Juvenile Court Field Observation Report

570 Words2 Pages

Going to the Franklin County Courthouse was an eyeopening experience. Witnessing the way the judicial system works first hand was helpful in understanding the process. During the trip I had the opportunity to witness three juvenile cases, a murder case, and hear from Judge Frye about his experience as a judge.
On the trip I had the opportunity to experience three juvenile court trials. Two of the proceedings were related to school truancy and the third was related to substance abuse. Sitting through the truancy cases I found myself asking what it took to be brought into court for missing school. I missed numerous days of school and I never had a warning. During a break in session, I had the chance to ask the magistrate what you had to do to receive such a charge. She stated that the charge is placed when a student misses 14 days of school in a row. I thought this was absurd. Missing 14 days of school in a row seems crazy to me. I did not feel bad for the kids who came in for having this on their record. In both cases, the case had been going on for awhile and the kids had shown progress with grades and attendance. She closed the case and under rule 29 expunge the offense off both of their records. I believe the rule 29 is a phenomenal …show more content…

It was evident that the magistrate sympathized for the family and wished that things could be different. From what I understood, the young daughter had a cocaine addiction and has been living in a rehabilitation facility for a short period of time. The separation and heartbreak of her mother being separated from her daughter was very evident and felt across the room. The girl is supposed to stay in a home until January and on probation for a year from today. In this case I still strongly believe in the rule 29. If this young girl is able to learn from her mistakes and begin a new successful life, then her adolescent past should not hold her back from her future as a recovered

More about Juvenile Court Field Observation Report

Open Document