Next week I will have the opportunity to observe some of the hearings for Khalid Shaik Mohammad as well as several co-defendants in their trial for the September 11th attacks. As a law student about to enter my final year of law school, I am interested in observing the hearings and seeing how the law is applied in this situation.

 

Patriotism runs strong in my family and military hometown of Pensacola, Florida. I remember 9-11 as the day the skies were eerily quiet in my hometown, as Pensacola is the home of the Blue Angels. Classic behavior for a military town, my neighborhood gathered together to line the streets with American flags in honor of one of our own, a fallen Marine who died in Iraq in 2005 at just 27 years old. Further, I clerked for a Florida state judge last summer, who impressed on me a greater appreciation for loyalty, devotion, and nationalism. He exemplifies the American spirit of serving one’s country both as a soldier defending America overseas in Kuwait and Iraq and as a legal public servant in the capacity of judge. I am aware that my background and local interactions with the people in my hometown have molded and shaped my perspective.

 

I have found my legal experiences outside the classroom have had a profound and lasting impact on me more than an academic lecture. I look forward to witnessing the hearings and gaining perspective of American jurisprudence.