic success. Not for any morality of her own. However, hardly any people went to her for help because her advice was ‘suck it up’ ‘study harder’ ‘get better’ ‘stop complaining’. She almost never considered emotion to be a rational factor to healthy success. 

- It’s because of this that Courtney never had true friends. She never appeared to want any. If she had to choose between friendships and herself, she’d pick herself in a heartbeat. No questions asked.

- When a student who was nice to her cheated on an exam, she turned them in. They never wanted to hang out with her again. Did she feel bad? No.

- When a guy asked her out on a date the same night as a debate show (that was no big deal) she willingly went to the debate show. She had no feelings for him anyway, and felt nothing when he lashed out on her and dumped her for lying to him. Did she feel bad? No.

- When Britany Reed came into her life, she often chose an art passion over the debate team. Courtney tried to force her into ‘the right path’, and it only pushed Britany away. In Courtney’s mind, it’s Britany’s fault. Britany would be lost in a bad path. Courtney doesn’t even know what Britany’s path was. Did she feel bad? No.

- When her father cheated on them with a movie star, and it resulted in her parents suing each other, Courtney immediately took her mother’s side and shunned her father. She never said goodbye when he left the house, and left him to rot. She was twelve when this happened. Did she feel bad? No.

- Courtney was told in all these instances that it was not her fault. She was a good girl. It’s not her fault.

- Courtney never got the emotional support she needed to give it to herself. After her family split up, her lawyers put her with several therapists to try and teach her about maintaining personal relationships. 

- Needless to say, ALL of those therapists sucked.

- Her first therapist was in a very toxic relationship and got fired for it. Her second therapist ended up committing suicide. Her third therapist died from a plane crash just ten days after getting with her. Her fourth therapist was really stupid and clueless about helping people. Her fifth therapist scammed their way into their job, and they got arrested for it. And her last therapist before Total Drama was good hearted but quit to take care of their family. 

- To summarize as clearly as I can, Courtney is incredibly emotional because she was never taught to deal with it. All those emotions you experience growing up, or as a child, Courtney never gave room to deal with. She never gave herself a childhood. When you bottle up that phase in your life and not embrace it, then it’s gonna pour out in bad times and make you self destructive.

- Courtney is a caffeine addict. She takes a lot of all-nighters and gets up four in the morning almost every day. So she’s always drinking more coffee than a healthy person should.

- Before Total Drama, Courtney got an honor roll for a law school thanks to her lawyers, who were more family to her than her actual family. However, to truly become a lawyer, she needed a name for herself. A good name too.

- Right from the start, Courtney saw herself as the winner of the show. She was the star to route for, and everyone else was a pawn to use for the game. She wasn’t as harsh as Heather in Island about it because unlike Heather, she didn’t know the social game as well.

- Against this judgement though, she did form a small friendship with Bridgette, as the only two sane girls on the Killer Bass. Although Courtney never really took the time to know what Bridgette liked. She gave Bridgette an encyclopedia as a present. Yeah... this friendship wouldn’t be that close.

- And then there was Duncan. Her first ever crush. And friend.

- Courtney denied her crush on him solely because he was a criminal. She’s been taught to hate criminals and punish them. So Duncan’s lifestyle disgusted her. She told herself she could get over it and that she didn’t actually like him.

- But here’s the thing. Duncan wasn’t a one dimensional criminal. He put in the effort to talk to her and get to know her.

- Off camera of the show, Courtney was just chilling after the first elimination ceremony (by chill, I mean planning how to prevent herself from getting in the bottom two again), and Duncan decided to bug her about the chicken hat. At first, she tried to push him away. But she became surprised when he mentioned that he didn’t vote for her, despite his suggestion to do so in the first place. 

- From there, Duncan always came up to her when she was alone to flirt with her, or try to talk about each other. Soon, Courtney anticipated it, so she’d distance herself from the rest of the cast. She learned quite a bit about him, and slowly began to see how complicated he really was. It was certainly alluring. 

- They talked to each other about their strict parents a lot. It was a venting thing they did. They both had fights on who had the worse family. 

- When she found out he helped DJ with Bunny, she saw a whole new light in him. He wasn’t just a bad boy. He was a redeemable bad boy. He was someone who needed her help to be fixed.

- Duncan became not just Courtney’s first real boyfriend, but her first real friend. She wanted to do everything for him. Her life had a whole new life in it, of excitement and purpose. He was her play thing. He was ALL HERS.

- And then she got rigged out of the game.

- Courtney immediately accused the game was rigged even before she knew it was Harold. She was ready to go after the producers with a ton of lawsuits. 

- When she did find out it was Harold, she threatened murder. She was invading every corner of the resort to find him and didn’t stop. This went on for several days, and her threats became worse and worse when she couldn’t find him.

- Did Courtney apologize for beating Harold to a pulp? No.

- Courtney was always routing for Duncan. She was FURIOUS when he didn’t win. 

- This also made Courtney hate Owen. She couldn’t stand him and kept her distance from him as much as possible. (Why did she route for him in the finale? She didn’t. She was on her side and her side only. She just picked a seat next to Duncan.) (Also have these two characters ever interacted with each other? I don’t think they have.)

- Despite the loss, Courtney was going to move on. She was going to make a peaceful relationship with Duncan and go to law school. Everything would be perfect.

- Courtney was desperate for that million dollars. NOT because of the money, but because it meant she could create whatever life she wanted. 

- Again, if Courtney had to choose between the game and her loved ones, she’s picking the game no questions asked. This is her policy for the entirety of the special and Action. (And also All Stars)

- She also does not know how to apologize.

- Shortly after the new season was called and she was on the sidelines, Courtney learned that she couldn’t go home.

- Her mother was on a business trip during Island, and Courtney never said goodbye. Her mom was caught in an accident caused by a drunk lunatic. She died in the hospital soon after.

- Her mother had a will. Courtney was never mentioned in it.

- It was enough to prove to Courtney that she still had no fame for herself. If she wanted to be loved for anything, she needed to win. She couldn’t be in anyone’s shadow but her own. 

- So Courtney got to work on her lawsuit. She was not stopping until she wins. All she cared about was winning.

- Courtney’s lawyers supported her in the lawsuit on the show. Because Courtney’s actually decent towards them. But in Action she was overworking them quite a bit and it tired them. They would’ve remained her closest allies if only she apologized afterwards. She didn’t. 

- The PDA withdraw genuinely devastated Courtney. After all, they were her allies for her entire life and they pull the plug on her needs like that?

- Courtney was responsible for Owen’s mole role. She sued it when she saw the opportunity with his broken jaw. He was being a mole for her sake, so they’d vote him off and not her. She even guilt tripped him on the PDA about his family to make him beg to the producers for work.

- Duncan and Courtney were in a relationship during Action. I know that seems like a stretch, but I see no reason why they would not be. Their acts in Action were just Duncan trying to flirt and make it as functional as possible. Courtney however, always chose the win over those she cared about.

- Courtney wanted to help Duncan. She loved him enough that he was the only person she put up with, and wanted to be around. She wanted to help fix him and bring him back to the ten year old kid who as so kind and soft. The only difference to that would be that he was successful. She genuinely thought she was a great girlfriend and was doing everything for him.

- That resulted in the amendments, which she thought was a great idea. How could Duncan possibly hate it?

- Then Duncan voted her off for it, which left her in a state of shock and rage. He tried to get rid of her? What did she do wrong? In her mind, nothing.

- In fact, nobody took the time to properly explain to Courtney that her actions in Action were wrong. Instead of explaining a new perspective of the situation to her, they just left her alone to figure it out herself. They had nothing to say to her. So what left was Courtney to do than blame them? Nobody gave a good argument for why anything was her fault.

- Thankfully, her worries about Duncan were discarded when he won. All she had to do was date him, and bam, everything was perfect. 

- So in Action, Courtney learned nothing.

-  Courtney moved out into an apartment with Duncan. Courtney went to a semester of her law school during the hiatus, and despite the lack of help from her parents and her lawyers, she dominated the boards with her fame. People feared her.

- This girl could write thirty essays on the law in just a week. That’s how perfection-hungry she became. 

- Courtney continued her relationship with Duncan, and in her eyes, they were perfect... until they weren’t. Duncan was incredibly stubborn and rebellious for reasons she didn’t get. All she did was tell him to change his act. She did that nearly everyday in their relationship, and wasn’t afraid to put her foot down. Make out sessions would become fights more and more, and the raccoon custody did not help.

- She never had a pet before, but it wasn’t gonna be a raccoon. She’d buy herself a Guinea Pig a few months later. Her name is Ace.

- Courtney was aware that Duncan was hanging out with Gwen. She heavily demanded he stayed away from her. The show certainly filled her head with ideas on what could be going on. (Worst part was that she was right)

- Yes, she publicly humiliated Duncan and broke up with him, but the kiss on the bus? She, on her accord and not his, called back their relationship. She gave Duncan ZERO say in this. So he kinda just gave up when Courtney kept refusing to hear him out.

- Courtney refused to compare herself to Heather. If anything, she always claimed that Heather would always be the worst of all of them. So there’s no way Courtney could be bad. Courtney, whenever Heather used her for yelled at her, would pull a hair prank that Gwen and Sierra gladly helped with. 

- Sierra liked Courtney. She always saw Courtney as a go-getter with an attitude and energy that was alluring. Courtney ate up that praise, so she was relatively nice to her.

- Gwen introduced Courtney to Twilight. Courtney loved it and considered the romance to be ideal. 

- When Duncan came back, Courtney wanted to spend every waking moment with him. She dragged him to sleep with her in first class, but there wasn’t any coffee on the plane, so she ended up falling asleep. 

- Whatever. Nothing happened from that. He was ALL HERS.

- And then IT happened, and she heard the news of it...

- To Courtney, this was so much more than a betrayal. This was the end of the world. Duncan was her only friend. He was all she had left. He became the entire world to her, and redeeming him became her goal and thrive... and then he went behind her back and cheated on her with some filthy goth? 

- This was more than a heartbreak. This was WAR. Gwen and Duncan were gonna PAY.

- That’s all Courtney wanted. She wanted to see Gwen suffer. She wanted Duncan to regret his choice. She wanted everyone to regret ever treating her like this. 

- When Courtney broke up with Duncan, she was constantly trying to make him apologize for cheating on her. He didn’t apologize for that. He was apologizing for keeping the action from her. Courtney found that unacceptable. Duncan claimed outright, “You don’t deserve me.”

- Courtney NEVER considered the why in their actions, and why Duncan did this to her. Nobody explained to her what she did wrong in their relationship. So with no counter perspective given to her, she decided it was not her fault. It was all Duncan and Gwen.

- Because of her terms with Sierra, she got a lot of people to route for her. The majority of the IN UNIVERSE fandom sided with her and expressed how sorry they were for her. Courtney deserved better. (Though this was mostly because the fandom was shielded from the abuse that went down in the hiatus.) (And they were Duncney shippers.)

- Alejandro was one of the only people nice to Courtney. When she was emotionally destroyed and breaking down, he came to her to comfort her. He claimed that he sided with her, and wanted to help her as much as he could. At that point, Courtney needed a friend.

- Courtney remained friends with Alejandro. Technically, she never realized Alejandro was using her. She did that herself. 

- Courtney had a party when she got rid of Gwen. It suddenly became the happiest moment of her life. ‘The evil is defeated’

- Needless, Courtney became heavily confused when Duncan didn’t take her back. What did she do wrong? 

- After they were both eliminated, Duncan berated her for siding with Alejandro and helping him. He tried to tell her that there was nothing she was gaining for the support. 

- Courtney sent a viral comment in response to Gwuncan. It was a ten page letter of next to nothing but cussing.

- Believe it or not, people LIKED that post. They thought Courtney was completely justified.

- Courtney ate up that support, and at first tried to use it to win Duncan over. It backfired on her. 

- Courtney’s obsession caused her to not study a trial situation at law school, and she insulted the defendant for no reason. She got demoted for that, and a guilty criminal got away with an innocent conclusion. 

- Courtney became heavily self destructive after World Tour, and it cost her high position in law school. She whined her way into getting people to think her hardships were uncalled for and that she was a victim. Talk about a drama queen.

- When her boss finally fired her, unable to stand her hot headed dent in the court, Courtney send an ‘F you’ post online. Again, there was over a dozen pages of cussing in that post.

- To be fair, a lot of people became scared to say anything negative about Courtney from how much she went off the rails.

- For a rare time in her life, Courtney got a break with no work to do. She mostly spent her day off locked in her closet to reflect on the times when Duncan lived with her in that place. They used to be happy memories, and it made the whole breakup hurt more. The time to breathe gave her a chance to actually cry about the situation, with no one to berate her for being whiny.

- She didn’t need Duncan anymore, someone who she deemed was the problem in the relationship and everything that got her demoted. 

- Courtney let go. She realized that Duncan was feeding off of hate. So she gave him nothing. She was erasing herself from his life and let him starve. The world was gonna hear nothing of Duncney. They’re not gonna hear Courtney talk about him again. Duncan threw their love in the trash, and he can go rot for all she cared. It was over. She was done.

- In a last ditch effort to save her career, Courtney signed on to All Stars to salvage her fame. Right from the start, she only had one goal: Win.

- Courtney was a Heroic Hamster because people routed for her in the love triangle. They wanted her to get revenge and win Duncan over again. When they realized she had no intention to ever associate with Duncan again, they turned her into a Vulture.

- Courtney always felt like the Villainous Vulture role was uncalled for and didn’t suit her in the slightest. After all, she did nothing wrong.

- She made that list of eliminations right from the start and planned to emotionally manipulate both Gwen and Scott to support her.

- Hate to say it, but when Courtney said she loved Scott, or that she missed Gwen, she didn’t mean most of it. She had no care for Scott, and just wanted to use him. Gwen was more sincere in her eyes, and she did miss her, but she also had a goal in her mind shielding her from truly meaning all the good moments she shared with Gwen in All Stars. (Sorry, the writers put me in a corner with this one)

- Everyone turned on Courtney when she revealed her betrayal. She was eliminated on her own actions. For the first time, she had nobody to blame but herself for her loss. 

- There was a sliver of care and apology for Gwen and Scott, so Courtney actually did vote for herself. (Seriously, I don’t understand why the writers couldn’t at least show that she did THAT. It would’ve been a redemption for her, I shouldn’t have to headcanon it!)

- Courtney’s fame was lost pretty quickly, because the producers never showed the fact that she voted for herself and regretted her actions. People didn’t hear from her for quite a bit after the show.

- Courtney sent Duncan one last message when he was in jail, a little note that said: “I hope you rot in that cell.”

- Courtney moved out to the countryside to get time to herself. She still wrote for the court, but wasn’t present in it. She worked for a small bar and occasionally was a teacher in a school in the neighborhood. The kids didn’t like her because she was strict and gave tons of homework every day, even on the weekends. Needless to say, it was a quiet phase in her life that she needed.

- Part of it was that she learned Scott lived in the countryside. Courtney hoped to run into him and make a relationship with him. They did, but it lasted very short. Scott lost attraction to her when she failed to apologize properly. They became long distance friends.

- Courtney sympathizes with Eva. They’re buddies in a sense that they understand each other. (You know, Courtney talking about Eva before when saying a bad temper will never get you anywhere... that is what we call irony.)

- Courtney came back to court when she learned Gwen had a case. So she came back to law school to regain her position so she could take this case. 

- Needless to say, Gwen was very skeptical to see Courtney again. But Courtney came to her not to ask for Gwen’s apology, but for Courtney to apologize herself. She knew she didn’t deserve Gwen, not after everything, but if she could’ve called it off with Duncan sooner, or accepted her losses, she would’ve won. But she knew they were victims of her abuse, and just wanted to have one friend stay by her side despite everything, and she promised to put her name aside.

- Gwen accepted the apology.

- Courtney was put back in court after the successful case, and she was promoted to a proper prosecutor.

- Part of Courtney wanted to get a lawsuit involving Duncan, but none came. Duncan had accepted his fate. 

- Courtney tried to track him down so she could at least acknowledge to him that she was a cause of his situation. But she couldn’t find someone who didn’t want to be found. Besides, she was a prosecutor and he was a criminal. If they reunited, they’d be enemies. 

- Still, this search for Duncan did want Courtney to find something else in her life: Marriage. She was pretty desperate to find a love that’d last forever. 

- She didn’t get married to anyone. She tried dating several lawyers and interns to hope she’d find a relationship that worked. However, none of these relationships lasted long. None of them could stand her temper. After awhile, it kinda broke her heart realizing her actions in the past would have a permanent consequence like this. 

- Why this? Well, just because Courtney managed to apologize to one person, doesn’t mean she’s permanently going to blame herself for everything, and she’s certainly not an angel.

- Courtney was a very successful lawyer and business woman, even if her business in sending people to jail left several families hating her. They didn’t like her doing her job, or her beliefs on the Canadian laws involving strict creativeless policies. Whether or not you’d hire her depends on what kind of person you are, and if you can get behind her scary short temper and refusal to let the situation be personal. 

- Because of this, Courtney was deemed as one of the most controversial lawyers of her time.

- Courtney, if you get on her good side, could be kind to others and show decency, but it would never get in front of her personal laws. Her lifestyle and situations, and nobody being able to tell her it’s her fault for the longest time, transitioned her into a selfish, ruthless competitor, who was downright a villain. (Maybe that’s why she got the job of a prosecutor) 

- Courtney deserved a proper redemption arc, but she unfortunately wouldn’t be able to emotionally get it. She’s a jerk, whether or not you understand and sympathize with her. You can either claim she deserved to become a villain, or feel sorry for her, and you’d be valid. Maybe if she was raised differently, she could’ve been so much more.

(Thanks for the recommendation. I wanted to do Courtney for awhile. She’s such a complicated and divisive character, and very interesting to me. I personally thought the concept of her character was brilliant, just overshadowed by dialogue and execution of her screen time that I didn’t agree with. But as you could probably tell from this, I like Courtney having a negative character arc, I just thought canon didn’t handle it very well. If written properly, and if her backstory was actually canon, she could be a very successful cautionary tale on choosing between your personal relationships and your success. Now, again, she’s divisive, so a lot of people are gonna disagree with my take on her. That’s fine.)

[dungeoneering102]

MECHANUS: Culture & Law

(art credit to Chris McDowall’s book - Electric Bastionland)

So I’m currently working on a small two-shot that will take place in Mechanus, the Plane of Absolute Law (from the current D&D cosmology). I’ve been working on designing a point crawl and developing the Capital City of Mechanus, which I named Bastion (a direct rip-off of Chris McDowall’s Electric Bastionland book).

While working on this, I started on my regular process of designing a city, and decided to share some of it with you guys. My first step in designing ANY large settlement. 

The process is simple: break it down into smaller pieces and define what they are. From there, fill each piece with ideas. So join me, as I brainstorm the template for a new city.

Cities as Districts

To better manage a city as DMs, it’s best if we divide them up into smaller segments. Districts or boroughs are good way of doing that. We can further divide those into Streets or Neighborhoods if we need to.

Most cities can be simplified into a few key districts required to run it:

Administrative District. This is where the city government is! This is the king’s court, the guards’ HQ, the city hall, maybe even the city dungeon. It’s the BEST defended and patrolled area. 

Industrial District. A city survives on what it makes. The goods a city produces travel out to generate income. Furthermore, industry provides jobs to the denizens of a city. Every city usually has one or two different industries - from coal mining to rice farming. You can even make up more unique industries that power a city, like film and theater.

Mercantile District. People tend to want stuff - food, furniture, etc. And not everyone is going to make their own stuff. So Merchants come into play. These are craftsmen and salesmen of various goods who provide to people that can’t (or won’t) provide themselves.

Sin District. Every town worth it’s salt has one of these - the slum filled with shining casinos and loud taverns, where people go to forget their worries. It’s vices might not be morally wrong, but they still are vices. 

Poor & Rich Districts. These depend on the city you make. If you want to make an economic utopia or don’t care to highlight different classes of citizens, you can just combine these into Residential District. Otherwise, these are the homes of the poor and the noble, the destitute and the wealthy. There should be obvious differences between these. It’s hard to get into the Rich District due to borders and gates, its hard to get out of Poor Districts due to its sheer size and overwhelming nature. 

Academic District. Most towns have districts dedicated to their schools, academic pursuits, scientific labs, wizard towers, what have you. Here gather the minds of the future!

Recreational Districts. These are parks, art quarters, gardens, and other places of relaxation and distraction that people can visit when they’re feeling bored. These locations may be gated behind status and luxury or they may be open to all who will come by. 

This ☝️ all is of course an oversimplification of what a city makes. But I’m just a DM and I gotta prep a session in 2 days, so I don’t have time for complex systems. Simple and easy. But if you got time and energy, I welcome anyone to come up with more complex systems of city design. If you’re interested, I can share some pointers. Consider:

Ptolus: City by the Spire, by Monte Cook. It’s considered one of the most comprehensive guides to a SINGL city.

Spire: the City Must Fall, by Rowan, Rook, & Decard. It’s a system and a setting, but man what a setting it is.

In the Cage: A Guide to Sigil, by Wolfgang Baur. It’s an old school, D&D 2e guide to Sigil, the city in the center of the universe in the Planescape setting. One of my favorites.

(art credit to Strata: A Spire RPG Sourcebook, by Rowan, Rook, & Decard)

On the other hand, if you want simpler city design ideas, look here:

Electric Bastionland, by Chris McDowell. Check the GM’s section for EXCELLENT advice on quick and easy design of cities, dungeons, and wilderness. 

Fever Dreaming Marlinko, by the Hydra Cooperative. It’s a great pseudo-slavic fantasy city with nice, crunchy details.

Worlds Without Number, by Kevin Crawford. Has one of the BEST DM toolsets I’ve ever seen - including stuff for designing cities. 

[absolxguardian]

A reply on this post

@crypticdoe Legal weed being technically unconstitutional has nothing to do with drug legislation itself. Rather it has to do with the Supremacy Clause of the constitution. If something is a valid federal law- not violating the constitution and given federal jurisdiction either through being an enumerated power or an implied power (the Wikipedia article on the Commerce Clause explains it pretty well, and specifically includes the justification for drug laws)- federal law preempts state law. Weed is still federally illegal, so the state laws legalizing weed are unconstitutional.

The executive branch of the federal government is currently executing prosecutorial/administrative discretion by not having the FBI/DEA arrest everyone involved in legal weed across the country. That's the same as a state prosecutor choosing not to press charges. They can change the situation at any moment if they wished. Congress probably also has the power to pass a 'actually do your job' law, but that's the kind of thing where it has to actually happen and have the constitutionality decided to be able to say if it would be valid.

I learned this from my AP Gov class, so here's what the textbook said:

The 1970 Controlled Substances Act remains federal law. What happens, then, when a state legalizes marijuana while the drug remains illegal at the national level? The answer depends on whom you ask, which level and branch of government are being asked, and the political mood of the nation and states. As the legalization movement was under way, but before it had crossed a tipping point, federal authorities in Republican President George W. Bush’s administration began a crackdown on marijuana growing operations and medical marijuana dispensaries in California. Legalization advocates and patients sued the federal government, arguing that states had the authority under the Tenth Amendment and the police powers doctrine to determine the status of the drug’s legality. However, on appeal, in Gonzales v. Raich (2005), the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution’s commerce clause entitles Congress to determine what may be bought and sold. Thus, federal marijuana crimes were upheld.

Though that precedent still stands, the Justice Department under Democratic President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder took a different approach. Through his eight years as president, eight states—those laboratories of democracy—legalized recreational marijuana. In 2014, the attorney general announced the Obama administration’s revised approach to enforcing marijuana violations. In doing so, he did not rewrite the law. Holder did, however, declare that the Justice Department would not use federal resources to crack down on selling or using the drug in states where voters had democratically deemed marijuana legal. Ultimately, federal arrests for marijuana became nearly nonexistent.

Until recently, Democrats and Independents supported legalization more than Republicans. However, as Gallup reports, most Republicans now support legalizing marijuana. The policy debate on legalization and how federal law would be enforced surfaced in the 2016 primary and general elections for president with a variety of responses from candidates in both parties. After Donald Trump took office and Attorney General Jeff Sessions—an anti-drug conservative—was sworn in, pot users and medical marijuana proponents watched closely. During the Trump administration, the Department of Justice under Attorney General Jeff Sessions declared that local U.S. attorneys—those presidentially appointed prosecutors who bring federal crime cases to court in their districts across the country shall be the local determiners of how federal marijuana policy is handled. In fact, the Justice Department attorneys and the FBI deal with a variety of federal crimes on a daily basis and decide whether to prosecute and which crimes are higher on their priority list. This inconsistency from administration to administration may be confusing and destabilizing to some, but it is an inevitable element of administrative discretion.

[justalittleconfusing]

Things my mutuals have helped me through post 30 in between talking about smut - Lol @seriouslysam8 can confirm some of the brainstorm sessions where I take one for the team as the penis euphemism googler RIP my algorithm

Dissolution of my oldest friend group (20+ yrs)

Speaking out about sexual assault in my kid’s school district by sharing my story

Going back to therapy

Dealing with the aftermath of an assault and the legal process of pressing charges/going to court etc

Day to day “I am annoyed with my husband lets run away and form a commune or wait we both like penises” problems

Coping with a chronically ill child

Sending me videos of my child’s spirit song because he missed the concert (he still watches “Better Days are Coming” on hard days @takeariskao3 )

Helping me decide to quit my job to take care of said child

Realizing I am slowly going insane in the monotony of the day to day of said medical caregiving

Deciding to go back to school

Deciding which doctoral program to choose

Helping me write my entrance essays

Helping me brainstorm my dissertation (despite not knowing the topic my god are my tumblr fandom besties the best sounding board)

Like 100000000 things. But like, seriously. Leave comments on stories. The people I have met through mutually liking the same fandoms. The people who I shared parts of myself with because they were brave enough to write. They are hands down the fucking coolest people I have met. And like, the absolute best people I have ever not met.

[dankusner]

CHAPTER 15

190

right thing for the right reason. Be humble. Be friendly. Don't come in right thigo. Don't be Judge Judy: When people come into im court, they expect me to scream at them and not listen to them. But I'm not here to give a show. I say, "I'm only here for the facts."

Quite a few JPs with whom I spoke told me how helpful the classes of. fered by the Texas Justice Court Training Center have been to them. JPs are required to attend eighty hours of new judges training arranged by the TJCTC within one year of being sworn in. Non-attorney judges then get twenty hours of additional judicial education every year, delivered by the center. After the first year, attorney IPs may apply bar-approved continuing legal education courses to their ten-hour annual require-ment. The education a judge receives isn't just limited to classroom and on-the-job learning. Veteran judges advise and mentor newer judges. JPs exchange notes on their own experiences and research. Marc DeRouen (Jefferson County) spoke to me of the ancillary benefits derived from his annual TJCTC judicial training

When I attend the schools, there are guys there who have been in office for thirty, thirty-five years. Everybody gravitates to them because we know they've seen and heard it all. That's where you gather your most valuable information. School is always a learning experience and I've never walked away from a training session where I haven't learned something, but sitting around during the breaks or after the class is over and talking to these more experienced judges, that's where I've got my notepad out.

Former Williamson County JP Patricia Ott thinks that smart judges could get even smarter if they were allowed to take law classes and get credit for them.

Let judges who, say, have been on the bench for eight years get into law school without the LSAT, because they're already sitting there judging the law. Let them get into law school and take classes and become better judges!

Irma Dunn, one of Titus County's two justices of the peace, is the first Hispanic elected JP in her county. Roughly 40 percent of the county's residents are also Hispanic. It comes in handy that she can conduct court in two different languages.

In the past, the kids would be the ones translating back and forth with the judge, but the kids would say to their parents whatever was convenient to them, not what the judge was actually saying! I always ask if they want

Brain, Heart, and Nerve

191

to do it in Spanish. I usually have the cases with the English-speaking people first so that way I won't have them sitting there wondering what

I'm talking about.

She adds that she first makes sure that the Spanish-speaking court visitors are comfortable with this arrangement.

HEART

I've set a bond on a guy and by the time I left the jail he was bonded out, and I gave him a ride home.

-HON. SCOTT SHINN, VAN ZANDT COUNTY

Nora Salinas (Brooks County) became a justice of the peace in part to continue her advocacy for crime victims.

I've worked in county government for twelve years. Prior to that I worked for the district attorney. I was a legal aid there. The one that stood out: A young girl showed up at our office, a victim of domestic violence.

She stood there crying and told me the baby daddy had pulled out a gun and shot at her and their children. The girl was telling me that she was trying to do a protective order on him while he was in jail and none of the IPs in her county would help her. That kind of chapped my hide. I was like, how can this be? Because I worked for the district attorney's office, I knew the history of this guy. I knew it was true. How do you not help somebody who is telling you this kind of horror story?

That opened my eyes. Victims were being left out and not being taken care of. It inspired me to run and be their advocate. There are programs we have in the community, and I reach out constantly and refer victims of domestic violence, of abuse. Victims matter, victims have rights. As a JP, I have the ability to make a change.

Lisa Whitehead (Burnet County) agrees.

I've always been a volunteer and I've always felt like I was put on this earth to help where I can. The Lord increased my territory, basically. I just feel that as human beings, if we can help, we need to help. In a JP court we have the best opportunity, because we're the people's court. And, of course, I spent fourteen years in the county attorney's office; I saw so many people who came in and they didn't know where to go because the criminal justice system is not an easy path to navigate if you don't know how.

[jobsgovt]

Court Process Server Recruitment 2024

The Court Process Server Recruitment 2024 is an excellent opportunity for individuals seeking a stable government job in Haryana. The recruitment process, conducted by the District and Sessions Judge, Rewari, is open for two key positions: Process Server and Peon.

Application Fees

CategoryFeeAll CategoriesNo Fees

The application process is free for all candidates.

Age Limit Details

CriteriaAge LimitMinimum Age18 YearsMaximum Age42 YearsAge As On01/01/2024RelaxationAs per government rules

Vacancy Details

Post NameVacanciesProcess Server03Peon13Total16

Eligibility Criteria

Post NameQualification RequiredProcess Server10th Class PassedPeon8th Class Passed

Candidates must meet the educational qualifications to be eligible for these posts.

Selection Process

StageDetailsInterviewFirst stage of selectionDocument VerificationCheck eligibility documentsMedical ExaminationVerify physical and mental fitness

more details--click here

[jobustad]

District and Session Judge Jobs in Sanghar October 2024 Advertisement

District and Session Judge Jobs in Sanghar October 2024 has been announce through Latest advertisement Applications are invited from the eligible candidates having academic qualification and experience shown against each for recruitment on the following posts/vacancies lying vacant in the District and Subordinate courts, Sanghar. Name of Post & Grade.n these Latest Govt Jobs in Sindh both Male…

[beesandwasps]

This (wasting more money fighting something than could it could possibly be worth) is actually fairly common as just a general trope, so I’m not surprised it’s happening to trans people.

I grew up in the Chicago area and at different points lived in the two suburbs which — at the time, at least, I don’t know if this is still true — were considered to be particularly lefty-liberal-hippie sorts of places. In one of them, the city government employees were unionized. The Village Board was controlled for decades by a single political party which was essentially a small-town machine (in the bad, political sense) and increasingly… well, if they weren’t corrupt, they were doing an incredible job of pretending to be. (It’s particularly ironic because that party started off as a genuine reform party, kicking out the ridiculously corrupt government the town had had before they existed decades earlier.) The village attorney — who, incidentally, looked exactly like he was hired as an actor to play a role of a corrupt, greasy, mafia-linked defense attorney in his late 40s — kept refusing to cooperate with any and all of the unions at every opportunity. The town government kept getting hauled into court because they were blatantly disobeying their agreements with their own employees. They lost essentially every case. The village attorney pulled ridiculous moves like refusing to show up to court-ordered arbitration sessions. It cost the village millions in fines — and, again, we’re talking about a suburb, years ago. “Millions” was a lot of money. And it was over things like (this specific example may not have happened as phrased but I know there was something like this which took place while I was living there) “the fire department wants a 2% raise in their new contract and this is unacceptable to the village attorney because it sets a precedent that the union has more power in our negotiations than he does” and so he would refuse to let the village sign the contract, which meant that the fire department was working without a contract, which — according to the terms negotiated in the previous contract — meant that they were paying something like 5% more per month than they would have paid if they had just signed the new contract instead. And as I say: this went on for years, and the elected Village Board almost never talked about it even obliquely. (Then again, the elected Village Board was too busy tearing down the historic district and funneling money via unnecessary subsidized construction projects to a billionaire rumored to have links to organized crime, and then pretending that the people who objected to this were unreasonable.)

[naukrisambad]

Khordha District Court Recruitment 2024: 58 Vacancy Apply Now

Khordha District Court Recruitment 2024:  Office of the District & Session Court Recently announced good news for job seekers. If you are interested in Khordha District Court and are qualified for the vacancy, then you are in the right place. Here you can get all the details of this Khordha District Court Recruitment. In this post we will inform you of all the details of Khordha District Court…

[gadgetsforusesblog]

District Court Narnaul Vacancy 2024 – Golden opportunity for government job even for 10th pass

District Court Narnaul Vacancy 2024 – Office of the District and Sessions Judge, Narnaul District Court (Haryana) has Process Server in total of 04 Notification of advertisement for recruitment against the vacancies (Vacancy Advertisement) has been released. Interested and eligible candidates 11 June, 2024 You can apply offline from. Last Date of Receipt of Offline Application – 24/06/2024 till…

[blnjobs]

District and Session Court Kachhi Dadhar Jobs 2024

Continue reading District and Session Court Kachhi Dadhar Jobs 2024

[ledenews]

Erikka Storch: 2024 Cycle in West Virginia 'Definitely Will Be Different'

Who has election fatigue already? With some candidates announcing their 2024 intentions either just after the 2022 election or early in 2023, more than many years. It seemed nearly weekly, candidates were announcing their intentions for 2024 and filing pre-candidacy paperwork. This year, 2024, could be a pivotal point in the West Virginia political landscape, so allow me to explain. Since 2014, Republicans in the state have held and grown the majority in both bodies of the Legislature. Several other constitutional offices have also been held by Republicans. In past elections, there was merely a desire to have all ballot spaces filled with one candidate. This year, there will be several primary races, and many are saying the primary is where the race will be determined. Let’s start at the top, where Governor Jim Justice is one of three currently filed for U.S. Senate. The filing period opened last Monday, January 8, with U.S. Congressman Alex Mooney and Janet McNulty (both Eastern Panhandle residents) filing the first day. The Governor filed on Wednesday with much greater fanfare and is said to become the Republican nominee. More on this race coming. Former state lawmaker Erikka Storch served in the House of Delegates for 13 years before resigning to take a new, private-sector job in the Wheeling area. For the second Congressional District – quite possibly the only state with the second district north of the first (insert eye roll here) – there are three Republicans and one Democrat who have filed so far. With just under two weeks to go, who knows how many will get in this race. The most well-known name of the four is current Treasurer Riley Moore, grandson of former Governor Arch Moore. In the First Congressional District, it is believed Republican incumbent Carol Miller will file, while two Democrats have already filed in hopes of replacing her. The Governor’s race is not at all a quiet one. Currently, three candidates have filed for the seat now held by term-limited Governor Justice, including Poca resident Mitch Roberts and Secretary of State Mac Warner lining up the “elephants,” and Huntington Mayor Steve Williams as the Democrat nominee. Several other candidates have been fundraising and are definitely going to enter the Governor’s race. First of these are former Delegate and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Moore Capito, the son of Senator Shelley Moore Capito and grandson of Governor Arch Moore; the current Attorney General, Patrick Morrisey; and Chris Miller, son of Congresswoman Carol Miller and grandson of Ohio Congressman Samuel L. Devine. It will be interesting to see how the next couple of weeks play out regarding this race. In the race for Auditor and Commissioner of Agriculture, all candidates filing to date are Republicans. In the Secretary of State race, our current Secretary of State’s brother, Kris Warner who is also the current executive director of the State Economic Development Authority and past Republican Party Chair, has filed as has political pundit, Thornton Cooper as the Democrat nominee. It will be interesting to see if other candidates file for these races. All judicial races are non-partisan, but this will be the first election cycle for the recently formed Intermediate Court of Appeals. No candidates have filed for Attorney General in the Mountain State … yet. Storch remains in communication with many lawmakers in Charleston wand will continue to offer her insights during the current regular session. Getting closer to home, W.Va. Sen. Ryan Weld, 1st Senatorial District, has filed for re-election with no challengers in the primary of general filing as of January 12. There have been no filings in the Second Senatorial District but W.Va. Sen. Mike Maroney is expected to file for re-election, and challenger Chris Rose is expected to file, as well. Rose has been pretty active on his social media page but had not filed candidacy paperwork by the end of the week. After a great deal of thought and reflection, W.Va. Sen. Donna Boley has filed for re-election with no current opposition. In the House, all local incumbents have filed: Pat McGeehan in the first; Mark Zatezelo in the second; Jimmy Willis in the third; Diana Winzenreid in the fourth; Shawn Fluharty in the fifth; Jeff Stephens in the sixth; Chuck Sheedy in the seventh; and David Kelly in the eighth. Willis and Sheedy each have a Democrat opponent currently, and Kelly has a Republican challenger. It is believed that both Winzenreid and Stephens may pick up a primary opponent or two, as well as possibly a general challenger, as neither has been on ballots before. I understand there are people watching closely now that the Legislature has gaveled in for the second term of the 86th legislative session. The next two weeks will definitely be an indication of how these legislators are perceived, but with the filling period ending with the wrap of the third week, it will be interesting to see if any votes with any true meat are cast during that time. It is an interesting time to be in West Virginia, and this election season definitely will be different than most. Follow the filings here, and follow Lede for more discussion as the filing period progresses. Read the full article

[jobupdatepk]

District & Session Judge Office Washuk Jobs 2024 | Balochistan Session Court Washuk Job Vacancies 2024 Online Apply

District & Session Court has announced the latest 10+ jobs for the posts of Stenotypist, Accountant, Data Entry Operator and other posts. Interested Candidates can apply for the Latest District & Session Judge Office Washuk Jobs 2024 before 15 December, 2023. The Session Court Washuk requires Qualified, highly talented, and self-motivated Pakistani Nationals to be encouraged to apply for the…