A Day In Court

Professor Brian D. Heffner 7 December 2012 A Day In Criminal Court This week I had the opportunity to dumbfound In on abominable court proceedings. I chose to punish the Oakland County Court House for the day and spy quite a few intimacys by means of extinct the entire experience. I extradite been to a few courts In the past, criminal, traffic, and family, exclusively never In the Oakland County bulldlng. thither were legion(predicate) details of the proceedings, the Image, and change surface the condltlons of allthing from the bulldlng Itself to the people touch that I found particularly Interesting.The send-off thing I hought when I entered the bulldlng was that It was non crowded. In previous vlslts to troy courts the place was packed, let al wizard confusing. This courthouse was different. The hall dashs were very new-fashioned and clean and it felt fresh to me, not dark and dismal like it could charm under ones skin been. (l slam I assume to likewise consi der that I didn t assume whatever charges against me so I wasn? t entering the building expecting to hate military personnel there) I was surprised by the security measures. It seemed as if it was too easy to get finished. I expected to have iii or four metal detectors lie up for a big crowd, just there was only one.Right away I got the sense that the size of the building was not reflective of the amount of chemises per day it accommodates. afterward calling with one of the guards I was referred to the criminal court direction rather than the family court, repayable to what he called a more provoke day.? . The courtyard itself I view was way too small. on that point were only deuce and a half rows for people to sit and watch, forcing many people to have to tarry outdoor(a). That I thought was not a well thought out design. on that point is tons of extra hallway piazza that they could have stretched the room out to concur it bigger so you wouldnt run into those kinds of problems.The room also had extravagant fixtures hanging from the ceiling. I dont really represent the purpose of t hem, they whitethorn even have been lights, scarcely they meet looked like a waste of money. I dont work out they serve any other reason than to look middling, and if thats the case, they could have spent the money on the room extension. Thats adept my opinion of the building another thing that struck me was the people involved. As I looked around the court room, I aphorism attorneys, citizens, guards, and of course the come close. The Judge, I was informed, was the night Judge filling In for someone.I was warned by my buddy, the guard, that he would be sluggish, only if I thought It flowed nicely. I must first speak of the integrityyers because they bothered me the to the highest degree. These lawyers were slobs I realize that you may not make a whole lot of money being a semipublic defender, but you could at least dress appropriately. One of these lawyers had his whole hem hanging out with string future(a) him everywhere. This guy cables pants were wrinkled and his pig wholly void of any type of brushing. I would never hire any one that looked Ilke that. and I would be scared If I had him assigned to me.Another lawyer, a cleaning adult female this time, was the almost horrifying thing I have ever seen. Before she even came in the wanted a new lawyer because she was as dizzy. When she passinged in I realize they had made a broad understatement. This woman had the most disgusting mess of hair on top of her head and she kept scratching it. It was like a huge crimped, teased, knotty mess. I couldnt believe that she would walk into a courtroom like that. Oh my god she was a mess I dont understand how she could represent anyone look like that. There was only one professional looking lawyer and he was the prosecutor.Everyone else looked third assess compared to him. The other group of people I looked at was the c riminals. There was definitely a mixed group of people there. There was one lady in her 40s that was have on a long fur cover and all the Jewelry in the world, and you could fitting tell she was ashamed to be there. Her conserve wouldnt even sit in the courtroom with her. I really would have love to dwell what she did wrong, but with all the judiciary conversation you never got to experience her crime, clean her dismissal. Another guy that had charges against him wasnt even allowed in the courtroom ecause he didnt have the decently berth.I thought that was completely unfair. He was outside the courtroom explaining that he didnt have any money to buy good shoes for the day, but they still wouldnt let him in. I guess all this stuff has been pretty superficial, but what really bothered me was how apiece of the cases was handled. I eer thought that the public could view any courtroom proceeding, but I felt extremely con changed. In fact I think it was unfair to the criminals as well. It seemed like every case was decided at the terrace before even saying what the charges were.I know I sat through 3 hours of court and left only wise(p) what two of the cases was really about. When the incarcerated people were brought out it looked like they were clueless as to what was pass on, because they couldnt hear any of it. They looked take aback sometimes when hearing the stopping points as if they didnt know what was chance to them. I know that I was shocked when I heard some of the verdicts because I had no idea what the crime was For the most part they just now announced codes not allowing the common person to understand a thing theyre talking about.After every decision the lawyer had to break it d possess to their own words to the clients. That annoyed me so much. I was also disgusted with one case in particular where they actually did pull out the crime. A man and a woman had both committed armed looting and in the process hospitalized two victims. Their lawyer had the nerve to ask for $1000 gage for the two of them, pointing out the families of each of the criminals in the courtroom, explaining that they both had newborns to take care of. This lawyer had a 6 year obsolete child in the courtroom to hear his father receive a $50, 000 bail. I Just think that was wrong.The lawyer knew there was no way in the world he was getting his client off, the guy had a rap sheet nightlong than the Bible from 4 different states, but he chose to put that kid through that. I dont get that. I guess overall my court experience was a pretty good learning experience. I learned to appreciate my lawyer a 100 times more Just for his wardrobe alone. I learned that you always need appropriate shoes even if your clothes are as filthy as ever. I learned that the urban center of Oakland County prefers style to space accommodations, and most significantly I learned that is cheaper to obey the law than to break it.