1. A) The first trial about Elyse Roberts was a pure case of sexual harassment. Kevin Murphy made her feel completely uncomfortable in the work place by doing things like touching her back, inviting her to parties that she specifically said she didn't feel comfortable going to with him, and making snide remarks about her clothes and her appearance. The verdict ruled that Kevin Murphy was sexually harassing Elyse Roberts and because the district attorney's office didn't do anything to remedy it, the office was found guilty. I whole-hartedly agree with the verdict that was made upon the conclusion of the case. Even aside from the side I was arguing in the case, I don't think there would have been a different, yet still appropriate, way to rule on the case. I believe the jury found the swimsuit catalog issue and all of the comments that Murphy had about Elyse and how she worked were very compelling in the case. The actions of Murphy were strong enough alone to sway the vote of the jury. But on top of Kevin Murphy's actions, the fact that the district of attorney's office not doing anything to remedy the situation was the icing on top of the cake. These facts were important to consider because they proved that sexual harassment took place. To reach an opposite opinion i think there would have needed to have been a lot more stress on the fact that Elyse Roberts' work deteriorated but NOT as a result to the actions of Kevin Murphy.
B) The second case to me was less clear cut of a case of sexual harassment. Susan and David were in there second relationship, in college, and had not been sexually active other than once on Susan's birthday. One night after a party, where they both drank a few beers, they went back to Davids house which was not out of the ordinary for either of the two. David and Susan started to get into their make-out session and David started making advances on Susan. Susan said no and tried to get up but in the midst, David latched onto her silk shirt and tore it. She eventually got back into bed and started making out with David again and again he made advances on her. She said no again got up and went to his desk to find that he had a note from another girl regarding him as her husband. This made Susan furious and she left. The verdict the jury came to in this case was that David was not guilty of raping Susan.Being a jury member for this case, I agree with this result. The way the defense made it seem like Susan had said "no," seemed to only be a flirtatious gesture more than an actual way of saying stop. It was really important in my opinion that the defense had stressed that actions speak louder than words and since Susan's actions said yes, it overshadowed her actually saying no. Looking back on it, I could have easily seen the case going the opposite direction with the exact same information given. I thought the plaintiff's lawyers did a sufficient job in showing the jury that no means no, no matter what. They could have maybe stressed what a good person Susan was like the defense did with David.
2. I think both issues, sexual harassment and rape, are very grey issues and can not be looked at through a black and white lens. In the first case, Elyse Roberts told Kevin Murphy to stop, and tried to take action on her problem in other ways. Some, however, may argue that she really just needed to lighten up because what he was doing really wasn't that big of a deal. In the second case, Susan and David were in a relationship. On top of that Susan was completely leading David on. Should David really be reprimanded for his girlfriend leading her on? Or should a flirtatious no really mean no? As far as I know, there really aren't problems like this in the DHS community. I think the students here are very respectful of others wishes and concerns and even if people don't agree with others no sever actions are really taken. The culture of DHS detracts from these issues because students are pretty easy going. When in a situation where these issues are prevalent, these issues can not be overlooked. The problems should be addressed with high alert and concern.
yours truly,
Amy
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