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courtrooms

A few years ago I sat in on a court session (they were handling eviction cases). Everyone was super quiet, the cases moved very quickly, and I was a bit intimidated at how austerely the judge ruled the courtroom. Every time the doors opened, he briefly stopped and stared at the person coming inside.

Yesterday Bobby needed to be at a courtroom in another county, and since his wheelchair is still not repaired I needed to drive him. I was also curious to see how this type of court (superior court, as opposed to magistrate court) would be handled. I expected it to be even more somber and serious.

The courthouse was relatively new, meaning very nice and very clean, the guards at the metal detectors were very nice (and Bobby left his fork in the van instead of in his pouch since the Wake County Courthouse officials are not ADA friendly and were going to confiscate it because it "could be a weapon"), they didn't ask Bobby to take his pouch off the side of his wheelchair or treat him like a suicide bomber, but the courtroom itself was very informal.

After the judge came in, all the different lawyers for the different lawyers were whispering among themselves and in no particular oder addressed issues with upcoming cases (clients currently in custody and not able to attend, in session in a court downstairs, etc). The lack of organization was bothering me more than a little.

But I will say this: I was impressed with the judge, even if he didn't run an austere courtroom. When he talked to the defendant, he was clear, asked some very good questions, asked for clarifications when he needed it, and lectured the defendant with some history about how he would have been sentenced in the past in NC, as well as reviewing the potential sentencing he could receive before handing down the sentence.

When I was in college, a group of boys would go downtown Nashville on weekends to watch "night court". They described it as Judge Judy with a lot more action. For some reason that never instilled any desire in me to go. Yesterday, I was impressed with some of the lawyers, how they defended people who were wrong without attempting to sugarcoat the crimes, how they saw their clients as humans who had made mistakes, but still needed to be treated as humans. I was also a tad appalled as lawyers from both sides discussed a case on the docket (the client who was supposed to be present was in jail), and were postponing a hearing until next April (so much for swift justice) and the Assistant DA shrugged and said "I doubt he'll make it until then." (the guy had coded in prison and was transferred to a prison hospital).  I think like the medical field, the court system is very complex with a lot of ethical situations people don't consider until they've actually had to deal with all the details of a case. It's a bit scary how people's lives are impacted by a few short minutes.

Courtroom watching is not my thing. I can't say I'll never go again, but it's not something I hope to do in what little spare time I have, either.

Comments

Lydia said…
SO interesting. I love courtroom dramas:)

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