The trip into Hartford to see Justice Mullins' Public Hearing for Confirmation as Head Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court showed me a window into the workings of our state, and the accomplishments of a Watkinson alum. To start, it was really inspiring to me to see Mr. Mullins in that room, talking about all his accomplishments, and then brings up that he went to high school at Watkinson. One thing I found very impressive was the way he answered questions, by deflecting, or turning them into questions he was more comfortable answering, he remained calm and collected even while getting pressed to say certain things. To tie into a global studies theme, Mullins’ main initiative for once he became Chief Justice was all about implementing technology into the court system to better people's lives. From installing wifi into the older government buildings, to digitizing files to make them more accessible, a lot of his ideas are very relevant to the technology and communication theme. Another interesting moment was when one of the senators said something along the lines of “you are here for your merits, but you're black so that's great too.” While blunt, Mullins actually said something similar when he mentioned how special it was for him to be there as a black man, and looking at the panel of senators and representatives, you can see the significance. One distinct line of questioning that stood out to me was the piece about where rights come from, the government or god? This question showed just how false the separation of church and state concept really is, since it's a government worker arguing rights are religious (another global studies theme). The question also leads into what the purpose of government is in the first place, and the role of the courts themselves. The other main question that stuck with me was the situation with the mother of three going through a divorce, versus the other two examples and who was the most vulnerable. Mullins had said he was focused on the juvenile and criminal courts, and the questioner brought up this example to say the family court is just as important, and ended his questions by saying something along the lines of “don't forget the single mothers”.