Court Reflection

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On Tuesday, October 6th I arrived at the Saginaw County Court House, 70th District Court for my Introduction to Criminal Justice class. District Courts resolve disputes by determining the facts and applying legal principles to decide who is right. Trial Courts include the District Judge who tries the case and a jury that decides the case. Magistrate Judges assist District Judges in preparing cases for trial. Magistrate Judges may also conduct trials in misdemeanor cases. I arrived at the Saginaw County Court house on Tuesday the 6th to sit in District Court with the Honorable Judge. Terry L. Clark. This is also the first day I have been to court and decided to sit in on District Court. As I walked in to the court office the first place I walked was up to the third floor and made my way to the courtroom of Judge Terry Clark, where he was doing arraignments, which takes place before any suppression hearings and the trial itself. It is the defendant 's right to know the charges against him or her. It is also the defendant 's …show more content…

If you plead guilty to a criminal offence it means you accept that you committed the offense and will accept the facts as alleged by the police or other prosecuting body. If you plead not guilty it means that you deny committing the offense. This may mean that you are not sure if you have committed the offense and you wish the court to hear evidence to decide whether you are guilty or not. After you plead guilty or not guilty you have to decide whether you want a bench trial or a jury trial. A bench trial takes place in front of a Judge only, there is no jury involved. The Judge is both the finder of fact and ruler on matters of law and procedure. This means that the Judge decides the verdict. A Jury trial is a legal proceeding in which a Jury either makes a decision or makes findings of fact, which then direct the actions of a

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