If you want the experience without the investment the Maymia 645 is quite inexpensive and versatile. Poor man’s Hasselblad. Unless you are very dedicated to 120 roll film chances are you won’t use it as much as your digital system.

Is that how you characterize the mandates in California and many other states that no ICE cars will be sold? That has nothing to do with ideology? If the marketplace were to truly decide the government tax subsidies to “encourage” buying EVs would not exist. I don’t have a rats a.. what kind of car you drive but to say your team is letting the market decide and vapid. You can virtue signal all you want but be intellectually consistant.

Reasonable doubt is decided by the jury. They decide what is reasonable. The query to the judge was, I presume, was responded to with “please re-read your instructions.”
You indicated the finding of guilt was for the lesser included offense of manslaughter which indicates that your jury was unable to agree that intent had been proved. He didn’t intend the death but was reckless in his actions that resulted in the death. You as a jury decided that the state had failed to meet the burden of proving the intent beyond a reasonable doubt. This weighing facts vs law is exactly what a jury does with every case. One of the elements in a hate crime is that the defendant’s crime was committed under circumstances indicating it was a hate crime as defined by the state legislature. It is true that the decision to CHARGE a hate crime rests on the prosecutor (or grand jury) based upon facts provided by the investigators. It is the jury that FINDS that the charge is true and correct. It would be insanely stupid to charge an element you can’t prove. In my state, Washington, sentencing is based upon a “grid” determined by the state legislature. The two axis on the grid are prior convictions and the level of crime. Take an auto theft as an example. Defendant has 0 priors and taking a vehicle without the owners consent is a level one offense. Under this scenario the standard sentence is 0 to 60 days in jail. The legislature set that sentence, even though TMVWOP is a class C felony witch is defined as a crime punishable by up to 5 years in prison. In your example in Washington the level of crime is lower for Manslaughter than Murder 2. Given equal criminal history the actual sentence range is lower for Manslaughter as codified in the Revised Code of Washington, the RCWs. This has been the law in Washington since 1984 with passage of the Sentencing Reform Act. It was passed to mitigate sentence disparities statewide. A judge can deviate from the standard range but must make written findings to support the decision on appeal by the defendant.
We have no facts or reasoning from the Supreme Court civil case you mentioned so the final decision could have been based on factors that we don’t know about. A citation to the case would help. Far to many possibilities for analysis. I get your argument that the judge should add to the sentence if it’s a hate/bias crime but how do you reconcile the right of the defendant to have all of the elements proven beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury of your peers. It’s not all the elements except that one about bias. It makes no sense. The case that sticks out in my mind is the three thugs in a supermarket in a poorer part of our town. One says to the other “let’s kick the s… out of that n…..”. They did, he died and they were charged and convicted under the statute. Upheld by the state Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court. To make this even more disjointed and confusing, the RCW increases the level of numerous crimes based on the victim status. Rape of a child under 12 years of age different than over 12. Rape of a child over the age of consent (statutory rape) is a different level if the defendant is older by more than 48 month if I recall correctly. Damage a car that costs over $250 to repair- class C felony, damage a police car over $250 class B felony. Burgle a house, it’s a crime. Do it armed it’s another level even if the weapon isn’t brandished. The examples are myriad. I appreciate your thoughts on how you think it should be versus how the legislature has codified it. We hire the legislators to write the law by voting for them. They aren’t hero’s for doing so. The real heroes are people like you who virtually donate their time to weigh questions that have life long consequences for individuals accused. Thank you for your service. Sorry this is so scattered but one thumb on a scree about the size of a book of stamps doesn’t facilitate composition.

You raise a number of issues. First, if armed burglar/s put you in reasonable fear of great bodily harm or death in your home you get to defend yourself. Their race etc makes no difference. They are burglars. You didn’t shoot them because of who they are but because they are a reasonable threat. You aren’t the aggressor.
The issue arises when the aggressor is targeting the victim BASED upon characteristics over which he has no control. You’d have a hard time concluding that a random black guy being killed by a group of white guys wearing sheets and burning a cross in his front yard isn’t a hate crime. The burden of proof is on the prosecutor to prove all the elements of the crime, including the additional element that the crime was motivated by racial animus. In order to prove state of mind you can use direct evidence or circumstantial evidence. Circumstantial evidence carries the same weight as direct evidence. Example: you see it snowing, direct evidence. You wake up in the morning and all the neighbors are shoveling cold white stuff the circumstances indicate it snowed. Normally motive is not an element of the crime but if you plead (allege) that the motive is important then you have to prove motive, which CAN be done by circumstantial evidence. By your reasoning it wouldn’t be any different to kill someone in a car crash no matter what the underlying circumstances. Dead is dead, however the law contemplates differences. Driving drunk at 100mph the wrong way on a one way while blindfolded will be treated differently than if you were distracted by answering a call on your cell phone. While Vehicular Homicide doesn’t require intent these cases would be treated differently. Finally, the prosecutor does not have to prove all the elements beyond any shadow of a doubt. The jury instructions would lay all this out for the jurors. If the defense is that aliens came to earth and forced you to commit the crime you wouldn’t have a reasonable doubt. Sure, anything can happen but it is not reasonable to believe it was aliens.

I think the issue is shooting someone in the leg because of an immutable characteristic. Shooting someone who is Asian because they are Asian, as an example.

Jurys decide these issues every day. It’s not rocket science.

Convert the card to cash and buy contraband. Happens 24/7/365 in every state in the US.

Watched a news segment about the pre-paid debit cards being handed out to non citizens (i*****l a***ns) followed by an ad seeking money for veterans disabled in service to our country. How can we accept this as a country?

I tested the airbag and seatbelt combo on the wife’s Honda Accord. I’m a big fan of them now.

The penalty for committing a crime against a particularly vulnerable victim or where there is a special relationship or duty can be enhanced. That is a different concept than assault on a specifically enumerated race, religion, or orientation. I’d be interested to see what the actual statute says in whatever state this occurred. I completely agree with a more serious penalty for this kind of cowardly act, in fact the first murder case I was involved in was the result of two teenagers knocking down an elderly woman during a purse snatching. Horrible event that was instrumental in helping me decide the course of my career.

Not enough facts to analyze it as a hate crime. Crimes are defined by the elements. One element in Assault is that it is a harmful or offensive touching (battery) or putting one in reasonable fear of an assault. To be a hate crime the victim must be a member of a protected class as defined by statute. That is the missing element in your scenario.

This is why e******ns matter. Elect your prosecutor with car or you’ll end up with DA’s like Gascogne or Bragg or Willis or, well you know what I mean.

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As a film and digital shooter my advice is to put the Minolta on a place where it is displayed as a reminder of all the wonderful memories of time spent with Papaw. Film is much more difficult and expensive than digital. There are few, if any advantages to using film. For the cost of film, processing and printing a single roll of film you’ve spent enough to buy an SD card that will hold thousands of shots on your digital. Film will take a week at least to view. The learning curve is steep and results are iffy.
The digital gives you instant feedback. There is a drugstore on every corner that will print the shots while you wait. Your first order of business is to learn the features and functions on your digital camera. You don’t mention where you live-urban or rural- but if you can, take a basic photo class at an adult learning center or community college. In my home town one of the studio owners taught a class with guest speakers from other pros. If that won’t fit into your presumably busy life there are literally thousands of YouTube videos that teach digital photography. Look around and pick an instructor whose style coincides with the delivery suitable to your learning style. Take your time and learn what they are teaching. Start with the basic functions of your camera and build your knowledge base. Once you can operate the camera you can learn about composition and post processing.
The use of a cell phone was mentioned and is a good idea. I just returned from a Nile river cruise. I took a very expensive camera and lens, took a couple thousand shots. My favorite picture of the trip was from the wife’s 10 year old iPhone. It is a selfie of her in a hot air balloon over the Valley of the Kings. She had a pretty big smile. She could have sent the image to the family thousands of miles away back in Montana, and Washington and all in a matter of seconds. Pretty handy.
Once you have a good grasp of your digital camera and the lens that is on it then consider exploring that film camera. I know your mom wants you to use the film camera but now is not the time.
Good luck with your learning. Keep asking questions and enjoy.

Settled for RRS?