Supreme Court Update

March 30, 2008
Supreme Court Update
Issue 6
by Sara Schott and Rohini Chakravarthy
Exciting things are going on
in a small and mysterious component of Youth Legislature, the Supreme Court. The Justices, Jordan
Davis, Taylor Odle, Christina England, Brandon Parrish, and Chief
Justice Mazen Istanbouli preside in
the Supreme Court building, located
across the street from the Capital.
Today, the Supreme Court is going
through the process of Judicial Review, in which the Justices decide
whether a bill is constitutional. During this process, the Attorney General, Caroline Milam, chooses bills
that she deems unconstitutional to
go through review. The Attorney
General will present her case against
the bill, followed by the patrons,
who will argue for their bill. After
both sides have presented their case
and the court has deliberated, the
honorable Mazen Istanbouli will
announce whether or not the court
believes the bill is against the constitution. If the bill is deemed unconstitutional, it must be amended.
If it is not, it goes back to the Senate
or House to be voted on. Caroline
Milam has chosen Blue Senate bill
2-10, Red Senate bills 2-4 and 2-9,
and Red House bill 1-10 to be presented to the Supreme Court today.
The first case on the docket,
Red Senate bill 2-4, is a bill that allows the government to presume that
a deceased person is an organ donor
unless they have specified otherwise. The Attorney General made
the eloquent argument that this takes
away the constitutional right for one
to decide how he or she uses his or
her body; however, James Kellar
and Jonathan Wesson (Springfield
High School), the sponsors of this
bill, presented a persuasive case
and spoke of how the implementing
of this bill would very likely save
the lives of people who need an organ donation. In the end, the court
ruled that the bill was indeed constitutional. These thrilling judicial
review cases and stimulating debate in the Supreme Court will continue for the rest of the conference.
Inside This Issue
Presidential News ... 3
Polling at the Polls ... 4
Fashion ............. 4
Interview with with
Niamh Muphy ...... 6
Crossword Puzzle ... 7
Maze and Sudoku ... 8
Issue 6 Page 2
March 30, 2008
press page
Self-Reporting: From the Press Room
Press Corps
Print Editor:
Morgan Jordan
Writers:
Anisa Allad
Thomas Castleman
Drew Cornaghie
Robert Duffley
Liv Wafler
Photographers:
Sara Schott
Emily Sorrentino
by Thomas Castleman
The press has been hard at work this year, trying to keep you updated and informed about the goings-on of the conference, both mock-political and social, as well as a bit of what’s happening in the real world.
Video press has released two newscasts thus far and had another
up tomorrow evening, including special segments on the Governor’s Ball
and what’s been happening in Supreme Court. Also, on last night’s newscast, the press had just introduced a program of selling airspace to third
parties, so I hope you saw ads from gubernatorial candidate Harrison Rea
as well as an independent message from news anchor Spencer Bradshaw.
Unfortunately, however, the broadcast was the last of the conference, and
since we released it early, we hope you enjoyed tuning in to channel 20
either before hitting the sack or while dressing for the dance.
Print press has also been working diligently, publishing the Ledger
twice a day, while striving for the highest quality content possible. We’re
very pleased with our work thus far, this issue being our sixth. The next
issue, issued after your first component meeting, will be the last of the
conference. Expect to see articles on the Sudanese government, updates
on the House and Senate, and a farewell from us all.
Thanks for reading, from everyone at Press.
Component Leaders:
Allison Dove
Andrew Gossett
Michael Schuller
Write no evil, edit no evil, print no evil.
March 30, 2008
Issue 6, Page 3
Presidential update
Photo Credits: Wikipedia
by Drew Cornaghie
The most recent political polls have just updated the standings of Democratic Party candidates Hilary
Clinton and Barack Obama. While Obama’s connection to pastor Jeremiah Wright has been controversial, it
has done little to change his overall approval ratings, which remain at a steady 49 percent. Only 32 percent of
Americans view Obama negatively. On the other hand, the recent polls show increasingly negative views of
Clinton, whose approval rating has dropped from 45 percent to just 37 percent. 48 percent of Americans now
possess a negative opinion of Clinton. This drop in popularity has been attributed to the reaction elicited from
Clinton’s recent “misspoken” account of a trip to Bosnia. Clinton and Obama remain embattled for the Democratic nomination, with each taking 45 percent from the Democratic vote. Overall, both Obama and Clinton
stand neck and neck with Republican Party candidate John McCain. Hilary is two points behind McCain, and
Obama is two points ahead. However, the poll’s margin of error is 4 points, making the leader in the presidential race almost impossible to determine.
Issue 6, Page 4
March 30, 2008
articles
Fashion in the
Capitol
Fashionistas showing
off their stylish wear.
by Krystyna Braxton
This year’s temperatures at
Youth Legislature were a big factor in everyone’s choices of outfits.
At the beginning of the week we
had fabulous temperatures in the
low seventies, the perfect temperature for cute sundresses, skirts,
and sandals. But as the weekend
progressed the cold temperatures
gave reason to add on some layers and possibly wear some pants.
Some of this conference’s top
fashions for boys and girls are as
follows. Boys: Navy Blue blazers with khaki pants and unique
neckties and matching suits. For
the girls: sundresses, sandals,
skirts, and pantsuits! The weather
was not a major factor for some
of the girls, but others made use
of layers. Maybe next year everyone will take the initiative to pack
both winter and spring clothes.
Polling at the Polls:
The Impact of the Gubernatorial Debates
by Thomas Castleman
On a scale of 1-3, one being the least and three being
the most, how much of an impact did this year’s Gubernatorial Debate have on your choice of candidate?
(Based on the survey of forty people.)
Issue 6, Page 5
March 30, 2008
lobbyist article
Here is a sample of a lobbyist supporting a bill:
…And For Five Reasons; Most of All—Classiness.
by Michael Meador
The Tennessee Department
of Transportation has reduced
the annual funds for the highway
system by 250 million dollars.
What are some solutions for this
problem? Establishing toll roads is
perhaps the most obvious remedy.
Toll roads, however, generate many
aggravations, such as delayed traffic,
hours of lost productivity, and the
one person searching for change in
the passenger seat cushion. What,
then, is the best solution to this
deficit? For the answer we must
look for a self-funding and selfmaintaining source of revenue in
Tennessee.
Gambling, instituted in
TN for the purpose funding the
Hope Scholarship, has started a
very profitable and productive
resource for businesses. Especially
with the addition of the newest
Tennessee Lottery game, gambling
is beginning to be seen the next idea
for Tennessee’s betterment. Now,
instead of setting the hard, set-instone foundation of a casino, why
not make it mobile, improvable, and
profitable…or floatable? Riverboat
casinos would improve industry in
Tennessee in an innumerable amount
of ways, but five should be plenty to
satisfy the fellow delegates of this
Youth Legislature conference.
First of all, what exemplifies
classiness more than a riverboat,
especially
a
steam-powered,
taxable revenue will go to help offset
this possible discouragement. 10%
of the revenue will also go to TDOT
because of the initial prompting for
this bill.
Keeping in mind that five
paddlewheel riverboat? Such a
riverboat, The General Jackson, for
example, could boast the southern
pride and majesty of Tennessee’s
glorious waterways such as the
Cumberland and Tennessee Rivers.
The addition of these
riverboats will not drastically
increase
highway
congestion;
instead, tourism will grow, and
industry will boom. Implementing
this plan of action will make
Tennessee the convenient gambling
opportunity for citizens of Florida,
riverboats in Missouri have grossed
400 million dollars of state taxable
revenue annually, this plan of action
will be much more cost effective
than instituting toll roads around
Tennessee creating havoc and
mayhem for Tennessee commerce.
Land allocation is not an issue for
this idea, for the boats would run
along our waterways. The risks of
a gambling populace are a concern
even with small-time gambling, so
this issue should not be used as an
excuse to stop this bill. Red House
Georgia, North Carolina, South Bill 08-2-13 is the best opportunity
Carolina, Alabama, and many other for Tennessee, and I personally hope
gamblers who wish to try something to see that it passes.
new. Need it be said that tourism
and economic industries will be
greatly enhanced at every one of the
riverboat stops?
Some have thought creating
this new gambling option will
dissuade from helping the lottery
scholarship funding through scratchoff tickets and the Power Ball. With
this concern in mind, 10% of the
Issue 6, Page 6
March 30, 2008
interview
Interview with British Exhange Student, Niamh Murphy
by Drew Cornaghie and Liv Wafler
Drew Cornaghie: For starters, how
do you pronounce your name?
Niamh Murphy: Well, the only
people who’ve ever said it right
are the Irish. No one else in the
world knows how to pronounce
it. It’s actually pronounced like
“Neeve.”
DC: Thanks. So you are an exchange student from England going
to Hutchison in Memphis. Did you
know anything previously about the
American legal system?
NM: Um…I know there’s a House
of Representatives and the Senate, but I didn’t really know how
the whole system worked at all.
I’m a still a bit confused, but I’m
starting to get it. I know it makes
a lot of sense.
DC: What inspired you to do Youth
Leg?
NM: Well, all of my friends are
doing it. And I’ve never been to
Nashville.
DC: Have you learned a lot, or just
been confused?
NM: A bit of both really.
DC: Does your accent give you an
advantage in debate?
NM: Haha, I would love to think
so, but I doubt it.
DC: Is the legal system here at all
similar to the British legal system?
NM: Um, it is in that there are
two chambers, and I suppose
that the governor has a veto,
my minister can veto things,
but it’s very different.
DC: What is your bill about?
NM: It’s basically to legalize
prostitution. It passed in the
Senate and the House but the
Governor vetoed it. Boo…
DC: So how long have you been
in this country and when are you
planning on going back to England?
NM: I’ve been here since September, so seven months. I’m
leaving probably at the beginning of July. I’ll be heading
straight to Austria for a Sound
of Music trip. And I’m supposed to go on holiday with
my parents in Turkey.
DC: Wow, sounds like you’ll
have a busy summer. Well,
thanks for talking with us and I
hope you have a great rest of the
conference.
NM: Thank you. I’ve had a
great time so far so it can only
get better.
March 30, 2008
Issue 6, Page 7
crossword puzzle
by Robert Duffley and Drew Cornaghie
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www.CrosswordWeaver.com
ACROSS
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Nativity scene piece
Sprees
Particle
Beers
Result
Painter of melting clocks
Dalai __
Saltine cracker brand
Fencing sword
Phony
YL Governor Matt _____
Ocean Spray's drink
starters
Reverend (abbr.)
Resort hotel
Dimension
Ruler
Ornament
Moral principles
Profanity
Cow
Infirm
Mistake
Sole
46
48
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52
53
54
56
58
63
67
68
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Thieves' hideouts
African antelope
Lustrous
One nautical mile per
hour
Border
Foreign Agricultural
Service
Capital of the Ukraine
One hundred-millioneth
of a centimeter
Give flavor
Yacht
Choose
Dada
Rim
Long, skinny boat
Mined metals
Believe
Beggar
Costa __
DOWN
1 Boy
2 Winged
3
4
5
6
7
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Jewels
Abraham's son
Byzant
Less than two
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics
Instructor
Ocean floor
A cozy room (2 wds.)
Knocks (2 wds.)
Margarine
Bearing
Not as false
Climbing vine
Zero
Nation
Tine
Coral reef
A Hindu's red dot
Neither's partner
Express disgust
Large pebble
Strum
Tinkle
Look
Sugar-free brand
Revel noisily
Furthest back
Band rattle
Carbonated drinks
Smoke
Upon restful furniture
Leaf bud
Measuring instrument
Plant trunk
Friar
Japanese dress
Organization of
Petroleum Exporting
Countries
Rocket builders
"Raven" author
Answer to Issue 4’s
Crossword
Issue 6, Page 8
March 30, 2008
the back page
crazy Maze
Dedicated to Will MAZE.
Sudoku