Court System Observation

Essay by rylanowenUniversity, Bachelor'sA+, April 2005

download word file, 2 pages 2.0

Downloaded 67 times

I recently took a trip to the Multnomah county courthouse in Portland, Oregon. I observed cases in civil matters. I attended the court from 10am to 3pm on Monday February 28th. I observed everything from how cases were being handled and decided. The trip to the courthouse was confusing for a minute because I got lost for a minute, but once there everything went smoothly. When first going into the courthouse I was told to take off metal objects from my body and to take off my shoes because they had metal hoops on them. I Went a through metal detector which is for the safety of the people, but makes you think if you rights were being violated or not. Once through the detectors I proceeded to the court room where Judge Bearden was presiding. He was an older gentleman that wore a black robe and glasses.

Once in the courtroom I looked around to get a look around me.

I observed that it wasn't a plush place to be or a comfortable place to be. They had wooden benches and chairs for people to sit on. When looking in front of me there was this high pedestal where the judge sat looking down on people making you think that the judge was more powerful. The Prosecutor was sitting on the right in a suit and tie. The defendant was wearing casual clothes and had his attorney sitting next to him. Once the trial was getting started the prosecutor became aggressive arguing that the defendant was guilty and to give him the harshest penalty the law allowed. The defense was in no contest that the defendant was guilty, but did ask the judge for some leniency on his client because he plans to plead guilty. When looking around...