Defense Co-op Meeting in Second Life

Red76 and Ars Virtua invite the Second Life Builder and Arts communities to an informal gathering to discuss a new crowd-sourced socially responsible project, "Defense Co-op."

What is this?

Defense Coop (http://defense-coop.org) is a forum that connects Second Life artists and builders with public defense attorneys throughout the United States to help illustrate scenarios, using 3d graphic movies (machinima), for the defense of indigent clients at trial.

"When a defendant stands trial, it is an agonizing experience. She faces the accusations of the District Attorney, the police, and any independent witnesses the State brings to testify against him. The police are trained how to talk to and persuade juries. They know to come across as affable, good natured people; they know to look at the jury when the speak; they know how to answer the District Attorney's questions in a way that effectively narrates the events in controversy. They have reports that they wrote just after the events in controversy, which they review prior to testifying. They understand the elements that the District Attorney must establish in order to convict a defendant. Most importantly, they testify all the time - they have lots of experience in the courtroom, and generally feel comfortable there." – Laura Baldwin (Red76 member, and Portland, Oregon public defense lawyer)

A typical defendant has none of this and is frequently faced with limited resources, compared to those of the state, to make a compelling, memorable, believable case to the jury. This is where Second Life simulation / machinima can be of vital use.

When is it?

June 26 @ 6.30 pacific time (SLT - Second Life Time)

Where?

Liberty Hall (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Seventh%20Eye/245/173/301) in Second Life

We will have a brief presentation by Laura Baldwin to talk about the issues and then a discussion about what we think we can do to help as Second Life builders and artisans, and concerned individuals committed to justice, and legal equality for all peoples regardless of race, class, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.

Who should attend?

Artists, builders, machinimists or just people in Second Life (or from outside) who just want to see these people get a fair chance in court.

How will this be accomplished?

This is really a community based project so very little is decided except the bare bones of the Defense Co-op framework. Defense Co-op, at its core, is a connection point wherein two disparate skills set can meet and work together for the benefit of the under-served within the United States judicial system. One of the possibilities here is to create a library of objects, places, and gestures that make it easy for a lawyer to get a compelling machinima fairly quickly and easily with the assistance of Second Life artisans, and also to consider and construct a flow of the process for making these videos efficiently.

Why?

Because the system is frequently stacked against the defendant in this sort of case, to use machinima and SL for the community and for a social good.

Who chooses the cases? The Defense Co-op discussion board serves as a way-station for the needs of indigent clients. As an example, public defenders may use it to place calls to the community for assistance on trials. Our goal is for the Defense Co-op site to become an open resource, mailable to the needs of those who need our services most.