By Thursday of every week, you should have completed the activities associated with 1 project. You should blog about your experience as a comment to the blog posting of that particular project. Your blog comment can be largely experiential--tell us what it was like to do the project and what you learned. Products associated with the project and a more detailed analysis of the project will go in your portfolio (see the Portfolio blog post).
Project #9 - Courthouse Visit
Go to a courthouse and view a court proceeding or portion of jury selection or jury trial. For your comment tell us about where you went and what you saw (briefly). For your portfolio, provide more detailed information and a written analysis.
I visited the Black Hawk County and saw the final arguments of a Jury trial. This included several moments when the jury was asked to leave so that the judge could determine whether what the lawyers were about to say could be used in court. I also saw both the defense and the prosecution go over the jury instructions trying to put there own spin on what they felt the jurors should do with them.
I visited the Wapello County Courthouse in Ottumwa, Iowa. I was job shadowing Cyndi Hux, an attorney there. She was representing a woman in a child custody hearing. This had been an ongoing case, but I got to watch one of the final aspects of it. I got to meet the mother and her sister, the other attorney and the father, the judge, and the Child Protective Services Representative.
At the hearing I was able to see direct examination, cross examination, re-direct and re-cross of the mother, the father, and a teacher at the childrens' elementary school (witness). The judge ruled in favor of the mother, but that was just the temporary ruling. The judge then reviews the case and gives a final ruling. Most of the time the temporary ruling is the same as the final ruling, though.
I will be visiting the Black Hawk County Courthouse this week. I will post more about my experience right after I get back.
I am excited to see how this really works in real life. The only courthouse hearing I have ever seen is one TV, and we all know those can be taken to a different level.
My main interest will be how the defense and the prosecutors work. How they work off each others material to explain their side and how they persuade the jury. That will be my main focus point.
If you are from around the area I'm sure you have heard about the Mark Becker trial. He is accused of shooting and killing Ed Thomas. Well I am from Parkersburg and was a freshman in high school while Mark was a senior and I was good friends with Mark's younger brother Scott. Also, I had Thomas as a coach and a teacher. So being from Parkersburg I have my own personal connections to the Mark Becker trial. The day Ed Thomas was murdered I was saddened to find out that my sister was one of the eye witnesses. Fortunately she did not see Thomas get shot, but she was unfortunate enough to be yelled at by Mark and witness the horror of the situation. Needless to say my sister had to testify for Mark Becker's attorney(the defense)on Friday February 19th. I was there to support my sister and also to learn and experience more what the courtroom scene is like. I ended up leaving immediately after my sister testified because it got to emotional for me, but in the small amount of time I was there I learned so much. I also got to see the media side of things because my cousin works for the Waverly Democrat Paper so I was able to go into the media room with her and see how things worked. At this specific time the jury is still in deliberation and I am very curious to see what the verdict is. Mark Becker is pleading insanity otherwise he faces life in prison without parole. Being in the courtroom I learned a lot but also since I had a personal connection I learned what people go through if they have a family member or friend who is somehow related to a trial case. For now, it is in the hands of the jury.
On Friday the 19th I went to the Mark Becker trial in Allison, IA. I happen to know one of the people that testified and was there to support her and her family at that time. It was also interesting to actually be at a trial and in a courthouse, as I've never been to one before. I only got to see one witness testify, but I learned a lot about court proceedings while I was there.
A couple of months ago I had to give a victim impact statement in a courtroom but I chose for the case not to go to trial and take the defendants guilty plea agreement it only lasted for 45 mins. It took over a year from the time of reporting the crime to the sentencing which I never realized how long that took. I also had to undergo an interview with a police officer and a detective which was not fun because I had to sit in an interrogation room and they video tape you and record what you say. Then I also got the joy (not really) of sitting through a 2-3 hr deposition with a really weird old lawyer asking me random questions and had to sit across from the defendant. I also had to leave classes frequently to meet with the DA and go over everything and she even wanted me to "practice" what i was going to say on the stand so I had to read the typed deposition and watch my interview in the interrogation room I also never knew how much rehersal is put into trial.
I plan on attending to Black Hawk Courthouse early next week to see a trial proceedings. Ill be able to post more about this after going early next week.
I watched the Mark Becker trial. I'm not from this area but the case really caught my interest in a way. I was curious to see the way a trial worked that wasn't on TV. Watching trials on criminal shows is so much different than watching the Mark Becker case. The process is a lot slower than on tv. Also, the amount of time just between each question that was asked. It's not just question after question after question. The lawyers take their time to make sure they ask it right and ask the right question. It was interesting to watch to process of the trial. The media shows the preceeding so much differently than what this case did. Overall, I thought it was a great experience of the courtroom and to see the process that the trial actually takes.
I believe I learned a lot from this experience.
I again visited the Wapello County Courthouse last Monday to watch the Court Services Day. I was job shadowing two judges, Judge Scieszinski and Judge Mullins. The Court Services Day is a day where only cases that can be handled in about a half hour are tried. Because of this, I was able to see various types of cases and different approaches that attorneys utilize.
As I was shadowing Judge Mullins, I was able to watch less formal proceedings in his chambers. Most of the cases were civil cases and not as interesting as the criminal cases I had watched that morning.
I was also able to watch Drug Court. It was a very interesting approach to handling drug-related cases in an informal way, but still in a courtroom with attorneys, a judge, court reporter, and the works.
I got to Black Hawk County Court House second time this time I caught the end of jury trial I got there just in time to see the jury return from its deliberations. The defendant had been charge with, if I recall correctly, possession of crack with intent to deliver the jury submitted a verdict of guilty which was read by the judge. After the defense polled the jury to see how many agreed with the verdict (all of them) the defendant was taken into custody by what appeared to be a member of the sheriffs office, and was escorted from the building I'm pretty sure he would be returned to the court house later to hear the sentence he would be facing.
I will be visiting a court house and interviewing a lawyer this Thursday, which will count for 2 of my projects.
I sat in on a trial that occurred in Tama County. In this case the defendant was charged with his third OWI. I pretty know how criminal cases work but it was cool to sit in on one and see it live. I think it is impressive how the attorneys get so prepared for the trials and then try to persuade the jury to decide in their favor. I think it takes a lot of skill to become an attorney and I think it is impressive. Overall I think the courtroom experience was very informative.
On April 12th I went down to the Black Hawk County Curthouse. I did not make it there in time to see a trial, but I did attend court hour from 3:30 till 4. There was an associate judge there, which i later learded he has limited jurisdictions. There were 6 cases that came it. They all sat on the bech and he called them one by one from the papers that he had. The majority of the cases were either restraining orders, OWI fines or jail time, or no completing something while on probation. It was very interesting to watch. Although it was very informal, quick, and straighforward, I still learned a lot and I really enjoyed the courtroom setting.