Reflections: Authoritative Sources

Photo by Birchfield 2011

I admit to taking an hour away from my studies to listen to the live news coverage surrounding the jury's verdict in the Casey Anthony trial. In fact, since I do not watch television, I hopped in my vehicle and took a cruise through the Amish countryside while flipping between CNN, Fox News, NPR, and MSNBC via Sirius satellite radio.

Majoring in both criminal justice and psychology during my undergraduate years and being a member of the American Criminal Justice Association (Lambda Alpha Epsilon) has lead me to have many friends and colleagues in various capacities of the criminal justice system. Knowing my background and interests, many of my friends ask my opinion pertaining to cases and incidents. Here are some statements that will lead to my "pseudo-opinion":

While I might have taken a forensics class while at Ferris State University, I am far from being an expert and I certainly would not offer an opinion on the case's evidence. However, one of my closest friends is a qualified forensics expert and has testified in a court of law countless times. If she was given the opportunity to review the evidence collected from the case and information pertaining to how it was collected, she would be able to offer an opinion -- an opinion that I would respect, not because she is my friend, but because forensics is her specialty and she is qualified to give a professional opinion.

If, by chance, an attorney-friend/acquaintance had connections to either the prosecutor's office, or the defense-team, and shadowed the judicial process for purposes of education. Because he/she is a practicing attorney and in good standing with the Bar Association, I would respect their opinion of the case due to their specialized knowledge of the law and experience in the field.

How does this relate to this blog's bookish theme? Two words: authoritative sources.

When conducting research or even writing an opinion paper in the academic or professional world, for the work to be considered credible, the author must have consulted, utilized and, of course, cited authoritative sources -- not someone's potato-chip-armchair opinion generated from watching countless hours of sensationalized media coverage. My standard for an authoritative source, in this particular case, beyond the obvious key-players: someone who not only studied law and/or forensics and has experience practicing their profession, but is also intimately familiar with the case and knowledgeable of Florida criminal law. 

Two hours post-verdict, I have already been called, texted, emailed, polled and messaged: "How do you feel about the verdict?"

My response, "My opinion is neither relevant or pertinent."

If you want to read a humorous opinion piece relevant to the Casey Anthony trial, about Nancy Grace, please check out my friend Bongkey's blog: YNSYAA. Please be advised that there is strong language. Reader discretion is advised.