Courtroom, One of the First Things I

¶ … courtroom, one of the first things I noticed was the wood. The courtroom was filled with wood. There were old wooden tables that had chairs made of wood at them for all parties involved to sit in while their case was being heard. The Magistrate's area was made of wood as well and set up higher than the rest of the furniture in the court room. The observer area was separated from the court participant area by barriers of wood that went about hip height. The overall affect of the wood was one of intimidation and old time tradition. It spoke to the room as if to caution for seriousness.

The next thing that was interesting was the comfort level of those who are obviously there a lot. The magistrate, the local police department members and the lawyers all seemed right at home in the otherwise intimidating surroundings. The attorneys stood around near the front corner of the room talking to each other. There were not many of them there and those who were seemed to know each other well. I moved closer to hear what they were discussing and it was mainly discussion about other cases in other courtrooms. I was surprise to hear what sounded like deals being made for cases that had not yet gotten to court. It was as if the attorneys were able to decide the fate of those they represented without the people in question even being present. I heard one attorney ask another attorney if he would object to a pleading down to a lesser offense on a case that is set for a future court date, and the government attorney said it would not be a problem as long as the defence attorney remembered the favor in the future. I know that kind of thing happens on television shows but I was a bit surprised to hear it happen in actuality.

The courtroom began to fill with those who were going to have their cases heard. During this process the room got very loud. It was a chaotic environment as attorneys recognized clients, waved to them, passed others to get to them and take them out into the hall to talk. One woman brought her baby with her and the baby began to cry. The court officer asked her to wait outside with the baby and she would be called when her case was called.

Once the room was filled with participants the officer announced the magistrate who entered the room and the room was silent. The officer warned everyone in the court room that there had to be silence so that court could be conducted. While the participants obeyed that directive the attorneys, and police officers in the courtroom began talking quietly among themselves again.

The court docket began to get called and as names were called people stepped to the front to have their cases heard. The Magistrate kept tight control over the proceedings. The first one up was a dishonesty case. A woman had been caught stealing about $50 of food from a grocery store. The Magistrate asked if she pled guilty or not guilty. She pled guilty. He then asked id she had any trouble in the past. The woman denied ever having been in trouble in the past. At this point the Magistrate asked her if she wanted to rethink her answer and try it again because he had her record sitting in front of him. The woman was without representation and obviously scared. She changed her answer and told the Magistrate she had been in trouble three years ago for the same offence. The magistrate found her guilty and sentenced her to 40 hours of social community service. He also directed the court officer to give the defendant information about social programs that can help her feed her children instead of thinking she had to steal for them.

The next case that got up was obviously someone who has been in the courtroom several times. The Magistrate recognized his name and told him he thought he promised never to come back. The defendant was there for domestic violence. He had shoved his wive down the three steps in front of their flat. The magistrate was obviously not going to be as forgiving with this man as he had been with the woman who stole food to feed her children. He asked the defendant if he did it. The defendant had an attorney and the attorney said he would plead guilty with an explanation.

The Magistrate let the defendant explain that his wife had tried to leave with their two children and she had been drinking. He was afraid for the safety of his children in the vehicle when their mother had been drinking, so he tried to stop her and she accidentally fell down the front steps. The Magistrate found the defendant guilty and sentenced him to jail and to classes in anger management and domestic violence control.

The defendant had an attitude of anger. When the Magistrate called the police officers as witnesses the defendant rolled his eyes at each statement the witnesses offered. The Magistrate commented on the bad attitude of the defendant just before sentencing him.