On Thursday, October 20, 2016, I visited the Jackson Municipal Court in Jackson, Alabama. As I entered the courthouse I was greeted by three security guards who kindly asked me to remove my jacket and place my belongings in the bind for view. I graciously walked through a metal detector and received my belongings back upon completion. I then furthered my entrance into the huge building where I was dumbfounded by the appearance. I went to the bulletproof receptionist desk where I informed the clerk of why I was there. She kindly informed me of the courts that was going on and even suggested that I look in courtroom number two, which would probably have suited my need better.
As I walked along the narrow hallways I found that there were guards standing at each entrance and exit of the courtrooms, which gave me a since of safety while I was there. As I entered the court I found some familiar faces and others, who like I, were experiencing court for the very first time in my life. The honorable Judge George A. Bailey was presiding over the cases. Seated beside judge Bailey was Hilda Thomas, the City Magistrate. Court had approximately 35 individuals in attendance.
Judge Bailey began by calling roll and making sure every individual was in the correct court. Upon completion, he
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Defendants on this day were more compassionate towards one another than they had been shown on television shows and court cases. No matter the seriousness or minor offense of each defendant, they managed to overcome the obstacles that they had managed to hit along the way. Upon my initial view of judge Bailey, I felt that he would be hard on the defendants, but that is why you never judge a book by its’ cover. Judge Bailey showed a sense of understanding when he viewed every case and even received the opinions of others before entirely sentencing an individual, which showed his great
Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, thank you for your attention today. [Slide #2] I would like to assert that separation is not the end of a relationship. Divorce is not the end of a relationship. Even an arrest is not the end of a relationship. Only death is the end of a relationship. In the case of defendant Donna Osborn, her insistence that ‘“one way or another I’ll be free,”’ as told in the testimony of her friend Jack Mathews and repeated in many others’, indicates that despite the lack of planning, the defendant had the full intent to kill her husband, Clinton Osborn.
Syme, D. (1997). Martin Bryant's Sentence- What the judge said, Retrieved 5 July, 2003, from http://www.geniac.net/portarthur/sentence.htm. 7. The Australian Encyclopaedia.
“The trial was brought to a speedy conclusion. Not only did Judge Evans find the twelve guilty, fine them $100 each, and committed them to jail, but five people in the courtroom who had served as witnesses for the defense arrested. […] The police were then instructed to transfer the seventeen prisoners that night to the county jail”(30).
Throughout history there have always been issues concerning judicial courts and proceedings: issues that include everything from the new democracy of Athens, Greece, to the controversial verdict in the Casey Anthony trial as well as the Trayvon Martin trial. One of the more recent and ever changing issues revolves around cameras being allowed and used inside courtrooms. It was stated in the Handbook of Court Administration and Management by Stephen W. Hays and Cole Blease Graham, Jr. that “the question of whether or not to allow cameras in American courtrooms has been debated for nearly fifty years by scholars, media representatives, concerned citizens, and others involved in the criminal justice system.” The negatives that can be attached to the presence of cameras inside a courtroom are just as present, if not more present, than the positives that go hand-in-hand with the presence of cameras.
Throughout the years there has been limitless legal cases presented to the court systems. All cases are not the same. Some cases vary from decisions that are made by a single judge, while other cases decisions are made by a jury. As cases are presented they typically start off as disputes, misunderstandings, or failure to comply among other things. It is possible to settle some cases outside of the courts, but that does require understanding and cooperation by all parties involved. However, for those that are not so willing to settle out of court, they eventually visit the court system. The court system is not in existence to cause humiliation for anyone, but more so to offer a helping hand from a legal prospective. At the same time, the legal system is not to be abuse. or misused either.
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
First of all, I viewed a rather interesting case in courtroom thirty-seven about a man, Alam Buock, who was charged with various drug and weapon offences. In spite of the fact that I did not get to see the sentencing, I was able to receive numerous notes on the case and how it was being conducted. Additionally, I also found it interesting how Alam Buock already had been proven guilty of all the offences beforehand. On the other hand, I found it quite dismaying when the Crown would refer to the defence lawyer as “my friend,” even though I already knew that this was common amongst lawyers. Subsequently, I had attended video remand court, which was honestly quite mundane.
I interviewed Beckee Partin with the County Courts. What Beckee likes most about her career is that every day is different which keeps her job very interesting. She has been a court reporter since 1996. In 20 years she has seen a lot of cases go through the court room. Trials start every Monday, Wednesday and can last 5 days each. If
All of a sudden, it is you that now has the importance. It’s you, the jury that has the power to potentially change the life of this man sitting here. You have the power to abide by the justice system. You have the power to do the right thing, right here. And that is to let my client, Joshua Hayden, walk away a free man today. Nothing more, nothing less.
I arrived at the Arapahoe County Justice Center parking lot at 9:00 A.M. in order to find cases on the docket that were being heard. When I arrived, I noticed how busy the justice center was as there were a...
The courtroom was jammed with anxious people, waiting for the action to get underway, staring
With a skater cut, three days of scruff, an oversized punk rock T-shirt, and a pair of torn Vans on his feet, it was hard for me not to rush to judgment. But Kyle was my client, and my job was to prepare him for his upcoming deposition. It was my last week into what had been a successful eye-opening internship at a law firm in South Florida. My Atticus Finch dreams had been somewhat shaken, and my rose colored view of the legal world had been somewhat brought down to reality, but I was still enamored with the law and the court system, though the visions of my calling surprise witnesses in order to crack a case to get my innocent client off a trumped up charge were now more steeped in veracity. I was now smack in the middle of the rather mundane
Farther down the hall I hear voices. The general court is in session. Inside the
At the expiration of this term, twelve of the boys were brought into court at one time, and the scene formed a striking and highly pleasing contrast with their appearance when first arraigned. The judge expressed much pleasure as well as surprise at their appearance, and remarked, that the object of law had been accomplished and expressed his cordial approval of my plan to save and reform" (Martin, 2005).
She explained that his involvement in the crime was not excessive and that it was his brother who was the leader. She went on to describe his eight previous arrests for crimes like robbery and cocaine possession. Given his long history she said she was not surprised to see him involved in this kind of case. Because of his other charges I thought the prosecutor was going to suggest the higher end of the sentencing guidelines. However, as she continued I realized I was incorrect. Instead of focusing on his previous crimes she talked about how he needed rehabilitation. She emphasized recovery from his current lifestyle more than sending him to prison again. She brought up his involvement in his church and his successful marriage and questioned why he would throw all of that away. She also suggested that he turn to his church and his wife for support and to aid him in his battle with addiction. Throughout the case, the prosecutor was compassionate and seemed more like a disappointed parent to the defendant rather than angry. The one time the prosecutor did act somewhat harsh was towards the middle of her statement. She brought up the fact that the defendant had previous medical conditions such as a stab and shot wounds. She suggested that the defense had asked for these injuries to be taken into account when the sentence was decided on. She was adamant that the court should not take