Court Reflection Paper

The United States of America was founded on the Constitution. In the United States Constitution it states all men are created equal. Here in the United States, our legal system is based on everyone being innocent until proven guilty. If courts did not exist, then there would be no true justice in our society. Courts are required to keep things equal. But are courts keeping things equal in our nation? My Bond court experience gave my insight into what really occurs inside our criminal justice system.
As I walked into room 100, I first noticed the public viewing gallery. It consisted of ten rows of long wooden benches with an aisle down the middle. The public viewing gallery had a total capacity of around forty people and remained about half full for the duration of my visit. To the left of the public viewing gallery was the jury box. The jury box had twelve seats and directly faced the judge’s bench. The judge’s bench was located in the far corner of the courtroom. To the left of the judge was the court reporter’s table. Right in front of the judge was two large wood rectangular tables, one for the defendant and one for the plaintiff. There were two large television screens located on both side of the courtroom, but they both were not on at the time I was observing. Court security service guards monitor the courtroom the public viewing gallery and were posted at every entrance and exit.
The view of the courtroom from the jury box was ideal. I sat right next to the area where the officers were retrieving the defendants. So I could see and hear the behind the scenes commotion of the gathering the criminals to be presented to the judge. I visually could see and hear the judge perfectly. It was difficult to hear the prosecutors and th...

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...ave the right to stop whom they think looks suspicious. This allows for leeway of conscious and unconscious racial discrimination and stereotyping.
Law enforcement agencies are giving federal grants and money for keeping crime off of the streets. Once a person of color is arrested, they are not granted useful legal representation. My short time at Bond court proves that these defendants receive higher bonds due to lack of knowledge. They are mistreated by the government and not given fair representatives to fight the criminal charges against them. All people commit crimes, but it is unjust to prey on people of color and this was evident during my experience at Bond court. The criminal justice system needs to stop targeting people of color and that should start at arrests to sentencing, results in the disproportionate sentencing and imprisonment of people of color.