All done with class!

This morning I took my final exam for my European Comparative Law and Society class. Overall, I think that the class was really interesting. First, we started by learning about what legal culture is, and how it affects people's interactions with the law in Italy vs the US. Then we compared the constitutions of Italy and America. Next we learned about the freedom of religion. In Italy it is acceptable to have crosses in public places. However, that is not the case in the U.S. Next we learned about the right to die. There were two cases (one in Italy one in the U.S.) that were very similar. Both ended with the court granting permission to remove the feeding tube of a lady in a constant vegetative state. It's interesting how the first case in America set the stage for the case in Italy. Then we learned about immigration and push back efforts be Italy and the United States. Italy got penalized for sending people back to their home countries in violation with European Law. The U.S. on the other hand gets away with pushing people back on boats and preventing them from entering the country. At that point the class changed to intermediary liability. We learned that because of section 230 of the Communications Decency Act was upheld by the Supreme Court, internet platforms are not liable for anything anyone posts on their website. This is supposed to permit free speech by not holding large companies liable. Then we learned about Italian and European data privacy law.

Overall, the class was very very interesting! I wish that I could have taken the class for a whole quarter! Although I'm sad it's over, I am very excited to come home and start fall classes in a week!

I only have 1 more day in Rome, and then I fly home! This trip has been a life changing experience and I have valued every day of it! I am so lucky that I got the chance to come here. Although Rome is wonderful, I am very excited to come home and see my family and friends!

Ciao!

Professor Spitzer!

Today we got a lecture from UW School of Law Professor Spitzer! He talked about ancient Rome and liberties of people back then. It was really interesting to hear about the family dynamics back then. He also said that about 35-40% of people back then were servants and built a lot of the architecture in Rome.

UW Law Professors are so interesting! Both the lectures given by law professors have been the most interesting of the whole trip! Makes me want to go to UW School of Law even more!

Florence!!

Sorry I couldn't blog about Florence while I was there, our hostel did not have internet! Florence was amazing though! A group of four of us got there Friday at noon, and we met up with a German friend while we were there. The city is awesome! I have never seen so much leather in my life! While we were there we got to go to the David Statue by Michelangelo and see that museum, we went inside the Duomo, climbed to the top of a hill over looking the city, and did lots and lots of shopping and eating! The city was a lot smaller than Rome, and cleaner. Also, Florence did not have the little cobblestones like Rome does (so my feet didn't hurt from walking!). There were also tons of street markets lined with leather shops. Florence was truly beautiful, and I'm very lucky that I got the opportunity to go!

 Cappuccino :)

 This was inside the Duomo. It was made by Vasari and Zucchari and it is called "the Last Judgement". One side is painted with heaven, and the other is hell. It was incredible!

 Basilica Santa Croce! Unfortunately I didn't have time to go inside, but it looked amazing from the street!

 This is the front of the Duomo

 The view from the top of the hill over looking Florence. My burning legs from the hike were a small price to pay for the view!

 Panna Cotta. SO GOOD!!

 View from the Ponte Vecchio! 

 Statue at the top of the hill we climbed to find the view!

Thai Food Adventure!

My roommate Amy and I really miss Thai food, so we made it our mission to find a Thai food place in Rome. We found one online, and went to go find it! Online, it said it was only a 25 minute walk away... ended up being about 40. But thats okay! We eventually found thai food in Rome! Mission accomplished!

It turned out that we were the only 2 people in the restaurant and one of the waiters decided to talk to us for quite a long time. He told us about the economic situation in Italy and how it's his dream to go to school and get a degree once we raises enough money for tuition. On the way home, Amy and I stumbled across a beautiful fountain!

Overall it was a good night! Now I'm off to Florence for the weekend!

Italian Supreme Court! aka Corte di Cassazione

Today my class went the the Italian Supreme Court! It was massive! It's similar to the US Supreme Court in that cases come here after appeals have happened. They also both have 9 justices. One thing that's interesting though, is that Italy has a separate Constitutional Court that parties can appeal to. 

 Translation: The law is equal for all

 Amy and I! 

MOM! I got a lot of complements on the dress you bought me for the Supreme Court :) Thank you so much!

 Outside the Supreme Court

 "Court" Yard :)

 The First President of the Supreme Court's office!

 Ceilings. The main chamber was very impressive!

Quick Update!

Today I'm going to the Supreme Court of Italy and tomorrow I'm going to Florence!! I'm so excited! So stay tuned for pictures and updates!

On a funny note, it took my roommate up until this week to figure out what was wrong with these pictures in our bedroom. Can you spot what's wrong??

Avvocato Panetta!

Today we went to a law firm in Rome! The firm belonged to an Italian named Panetta and works in privacy law. He represents major companies like Google, Verizon, AT&T, Amazon and many other big name companies. It was really interesting to meet him. He talked a lot about how companies store your information forever and sell them to other companies. He also talked about apps on smartphones. I never thought of this, but app makers who don't have ads on their software get their money from selling your information. Scary stuff.

More interesting though was how famous he is as a lawyer. He works out of this ancient building in Rome that was built in about 1067 by a very prominent Italian architect. After the architect passed away, the building was purchased by a very wealthy Italian family who still owns the building today! His office was crazy!

This was the ceiling of his office.

 This was his personal desk. Take notice of the real curtains coupled with fake painted ones in the background. Also, his big red quill on his desk.

 His car... it's a Maserati....

Toooooo much money.