Erik Gray's Journals
#journalgems
A school paper written 2012
Erik Gray
B3- US Gov’t
Court
Trip
On January 10, 2012, we went to the
Courthouse to watch a couple of cases. I never realized how many cases the
judge hears a day. I’ve only seen in movies where there is just one big
week-long trial. There were some no-shows, there were inmates sitting on the
side, and there were some review cases of people sitting in the audience. There
was even a man who owes more than $22,000, which made my jaw drop.
One
of the inmates I actually recognized as a kid who went to our school and was on
the track team. If I was on trial when a group of students I know that a couple
years younger than me were watching, I would feel really stupid and just not
want to be there. I’m sure that’s how he felt.
There
were a couple of things I noticed that really stuck out to me. Everything the
judge gets, even papers, is handed to him from the Bailiff. The defendant, or
even the lawyers, cannot reach out and hand a paper to the judge. Another thing
I noticed is that Judge Westfall really cares about the people whose cases he
is reviewing. He wants to help, and he wants them to turn their lives around. I
was impressed that as part of a parole for a women, Judge Westfall said that
she would write down where she wanted to be in one, five and ten years and he
wants her to become more goal-oriented.
Overall, I think it was a great
experience to see our government in action. Two claps to the outstanding
judicial branch!
