Birdsong's Law Blog

This post is for consideration by the students in Birdsong’s Refugee and Asylum Law seminar. This week we will be discussing concepts of political opinion, imputed political opinion, and mixed motive asylum cases.

                                          MS.   Z

In the late 90′s, before Birdsong left his private law practice to teach at the Barry Law School he was approached by  a new, potential client.  I will call her Ms. Z.  Ms. Z had arrived in the United States a week earlier from Germany.  She told me she needed a lawyer.  Here’s why.

 Ms. Z had obtained a visa from one of our American consulates in Germany allowing her to travel to the U.S. as a tourist.  Upon arriving at the port of entry in Washington, D.C.  She told the immigration officials that she did not really come to the U.S. to be a tourist.  Instead she asked the officials to grant her asylum in the U.S.  The inspectors were surprised

Birdsong’s daddy was fond of telling me that when I believed I needed a helping hand the best place to look was at the end of my right arm.

….Think about it!

–Birdsong

A Funeral Mass was held  on Saturday, September 27, 2008, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Orlando for Birdsong’s daughter, Krystal.   Birdsong and his family wish to thank all of the students, friends and colleagues who attended the service and/or sent flowers or other expressions of sympathy, including food for our family at our time of grief.

For those who were unable to attend the service, Birdsong has included herewith the Remembrance of Krystal,  read by our priest at the service:

REMEMBRANCE

            Krystal Shara Birdsong was born on September 25, 1982, in Washington, D.C.from the union of Leonard Birdsong and Senayte Bezabih.  She began her schooling at Frau Erbe’s Kindergarten in Hamburg, Germany where her parents were stationed with the U.S. State Department.  She then attended Hamburg’s International School. During her parents’ next assignment, she attended the St. Andrew School in Nassau, Bahamas. After her parents returned to the United States, Krystal graduated from the Chevy Chase Elementary School and in 2000, graduated from Watkins Mill High School in Montgomery County, Maryland.

A number of  Barry law students wish to know more about Birdsong’s daughter Krystal who passed away on September 20, 2008.  Below is a link to the Barry University online story about Krystal containing her photograph:

http://bucwis.barry.edu/news/4442_3133393738.htm

It is with profound sadness that we notify the Barry community that we have lost one of our own. Krystal Birdsong, a May 2008 graduate from the College of Arts & Sciences, current graduate student in the School of Social Work, and daughter of Leonard Birdsong, Associate Professor at Barry’s Law School, passed away Friday, Sept. 19. She was 25 years old.

Birdsong’s first year criminal law class just finished studying about crime and punishment.  Birdsong has now come upon a local crime story that begs the question: “Is this a case of too much punishment?”

The case was reported in the Orlando Sentinel and involves the sentencing,in Sanford, Florida, of 33 year old Kelly Lumadue.  A Sanford jury had convicted her of having sex with a 5 year old boy.  The judge in the case then sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of parole!