Court Reflection Paper

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Throughout the three hours, the man that was sitting on the raised platform gave the two groups of professional looking men and women turns in speaking to him from the podium in the middle of the room which was made of wood. These men and women would speak for about 30 minutes each, and would ask questions to other individuals that were brought in by guards and were told to sit underneath the man with power on the first level of the raised platform. These individuals would answer questions by the professional looking men and women and then they were escorted out. As they were escorted outside the room or to empty seats behind the wooden bar we realized that they were crying, looked upset, and angry. At that point, we knew that they were part …show more content…

The location and size of this territory was based upon the importance of the role and the influence the individual played in the court room. For example, observers in the room did not take part in the case and did not have to speak; therefore, they were seated behind the wooden bar on benches with other people, as their comfort and interaction was not needed. In contrast, the Judge and the lawyers played an important role in the court room, as they make arguments, support arguments, and ask questions. As a result, they were seated at the front of the courtroom where they were close to the man in the glass cage and the twelve men and women of the …show more content…

According to the second mode of claiming legitimate authority, those who exercise authority do so because they continue a tradition and support preservation and continuation of existing values and social ties (Demers, 2015: 26). Thus, traditional authority is used by the authority figure as there is no better way to rule than to obtain the consent of those being rules. As a matter of fact, traditional authority along with the actual legal requirement the observers, lawyers, and jury obey the judge as his traditional authority “has always existed”. However, traditional authority is not codified in impersonal rules unlike legal authority which is written down and widely considered as a formal norm (Demers, 2015:

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