In 2000, Marcus Arnold, his twin brother Marc, and his parents, Melvin and Priscilla, were living in Perris, California, about 120 kilometers to the east of Los Angeles. His father was working at a furniture store, two hours drive away. Melvin and Priscilla came to the US from Belize. After immigrating to the US, they had settled in Los Angeles and had raised their three sons there. A few years earlier, however, when the family was having a barbecue in the backyard, their oldest boy had been murdered. After that happened, the family didnt want to live in LosAngeles any longer, so they bought a new house in Perris.
The person who killed Marcus brother was sent to jail. But Marcus felt his punishment was not severe enough. Melvin thought that it was because of the shock of the murder and the feeling that justice had not been done that his son became so interested in the law. In any case, by the time he was twelve, Marcus had decided he wanted to become a lawyer. And he was already learning a lot by watching television shows about the law.
Marcus was also serious about his school work.. He was spending six hours a day in school and around four hours every day doing homework. In June, 2000, he was studying for a biology exam and trying to answer a question by using an information-sharing site called AskMe.com. While he was visiting the site, he happened to notice several legal questions that he knew the answer to. He had an urge to answer the questions himself. Only official experts were allowed to answer questions, but it was possible to become one simply by filling out a form. Marcus did this and became an expert.
In filling out the form, Marcus had to give a profile of himself. He said he was twenty-five years old and he chose LawGuy1975 as his online name.. He lied because he felt no one would take his advice seriously if he admitted he was only fifteen. Then he started answering questions.
He answered the questions briefly and simply, using clear, well-written English. Many questions came from people who were already in trouble with the law or who had relatives who were. One, for example, came from a woman whose son was in jail and about to go on trial. Marcus wrote back to her, saying if the police had not told her son about his right to have a lawyer before being questioned, that he should not be in jail. And he told her that if she had any more questions, he would answer them.
On another occasion an old woman was so pleased with the advice Marcus gave her that she sent him large amounts of information about her case and then asked him to accompany her to court. Marcus was eager to go, but when he asked his mother to drive him there, she refused. Marcus mother was proud of what her son had accomplished, but she was afraid of what would happen when the lady found out he was only fifteen.
The experts on AskMe.com were ranked according to how often and how quickly they gave advice and how good their advice was in the opinion of the recipients. By the first of July, less than a month after he had begun, Marcus was ranked number 10 out of around 150 experts in the websites criminal law section.