Personal Narrative Essay: A Real Life Trial

As someone who watches a lot of TV I like to pretend I know a lot about what goes on in courtrooms, however the idea of going to an actual courthouse to sit in on a real-life trial was more than a little daunting to me. And the idea of going down there alone was even worse. But it was a fear that I needed to conquer (though I did recruit my sister to come along with me) and I am extremely grateful that I was pushed to experience a real courtroom trial because I never would have guessed how different it could be.
On Thursday, April 14, I headed downtown and immediately found the courthouse to be different than expected. Movies and TV shows portray court houses as large buildings often either made of bright white stone or some sort of old brick. And without fail, they always have a wide staircase leading up that seems to be packed with paparazzi and reporters. While I was not expecting a staircase lined with photographers, I definitely pictured a building that was a little flashier. With its dingy, nondescript walls, there was nothing that drew me to the building except for my GPS that labeled it as the King County Courthouse. The exterior of the building brought me back down to earth a bit, reminding me

The judge instructed both attorneys on what types of language would and would not be allowed in court. As part of the jury instructions, both parties were told to use vague language, saying only enough to make the jury careful, with no discussion of the level of crime (first-degree, etc.) allowed. In addition, any talk of a possibility of mental health was instructed to be “sanitized,” changing a concern for the mental health of the defendant to a concern for his well-being. Courts that are portrayed in Hollywood are full of charged language, so to have a real trial to put so much effort into preventing bias was just another example of how things are different in the