Court Observation

Court Observation Paper

Sean M. Smith

Columbia College, NAS Jacksonville

The following paper is an account of my observations at the Duval County Courthouse on Tuesday April 30th, 2013. The paper will cover my observations of two separate courtrooms and the judicial proceedings that occurred in each. Along with the proceedings, I observed defendants, defense attorneys, state prosecutors, the courtroom staff and the people serving on a jury. I will attempt to relate how all of these people worked together to make the judicial process work as smoothly as possible.

On 30 April, 2013 I visited the Duval County Courthouse to observe the judicial proceeding of any court that would allow me access. Let me first say, that if you are not familiar with the area around the courthouse, you will find driving and parking anywhere near the courthouse a challenge. I parked within sight of the courthouse at a public parking garage. The rates were on the expensive side for short term parking. After parking my car, I walked to the courthouse a quarter-mile away. During my transit I noted that there were a lot of people pan-handling for money. I was dressed in a suit with a tie so I looked like I might have money to spare. Surprisingly, I was never asked for money although people all around me were. I found out a long time ago that if you walk with a purpose and meet people in the eye, that pan-handlers will tend to shy away from asking you for money.

I arrived at the security area at 9:20am. I immediately grabbed a basket to empty the contents of my pockets and placed my notebooks in the basket. The security area was efficient, one guard observed my transit through the metal detector while the other guard scanned the items that I placed in the basket. I asked one of the security guards where the nearest information desk was. I was pointed to a desk in the main lobby. As I approached the desk, I noticed that I was being observed by at least two JSO officers on duty. They both did a quick scan of me, my clothing, and what was in my hands, to determine if I was a threat to courthouse security. I had to laugh to myself that the TSA could learn a thing or two from these guys. I asked the officer on duty where the courtrooms were located, he asked which courtroom I was looking for, to which I explained that I was a student assigned to do a court observation for a class paper (this would not be the first time that I would have to explain why I was at the courthouse). I was given directions to the third floor and told to see the bailiff at the top of the stairs. I went to the third floor and asked which courtrooms were in session. I was again asked why I was at the courthouse. After my explanation the bailiff directed me to room 308.

Court in room 308 was already in progress when I entered the outer chamber. I was met by an older lady who asked why I was present in the court. I explained myself and my presence yet again. I was then instructed to sit on the left side of the gallery area. Before I managed to get to my seat, I was stopped by a JSO officer and asked why I was in court. Yet again, I had to explain what my purpose in court was. After getting myself settled, I started to observe the people sitting around me.

Most of the people looked rather bored, some were crying and a few were watching the proceedings with little interest. Three ladies sitting in front of me perked up to attention when the court called James Smith to the defendant stand. Mr. Smith entered the court led by two JSO officers from a door to the left of the judge's bench. He wore jail issued clothing, was handcuffed and shackled. A public defender was waiting at the stand. The JSO officers stepped back, one officer returned to the door through which the defendant had entered while the second officer remained a respectable distance (3 feet) from the defendant. The entire time the defendant was at the stand, he was under no less than two officer's watchful gaze.

I realized then that I was in some sort of arraignment court or maybe a first appearance court. The judge presiding over the court was the Honorable Tatiana Salvador. The State's Attorney read the charges against Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith was charged with child abuse. The judge never looked at the State's attorney but was reading what was written in the court papers she held in front of her. After the State's Attorney finished, the judge looked directly at Mr. Smith and asked him if he understood the charges against him. Mr. Smith acknowledged that he did understand the charges. Mr. Smith's attorney then spoke and explained that they had reached a plea bargain with Mr. Smith and the state. The defense attorney then approached the bench with a blue form which the judge scanned over quickly. The judge then asked Mr. Smith if he had read the form and understood what the form meant. She then asked him if all of his questions had been answered by his attorney and no one had made any other offers to him or had coerced him into signing the form. Mr. Smith answered yes "your honor" to all of the questions. The judge then read the plea bargain deal. Mr. Smith was being charged with felony child abuse and that the state had agreed to settle the case with two years' probation and 100 hours of community service. The judge then asked Mr. Smith to raise his right hand to be sworn in. The judge went over the entire plea agreement again. She also asked Mr. Smith if he understood English and what grade he completed in school. She also went on to instruct Mr. Smith what would happen to him if he was not a United States citizen and that if the crime were sexual in nature that he would be entered into a public database and required to register as a sexual offender. The entire statement concerning the plea bargain form seemed to be well rehearsed by the judge. At the end of the required statements the judge again asked Mr. Smith if anyone offered him a deal or coerced him to accept the plea bargain. The judge asked Mr. Smith again if he understood the agreement. The judge then passed sentence as per the plea bargain and the defendant was free to go. The three women who had perked up at the beginning of the hearing all got up and left the court. On their way out I noticed that two of the ladies had been crying but all seemed relieved.

The entire process for Mr. Smith had taken 14 minutes from start to finish. I thought to myself "they move these defendants through this court like cattle through a chute headed to a slaughter house." By the time I had finished that thought, the next defendant had been called. I did not catch the charges against Terrance Wilson. His lawyer was asking for a trial date of July 15th, with