Boston Municipal Court Memo

Memorandum #1 The Boston Municipal Court was founded on February 23, 1822. This court deals with civil, criminal, mental health, and restraining order cases. The main goal of this court is to establish justice for both the victim and the defendant and to ensure the public’s safety. I was able to visit this court on February 27th, 2018. From this visit, I have learned more about the how the criminal justice system actually works (rather than how it is portrayed in the movies and in television shows) and what a typical day in a courtroom looks like. When I first entered the courthouse, I was amazed at how large and modern it looked. I was expecting a smaller building with one courtroom, but this courthouse exceeded my expectations. With different

Many were wearing casual clothing such as jeans and a long-sleeve shirt. Many were alone or with a co-defendant while some were sitting with their family members. Two of the defendants stood out to me because they were dressed completely different from the others. One of the defendants could be described as a homeless person because they wore older, worn-out jeans and a sweatshirt. The defendant’s facial appearance also gave away to his financial background (he had a long unkempt beard and his face looked dirty). The man also appeared to be suffering from a mental illness. The other defendant could be described as a typical college student because he came to court dressed in a nice dress shirt, dress pants, and black dress shoes. His mother attended with him when he was arraigned for drunk driving. When I first saw him, I did not think that he was a defendant, in fact, I thought he was a college student from a neighboring college who was interested in the criminal justice system and was observing cases to get a better understanding of everyday processes in courtrooms. While most defendants were seated in the courtroom waiting for their name to be called, a small portion of them was also brought in by police officers in