...OBSERVATION REPORT (Observe – to pay attention to, to perceive or notice, to watch, to recognize or note occurrences, to draw inferences, to remark or comment) The Observation Report is to be the result of an in-person observation made for the purpose of partially fulfilling the requirements of this course, and must include a complete and comprehensive report on any 2.5 hours of observation from the list of choices below, exclusive of breaks and recesses. The observation report shall include the type of observation, the name of the presiding officer, the physical location of the observation, the parties involved, the issues, any decisions made and your personal comments regarding how you “see” the proceedings. Please place emphasis on your personal comments, clearly including what you “bring to the table” (your personal background and why you selected your observation). NOTE: Dr. Flower is the only person who will read your reports. You should, prior to the observation, make notes on your preconceived notions, ideas, and perceptions on what you expect to observe. Your pre-work should then be contrasted or compared with your actual observations. Your “gut” reactions to issues, personalities, competencies and results will most likely be very accurate and should serve as the backbone of your report. DO NOT wait until the last minute to attend the observation since it is common for students to discover the scheduled or planned observation does not take place when the...
Words: 1386 - Pages: 6
...The American Court System Behind Closed Doors America first established its judiciary system around the same time the 13 British Colonies became established as individual territories. When it came down to it, Federalist battled Anti-federalist over the writing of the Constitution of the United States. The Anti- Federalist were opposed to the idea of a one centralized government while the Federalists on the other hand were all for a centralized government. What came next was the establishing of the Judicial Branch known as Article III. The start of the first court system came along with Congress passing, The Judiciary Act of 1789. The act established the United States circuit courts which were also known to be United States federal courts and were located in each of the federal judicial districts. The act also established the United States Supreme Court and its justices. It wasn’t until 1912, that the district courts became exercised and became the new federal trial courts replacing the circuit courts as original jurisdiction. Circuit courts became known as federal court of appeals. They no longer have the right to try a case first, which is now the district courts role in the judicial system. With 13 circuit courts and 93 federal judicial districts the two courts make up most of the judicial system in our country. That’s why it is imperative that we know the differences and the similarities between each court. After observing both courts for about 5 or so hours, I really...
Words: 3344 - Pages: 14
...LAW COURT ASSIGNMENT 10% DUE: November 6th, 2013 (in class, hardcopy only) This assignment can be done in groups of not more than 3 (or individually). If you are working in a group please hand in one assignment only. You may work with students in another one of MY sections if you wish. PLEASE INDICATE THE NAMES OF YOUR GROUP MEMBERS CLEARLY ON THE TITLE PAGE OF THE ASSIGNMENT AND SECTION NUMBERS FOR EACH GROUP MEMBER. LATE ASSIGNMENTS ARE NOT ACCEPTED. Attend the trial of your choice (civil or criminal) at the B.C. Supreme Court at the Law Courts at 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver for at least one hour and then answer the following questions in approximately 1,200 words. . DO NOT go to Chambers Hearings, Bail Hearings, Sentencing Hearings, Small Claims Court and cases that are being heard by the Court of Appeal. 1. Where possible, state the following regarding the trial you watched (this part may be answered in point form) * The name of the case (x v. y) * The date(s) you attended * The name of the Judge hearing the case * The names of the lawyers for each party * A brief summary of what was going on in the trial while you were watching. 2. From your observations and from what you have learned in class about trials, would you say that trials are more co-operative or adversarial in nature? 3. From your observations and from what you have learned in class would you say that the processes and procedures used by the courts are a...
Words: 672 - Pages: 3
...REPORT ON COURT ROOM OBSERVATION. This report is based on my observations carried out in two Courts in England and Wales precisely in Manchester. The report is in two parts, one on civil jurisdiction and the other one on criminal jurisdiction. This visit has afforded me the opportunity of witnessing “law in action” different from “law in books”. I have also been able to compare both the civil and criminal process and proceedings. The two courts I visited are both in Manchester. The Crown court I visited is situated in an old building commissioned years ago whereas the magistrate court is situated in an ultra modern building commissioned not too long ago. I have read books and journals enumerating the differences between the judges and magistrates. This court room observation has given me he on the sport assessment of the differences between the two courts and many other questions that I will be addressing in the course of this report… As we were advised, my first visit to the courts (Magistrate and Crown Courts) was to find out about the time and the cases. I discovered that youth cases and family are not opened to the public and at this point, I was able to decide on the dates to attend the courts and the types of cases to observe. “The Magistrates’ courts are purely the courts of first instance”. The Magistrates in England and Wales are lay men without the knowledge of law and they are also referred to as “Justices of the Peace” but they are assisted by a Justice’ clerk...
Words: 2464 - Pages: 10
...The last court that I attended was bail court. Bail court was the shortest, and quickest of them all. Three inmates were broadcast to the court over video messaging from the Central East Correctional Centre in Lindsay, Ontario. The crown requested that a bail hearing take place in order to prove the accused should not get bail, as they were seeking detainment on secondary matters – meaning they believe there is a strong likelihood that the accused will reoffend if released. The judge granted this and asked each of the accused to appear in person the next day with their sureties and lawyers. The court was to witness a bail hearing, but the surety of the accused was not present. This spoke to the credibility of the surety and the accused. If...
Words: 626 - Pages: 3
...Running head: COURT OBSERVATION Park Peter Park Sacramento State University Professor Kubicek, Laurie CRJ 121 - Structure and Function of the American Courts 10 November 2015 1 Running head: COURT OBSERVATION Park 2 There is different behavior in which the United States' Criminal Justice System may be knowledgeable about each of its three-prongs of executive, judicial, and legislative parts. In particular, the judicial procedure can be particularly confusing and involve a wide assortment of encounters and sentiments as individuals are pushed through the framework once they are put into it. Customarily, individuals are very nearly in an exacting sense "pushed" through the framework as they regularly turn into an unimportant instrument moving down a transport line in a production line. The encounters of individuals who enter through the legal procedure may be effortlessly seen in the court by any onlooker. While as an onlooker, one is not getting the immediate experience of being a litigant or casualty, it is not hard to understand the emotions that get from court procedures by seeing them. The run of the mill sample of the production line like framework is most unmistakably seen amid arraignments. It is likewise where a lawyer will be formally informing the court that they are speaking to the litigant. While on the books it seems like a generally clear strategy, practically speaking, it is normally experienced to be perceptibly diverse. As...
Words: 2296 - Pages: 10
...Bond Hearings and a Plea Entrance; A Day’s Observation in the Circuit Court. Political Science 210 December 2, 2010 Political Science 210 December 2, 2010 Bond Hearings and a Plea Entrance; A Day’s Observation in the Circuit Court. On November 24, 2010, I was given the opportunity to observe a session of the Fairfax County Circuit Court. While observing the session I was able to view five bond hearings and one plea entrance, which allowed for a partial understanding of the typical daily court docket. Because many cases are settled outside of court, the daily proceedings within the courtroom are often shorter and without much argument. Fairfax County Virginia is located in the northeastern portion of Virginia nearby the District of Columbia. The county is the largest by population in the state, and also the densest county at 1,037,605 people within the county’s 407 square miles. Home to several intelligence agencies, and half of the metropolitan area’s Fortune 500 companies, Fairfax county has one of the highest median incomes in the country for a county of its size, second only to neighboring Loudoun County. The county was the first in the nation to reach a six figure median income and is known as one of the most populous areas in the Greater Washington Metropolitan Areas. The Fairfax County Circuit court, located in Fairfax City, is used to serve the residents of both the county and the city itself. The court is in the 19th Judicial...
Words: 4050 - Pages: 17
...property must be given a notice or an opportunity for a hearing. In Goldberg v. Kelly, the court determined that the welfare recipient was entitled to a pre-termination hearing. In contrast, in Mathews v. Eldridge, the court determined that due process did not require a pre-termination hearing for social security disability benefits. The Mathews court distinguished Goldberg, saying that welfare recipients are in dire need; whereas eligibility for social security disability benefits is not based on financial need. As such, due process required prior to deprivation would be determined by a cost and benefit analysis. This balancing test, as it is known, considers three factors: the private interests affected, the risk of erroneous deprivation, and the value of additional processes. With respect to the first factor, the private interests in vehicles are important because vehicles are used for transportation to work, home, supermarkets, etc. If the owner’s contact information was not listed on the City’s 311 phone...
Words: 655 - Pages: 3
...My report on court room observation focuses on observations from two courts. The first one was the………………….The second one was the Crown Court …..Street in City Centre for criminal court observations. The Courts are held in order to resolve local disputes and maintain order in the society. Before attending, each court was contacted in order to find out the times and cases that could be attended as some cases such as youth cases are not open to the public. Firstly I attended to the……………….. The entrance of the building was imposing. After some guidance from the people there I attended to court 20 of the fifth floor which there was a civil case about a car incident. The layout of the courtroom was simple there was no raised layers except from the judge's. Also there was not defendant's box and no presence of police. The judge was a middle-aged, middle-class, white male. The public sat on the back of the court room. The case I have heard was about a car incidence, as I mentioned above. This case included a claim from the one party and a counter claim from the other. The claim was made because the defendant did not see the plaintiff car coming and try to evade. The counter claim was made by the defendant for personal injury as the defendant injured his leg and his lower back from the collision with the woman's car. But as I have seen in the court room the two claims examined simultaneously by the judge so as in order to save time. The legal way to examine a claim and a counter claim...
Words: 2202 - Pages: 9
...2012Criminal Court Visit Essay Abstract The purpose of this paper is to highlight the different aspect of the Criminal Justice after visiting the criminal justice office(s). The visit is done during the last week of September 2010 and the visiting point was the United States District First Court of Appeal, the court located at 301 S. ML King Blvd. Tallahassee, Florida. In this paper the findings will be discussed that what factors (selected) are involved that affect the process of administration of justice. It will be tried the best to explain the observations and views with comparison and contrast. However, the points will be discussed in narrative format to grab the information precisely. The Criminal Court Visit and the Observations First, have some information about the Criminal Justice. The Criminal Justice is the system or group of system and institutions that have the prime responsibility to mitigate the crime or crime rate and to take necessary actions to cope with the situations that is critical and sensitive in nature to maintain the peaceful environment of the society. It is ideal profession for those who has investigative mind. The President's Commission defined the criminal justice system as the means for society to "enforce the standards of conduct necessary to protect individuals and the community”. (The Challenge of Crime in a Free Society, 1967) The Criminal Justice system has three main parts: Police, Courts and Jails...
Words: 1227 - Pages: 5
...one of the subjects that we would appreciate more by letting us immerse into the courtrooms and be able to observe firsthand how the procedural rules of court are actually carried out. In line with this, last March 14 we went to the Regional Trial Court to observe how the presentation and examination of the witnesses are conducted. CIVIL CASES For the civil cases, we went to RTC - branch 9, under Judge Alexander Acosta. I. SPS. Alba vs Bank of Commerce & Rex Carampatana For: Enforcement of Easement of Right of Way, Etc Counsel: Atty. Dante T.Ramos..............................for plaintiff Atty. Ricarte D. Maderazo........for defendant(Rex Carampatana) Atty. Marites G. Hoisapple......for defendant(Bank of Commerce) Hearing: (Application for Preliminary Injunction)Continuation of Cross Examination of defendant Carampatana 1. When I entered the court room, the hearing for the day has already commenced. At that point in time, Atty. Ramos the counsel for the plaintiff was already conducting his cross examination against the witness-defendant. It was noticeable that Atty. Ramos was only asking leading questions to the witness but the witness would want to explain further and would even come to a point that he would argue with the lawyer already. Good thing that the judge, as the moderator of the court, would always remind the witness that he is not allowed to argue with the lawyer. On the other hand, Atty. Ramos would also remind the witness that he needs...
Words: 3925 - Pages: 16
...On Friday, April, 4, 2014, I observed the Vanderburgh County Superior Court to observe different family law cases. The cases I heard involved contempt of court for failing to pay child support, failure to appear for a court appointed drug test, birth certificate affidavit, request for contest hearing time, and an issue of paternity case. Magistrate Judge Sheila M. Corcoran was presiding over the family court hearings. When entering the courthouse, I was greeted by security and advised to remove any cell phones, and/or, any other items that would trigger a metal detector. After this, I proceeded straight to look for the family courtroom. After roaming around mindlessly for a couple minutes, I decided to ask the courthouse officer monitoring the entrance with the metal detector to point me in the direction of the family courtroom. With no hesitation, she pointed me toward two big wooden doors. After entering the courtroom, I found a seat immediately. The waiting area was crowded. The persons awaiting their scheduled hearing time were dressed in mostly jeans. Each party, along with their attorney, arrive no later than 30 minutes prior to their scheduled hearing times. I imagined the courtroom would be bigger after visiting the Hamilton County court last year. To my surprise, this court room was much smaller. The judge was, of course, seated at the front of the courtroom, and to her right was the court reporter. I could not see the reporter’s face from where I was seated because...
Words: 1377 - Pages: 6
...The Courts in the Uk are institutions that aim to bring justice. Magistrates court have to power to charge minor cases, whereas Crown courts deal with more serious criminal cases, less than 3% all criminal cases go to the Crown, this percentage alone tells you that only the serious and complex cases will be heard, your trial here will be dealt with by both a Judge and Jury. I observed the Crown Court for this report; I decided this would be the best court to observe because all kinds of Criminal functions are heard here. The Judge will decide on matters of law and will manage your trial ensuring that it is run correctly and fairly, the jury then decides on matters of fact, (e.g. are you guilty?). The CJS is made up of many different agencies that work together to collectively respond to ‘crime’, each agencies ‘output’ is another’s ‘input’, a key agency being the Police, who are required to investigate and prevent crimes and are responsible for arresting and detaining suspects. The cases heard at crown courts are ranked in order of seriousness; the most serious heard by High Court judges, the majority of other less serious cases dealt with by either circuit judges or recorders. The judges in the Crown Courts have no limit to what they can sentence; they can impose a fine of any amount and can impose a sentence of custody for life. During the day I witnessed the beginning of two trials. The first case I witnessed was an act of fraud, a couple had managed to collectively steal...
Words: 1065 - Pages: 5
...substantive and procedural law. Substantive law identifies what behavior is considered harmful to society, therefore making those acts or omissions a crime, and specifies a punishment. Procedural law identifies how crimes are to be investigated and prosecuted. This is the foundation of the criminal justice system. The criminal justice system enforces criminal laws by punishing the guilty and protecting the innocent. The police, courts, and corrections are the three components of the system. The police maintain public order and ensure community safety by enforcing the law. It is their responsibility to investigate crimes and apprehend offenders. The police have more interaction with society than other components as they are out in the community every day. Often times, they provide services to community functions and are involved in different fund raising events. The courts uphold the law by deciding criminal cases, conducting fair and impartial trials that determine the guilt or innocence of an individual and imposing sentence on the guilty. It is the courts responsibility to protect the rights and freedoms of any person facing prosecution by requiring fairness throughout the process and ensuring due process. Corrections carries out supervisory sentences imposed by providing safe and humane housing where offenders are supervised. They offer rehabilitation to offenders through treatment programs and teach life skills needed as the offenders reintegrate back into society (Schmalleger...
Words: 1302 - Pages: 6
...Law Report – Appendix Court | Date | Name | Case | Stage | Noted as | Supreme | 25/03/09 | Anthony Farell V R | Criminal | Appeal | C1 | | | Mohammed Ali V South Eastern Sydney Area Health Service | Civil | Trial | C2 | | | Gerard Michael Mcguirk V UNSW | Civil | Trial | C3 | District | 27/03/09 | R V Liam Paul Irwin | Criminal | Appeal (severity) | C4 | | | R V Warren James Ure | Criminal | Trial (adjourned for sentence – part heard) | C5 | Court Report Note: Refer to appendix for the case denoted by C1-5] The court is the medium in which judges and magistrates interpret the constitution as it applies today to administer justice; their judgements ultimately contribute to the doctrine of precedents. Australia has mainly adopted an adversarial system within a hierarchical court system in which the courts have specific jurisdictions. Two such examples witnessed are the District and the Supreme Courts – proceedings may be similar but their severity may differ but both seek to serve justice. At the district court cases C4 and C5 were seen first-hand with the former being a criminal appeal and the latter a criminal trial. In C4 the defendant had become a nuisance and acted violently. Subsequently he was placed under a bond, this was breached which led to the magistrate sentencing an imprisonment term but was appealed successfully against. Additionally, in C5 the defendant was prosecuted for carrying illicit drugs but argument focused on whether...
Words: 797 - Pages: 4
