"The impact of her interest and work on the provision of legal services in the state of California is immeasurable," said Patricia Philips, senior of-counsel for Los Angeles' Morrison & Foerster. "Its value is felt every day by someone who would otherwise be floundering around in the legal system yet dealing with very serious problems." Zelon's public-interest work has not gone unnoticed. Several organizations that share her commitment to public service - including the National Legal Aid & Defender Association and the State Bar of California - have honored her. Two years ago, Zelon received the Laurie D. Zelon Pro Bono Award, which had been named for her one year earlier by the Law Firm Pro Bono Project, which she'd helped found. "I didn't find out until I was standing in the great hall of the Supreme Court, surrounded by 300 people who were there, that the award had been named for me and was thereafter going to be given in my name. It's very hard to believe, for anyone who knows me well, but I was actually speechless for a period," Zelon said. Zelon faced one of the greatest challenges of her legal career, she said, when her appointment to the bench forced her to switch gears from civil litigation to criminal law. "It was a steep learning curve for me," she said. "It's a whole different set of processes. The rules are different. The case law is a whole body unto itself." Attorneys praise Zelon for her thorough understanding of the law. "She's extremely well-versed in the law," Leon said. "She's very thorough in her research," Wong said. Of course, not all attorneys concur with every decision Zelon makes in court. Some city attorneys disagree with her interpretation of evidentiary statutes when Zelon puts limits on their use of hearsay testimony. But lawyers who have appeared before her say that they appreciate her intelligent interpretation of the law.

Who raised Zelon for her thorough understanding of the law?

Imagine you are standing in a farm field in central Illinois. The land is so flat you can see for miles and miles. On a clear day, you might see a grain silo 20 miles away. You might think to yourself, it sure is flat around here. If you drive one hundred miles to the south, the landscape changes. In southern Illinois, there are rolling hills. Why do you think this is? What could have caused these features? There are no big rivers that may have eroded and deposited this material. The ground is capable of supporting grass and trees, so wind erosion would not explain it. To answer the question, you need to go back 12,000 years. Around 12,000 years ago, a giant ice sheet covered much of the Midwest United States. Springfield, Illinois, was covered by over a mile of ice. Its hard to imagine a mile thick sheet of ice. The massive ice sheet, called a glacier, caused the features on the land you see today. Where did glaciers go? Where can you see them today? Glaciers are masses of flowing ice.

What's the difference between central and southern Illinois?

Comanche Indians have trapped the evil of their land in a monster made up of a mixture of other animals . The Comanche have placed a protective spear in the ground to contain the evil . A young boy pulls the spear from the ground while pocketing a rabbit foot talisman . He starts to play with the spear . A Comanche catches the boy , and startled , he runs away with the rabbit's foot . The Native American places the spear back , realizing too late that the rabbits foot is now gone . After that , white men come and start drilling for oil . Skip to current time , a divorced father , Mance Cashen , moves to the area with his new wife , baby , and his son from his first marriage , Willy ( played by ( ( Chris Miller , who is visiting . Willy notices something peculiar in the house and tries to warn his father and step-mother . They do not believe him . Willy is attacked while on a tire swing over a small water hole . The creature grabs his foot and Willy struggles , eventually getting away . He eventually befriends the local drunk , T. C. van Houten . A nice old man with some bad memories who knows something about the evil near the oil well and was in a situation similar to Willy's . In the meantime a Comanche Indian , Chief Sam John , comes to warn Mance of the evil and the need to keep it contained . Sam John informs Mance the evil was originally intended to stop the white man , but it is indiscriminate in whom it kills instead . Mance will have none of it . Willy eventually takes a spear he finds on his property to Sam John and tries to find out what is going on .
What was Willy's father and step-mother response, when Willy warn them?