The Differences Of Discretion In The Circuit Court

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One of the differences that I noticed in circuit court was the fact that they held probation violation cases. During many observations in district court, I never once noticed a probation violation hearing compared to circuit court. A similarity that I noticed in both courthouses is the fact that the judge has an elevated bench and sits higher than anyone else in the courtroom. I also noticed that circuit court held more cases at a more frequent pace than the district court. The circuit courthouse had four courtrooms compared to the district courthouse that had one. The other observation that I noticed between the two courthouses was that both conducted trials in the same fashion. The first concept that I want to address from my observations …show more content…

Without roles and hierarchy, there would be no way to prosecute the guilty and there would be no courts in the United States. Now I wish to talk about Discretion. Discretion is a huge part of the legal system used by almost all of its agents. Discretion refers to the decision making freedom legal officials have. It is important to remember that discretion can occur between more than one official. Discretion can take all shapes and sizes in the court room whether it being the judge striking an objection, or a judge giving a lighter sentence to a women that has the same charges as a man. Discretion also has no limits as to the role of the agent using it. Prosecutors have been found to use discretion in negotiating plea bargains based solely on the defendant’s appearance and demeanor instead of the details of the crime. I observed a lot of discretion in the courtroom when attorneys were questioning witnesses. Every time an attorney would stand up and state that they objected to the question the other attorney asked the witness the judge would almost always say “I’ll” allow it. The mere fact that the judge is saying that they will allow it means that a different judge may of answered that objection differently. The …show more content…

The prosecutor corrected the judge and told him that he was in the judge’s courtroom a year prior. The judge looked puzzled until the prosecutor worked him through their previous case. Even though this is a small mistake by the judge, it represents how the cases blend in the machine like mentality. The other conclusion that I want to make from observing courts is that they work slowly. For all of my observations I arrived at the courthouse at nine in the morning, and every time the trial started late. Once the trials began, the first witness would usually be called and between each witness, there would be a recess of anywhere between fifteen to thirty

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