Court Observation Essay

At 1:30 p.m. on a Monday afternoon, I entered the San Bernardino Justice Center in Downtown San Bernardino for my first court visit. After passing through the metal screen detectors and making my way up to courtroom number 19, I opened the courtroom doors plated “Judge Harold Wilson” and nervously checked in with the bailiff and the court clerk. The judge, judicial clerk and two attorneys were already in the room chatting. I was surprised to hear the friendliness in their tone and conversation they all were having regarding their personal lives. The attorneys from opposing sides were chatting like they were best friends. I asked the bailiff, “If this is normal?”, he said, “Yes it is! and whatever they show on TV is not reality.” Soon after our conversation, the bailiff brought in the defendant. He was well dressed, black male, probably around the age of 35. He sat down next to the defense lawyer and the chit-chatting resumed. After 20 minutes of laughter and constant bantering, the judge asked the bailiff to bring the jury inside. As the bailiff walked outside to call the jury in, the judge went to his chambers.

The judge went row by row and asked what the hardships were. It was evident that people were coming up with excuses that were not even logical to get out of this trial. I asked the bailiff if this happens all the time. He nodded and said, “ People usually do not want to sit in a serious felony cases and that is why they try to get out of it.” After hearing everybody’s excuses the judge and the attorney went back to the chambers and discussed about who should stay and who should go. It turns out people who cannot take off from work because they are the sole provider of the family, planned vacation that cannot be rescheduled or students who cannot miss classes, were taken off the case. The judge accommodated the people who were planning on missing just 1-2 days of the trial and the rest had no option, but to