A Lawyer for Victims of Racism in Florida Research (Essay Sample)

A Lawyer for Victims of Racism in Florida
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A Lawyer for Victims of Racism in Florida
African-Americans in Florida experience different forms of racial discrimination from Americans of other races. Racial discrimination is demeaning and makes other people feel inferior, undeserving, pitiable, and vulnerable. The racial discrimination problem in Florida and the US, in general, is historical, having started as early as the era of slave trade. Although there is a law that protects citizens from any form of discrimination, race included, there are still instances where African-Americans are maltreated. Often, racial discrimination happens in public places and the victims are left feeling humiliated. Offering legal services for the affected persons and families can help them get justice and equal treatment regardless of their races.
Duties of a Lawyer
A lawyer works with the families or people affected by racism to help them start legal action against the offenders. Lawyers’ responsibilities are many depending on the case that they are handling. In the cases of racism and justice, they offer legal help for the individuals that have been discriminated against. Lawyers represent clients in civil and criminal litigation and other proceedings that involve the federal, state, or local laws. They write the documents used during the court proceedings and help clients carry out legal transactions. There are several duties that the lawyers undertake when they represent their clients in legal proceedings. Some of them include the presentation of documents and arguments, questioning the witnesses, interpreting the law, negotiating legal settlements and advising their clients.
Racism in Florida
Florida is one of the states in the US that see more cases of hate crimes based on someone color, religion, and sexual orientation. In 2015, there were 102 cases of hate crimes in the state, one of the highest in the US and a 39% increase from the cases reported in the previous year (Sayre, 2017). More than half (55.9%) of all the cases in 2015 resulted from race-related discrimination, aggravated assault, property destruction, and intimidation. Florida has been at the center of news about hate crimes in the recent past, despite the fact that most of them still go unreported (Levin & MacDevitt, 2013). The discrimination extends to law enforcement agencies during their execution of routine duties (Choudhury, 2016). Recently, there have been reports of law enforcement agencies stopping and charging black motorists at a higher rate than they do for the whites. In 2014, for example, black motorists were stopped and ticketed for seat belt offense more than the whites (Choudhury, 2016). There have also been reports of the arrests of blacks turning out to be violent because of their race or skin color. Therefore, the people of African descent are likely to be discriminated against by the general public and the law enforcement agencies in Florida.
Challenges of Representing Victims of Racial Discrimination
As a lawyer, it would be a duty to set up an office where people can seek legal counsel and representation in the case of an alleged racial discrimination. Lawyers are important when it comes to interpreting the law and helping in the enforcement of justice. They play a significant role in the fight against racism and other hate crimes. As a lawyer that represents people who are allegedly discriminated against, there are several challenges that one might come across. One of them is accessing data and reports in some of the cases, especially those involving law enforcement agencies. Lawyers rely on information and reports from the agencies that may be reluctant to give reports that might lead to the prosecution of their officers. Another challenge that the lawyers face is the fear of the victims to talk about discrimination, assault, or intimidation (Bell, 2015). As minorities, the blacks might be at a risk of losing jobs, assault, murder, and harassment from the public and the law enforcement agencies. Some of them choose to remain quiet against the hate crimes so as to protect their lives (Bell, 2015). To overcome the problem of getting information from the law enforcement agencies, there is a need to work with multidisciplinary teams. Enhancement of a goodwill is between the law firms and the la...