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Fiction Versus Reality

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Fiction versus Reality CJS/220 02/13/2011 Crystal l. Wagoner

This will be my final project for this class and it will be on Fiction versus Reality in the

court room. This final project is due no later than February 13, 2011. In this project I will be

explain the difference between television perspectives (fiction) about how court room drama is

versus the real deal (reality). I will select a fictional television court room drama from the court

television web site to help with my research, and then I will describe the fictional portrayals of

the court room, including the trial process, the roles of the prosecution and defense, the roles of

the court room participants and the handling or implementation of rights for the defendant and

the victim. Then, draw parallels between the fictional portrayal and the reality of the court room

within above identified aspects. I will then determine the accuracy of the fictional court room

process as compared to that of the court room reality. I will also explain in my opinion, Given

that entertainment differs from reality, what impact would fictional account of courtroom

practices have on the average citizen’s perceptions of the real-life courtroom process.

There are many people that make up a reality court room like: the bailiff, Court
Reporters, Prosecutor, jurors, Victim, court room assistance, defendant or defendants, the judge and the defense counsel, each one of these people plays a major role in the judicial system to make it a whole. A Bailiffs has many job description, there to assist the court in any way, may it being by transporting a inmate to and from court or just to keep the peace in the court room.
Often times when helping out the judge and testimony is needed the Bailiff is the one to swear a person before testimony, A court reporters job is to make sure that everything that is said in court is to be documented word for word so that if there is a discrepancy that these transcripts can be pulled to see what was said, A Prosecutors job is to convict the criminal that is being charge to the letter of the law and to protect the rights of everyone in the court room and the community. A Prosecutor can also make the plea bargains with the defendant to get a case closed, so the court can move on to something else, A jurors job is to assist the court in determining if the defendant that has been charge with a crime is guilty or innocent, by herring all the facts in the case and working with other jurors that have been called for duty, A victim in court has a job as well it’s to testify against the defendant in the crimes against the victim, such as domestic violence, the court considers that a victim is anyone that has been violated by a crime from a criminal, the court room assistance job is to help with calendar schedules and activity set by the court for the defendant and the respondent, plus there counsel, the defendants job, well he or she just needs to sit there and only answer when spoken to, the defendants defense counsel job is to get the charges dismissed or reduced, and last the judge is the person with the final say that will stand in sentencing, plus the judge is the one who allows evidence to be seen or thrown out. The court room procedures in the real world are very long and can take months

before a trial is even seen in sight. These are the players of the reality court room and most

people don’t really know how things work, no thanks to television. In a reality court room there

is no yelling like what is seen on a court room drama on television, yelling in court will get a

person landed in jail for contempt of court. If one self was to determine the accuracy of the

fictional court room process as compared to that of the court room reality, they would find

similarities but not the way things are really ran, example; on a television courtroom drama you

will see a judge, victim, defendant and there counsel, plus the prosecuting attorney, but the way

they all conduct themselves on television is for ratings only, and most of the time all the evidence

is never shown, plus court doesn’t go that fast, from the defendant being arrested to going to

trial, can take weeks to months, not all in a hour. In a fictional court room drama the prosecutor

will be yelling at the defendant, as well the defendants attorney will be attacking the victim, now

in a reality court room this won’t happen, but they will defer the question so that the person on

the stand gets caught in a lie. In a reality court room you will almost always see a court

reporter, but in a television court room drama, it’s not likely. In my opinion I think that

television court room drama is a bad way to portray the court system and people have a

tendency to believe something’s on television and I think that this gives people the wrong idea

about the real procedures of the reality court room. In a reality courtroom a bailiff is a very

active participant, but in a fiction television court room drama the bailiff is only standing there

or just there to swear people in, this is a false misrepresentation of the bailiff and their job, the

bailiffs in the courtroom in the county where I live will let a person know when to do something

and if they don’t listen, the bailiff will take you to jail and you won’t be passing go. Being that

the entertainment industry tries to portray the television courtroom drama as the same as the

reality court room, in my opinion I think that this is dangerous to any person that thinks this is

the way the judicial system is ran, some people are so stupid in believing something, one might

get into trouble and think they have a handle on it because of television courtroom drama, but

will only find out that they will be sadly mistaken and await a long process, plus I think that

reality will set in once there in the booking process and think twice next time. On TV there are so

many rules that would have been broken in a real court room the defendant would be able to call

court room judicial misconduct right away.

References

American bar association. (2011). How Courts Work. Retrieved from http://www.abanet.org/publiced/courts/pleabargaining.html
Jon’a F. Meyer and Diana R. Grant. (Ed.). (2003). The Courts in Our Criminal Justice System,. [University of Phoenix Custom Edition e-Text]. : Prentice-Hall. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from CJS220

xfinity tv. (2011). Law & Order: Criminal Intent . Retrieved from http://www.fancast.com/tv/Law-%26-Order%3A-Criminal-Intent/90407/full-episodes xfinity tv. (2011). Judge Alex . Retrieved from http://www.fancast.com/tv/Judge-Alex/96517/full-episodes
Written Assignment Grading Form for Fiction Versus Reality, Due in Week Nine Content and Development 120 Points | Points Earned 120/120 | | Additional Comments: | All key elements of the assignment are covered in a substantive way. * Describes fictional portrayals of the courtroom including the trial process, the roles of the prosecution and defense, the roles of the courtroom participants, and the handling or implementation of rights for the defendant and the victim. * Draws parallels between fictional portrayals and the realities of the courtroom. * Compares fictional portrayals with realities of the courtroom. * The paper is 1,050 to 1,400 words in length. | 1,087 words. | The content is comprehensive, accurate, and persuasive. | | The paper develops a central theme or idea, directed toward the appropriate audience. | | Major points are stated clearly; are supported by specific details, examples, or analysis; and are organized logically. | | The introduction provides sufficient background on the topic and previews major points. | | The conclusion is logical, flows from the body of the paper, and reviews the major points. | | | | Critical Thinking50 Points | Points Earned50/50 | | Additional Comments: | Gathers data from multiple sources and demonstrates logical inquiry while suspending judgment by researching a fictional portrayal of a courtroom through books, television, or movies. | | Analyzes and compares fictional portrayals and the realities of the courtroom. | | Provides evaluative decisions on the accuracies of fictional courtroom processes as compared to that of courtroom realities. Student determines if these fictitious courtroom portrayals are reliable sources of information pertinent to the understanding of the court system realities. Student also explains the impact these fictional courtroom portrayals have on the average citizen’s perceptions of the real-life courtroom processes. | | | | Readability and Style 40 Points | Points Earned40/40 | | Additional Comments: | Paragraph transitions are present, logical, and maintain the flow throughout the paper. | | The tone is appropriate to the content and assignment. | | Sentences are complete, clear, and concise. | | Sentences are well constructed, with consistently strong, varied sentences. | | Sentence transitions are present and maintain the flow of thought. | | | | Mechanics 40 Points | Points Earned 38/40 | | Additional Comments: | The paper, including the title page, reference page, tables, and appendixes follow APA formatting guidelines. | Minor error on your reference page.Minor error on APA format. The entire paper should not be italicized. | Citations of original works within the body of the paper follow APA guidelines. | | The paper is laid out with effective use of headings, font styles, and white space. | | Rules of grammar, usage, and punctuation are followed. | | Spelling is correct. | | | | Total 250 Points | Points Earned 248/250 |
Comments: Outstanding job! You covered all aspects of this final project very well. However, you had a minor error on your reference page and APA formatting. Great way to end the course!

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