The Assignment

I want you to go to a courtroom and see the examination of a witness by a lawyer during a case-in-chief. Jury trials are preferred, but in any case I will list acceptable cases at the Current Trials link above. Ideally you should be in the courtroom for 1-2 hours. Answer the following questions about what you saw. I'm looking for a sentence or two on each answer, just enough to show me that you were there and comprehended what you saw; I do not need (in fact, I would prefer not to receive) a long paper.

This assignment is due on or before (preferably before) 20 November.

You may hand it in during any class, slide it under my office door, or take to my mail box in room 401 upstairs. DO NOT place it in the red box outside my office.

You must type the assignment. You may use this sheet or a separate sheet; if you type your own, you need not type out the questions, but please do number your responses according to the question numbers below.

Attending Court

As a general rule, courtrooms are open and in session Monday through Friday from 9 am - 5 pm. They generally take a lunch break from 12:00 to 1:30 or thereabouts. The actual timing varies depending on what other hearings and so forth the judge has lined up during the day (e.g. they often conduct hearings or civil marriages at lunch), what if any scheduling conflicts there are, witness availability, etc. I usually suggest you aim to attend around 10 in the morning or 2 in the afternoon. I will point out when a trial is in session for mornings only or afternoons only, which happens occasionally.

You will have to pass through a metal detector to get into the court building; you may not be allowed to keep your backpacks with you.

When you go into court, you may enter or exit at any time, but always do so quietly and courteously. You may go in a group, but avoid drawing attention to yourselves -- remember, someone's life is being affected by these proceedings, you are just there to observe: it's about them, not about you. Dress nicely. Behave. Under no circumstances should you use any electronic devices (including laptops) while in court, and turn off your &*^#&$ cell phones.

Answer These Questions

1. Give me the name of the case, name of the judge, and the time & date you attended. This should be posted somewhere outside the court or on the court website, so don't make a nuisance of yourself asking people inside the courtroom.

2. Note the location and activity of the judge, clerk, bailiff, and reporter.

3. Who is the witness (if you heard the name)? Which party called the witness? Again, this should be obvious from the way the questioning is being conducted. If you really can't tell, ask; again, don't be a pain. If it's really is hard to say, then just tell me it's hard to say and give me a couple of sample questions as illustration.

4. What evidence did the witness give? In other words, what is the witness talking about: what part of the complaint (which allegations) does it appear the witness is referring to? Pro or con? Do you think this witness is helping or hurting?

5. Was the questioning friendly, open-ended, leading, organized, sloppy, etc.? This is more for your edification than mine. I want you to watch the proceedings critically, to determine how well you think the lawyer(s) prepared for the case overall, and for this witness in particular. Ask yourself if you'd want this lawyer working for you.

6. How did the jury react to the witness? Do you think the jury was buying the testimony? Would you if you were on the jury? Consider this from the perspective of burden of proof -- remember, the bottom line is each party must convince each juror that his version of the case is true.

7. If there was an objection: What was 

        a) the question giving rise to the objection?

        b) the grounds for the objection? Was there any discussion?

        c) the result? Meaning did the judge sustain or overrule the objection?

        d) do you agree with the result? Granted you are not lawyers and don't necessarily understand evidentiary law, but do you think the judge's ruling seemed reasonable?

8. To what degree was the jury paying attention? Does it appear to you they were "engaged in the process" to use the business-speak term? Would you want your life in their hands?

9. To what degree was the judge paying attention during the questioning? If there was an objection, was the judge clearly on the ball or was there a learning curve to make up for an attention deficit?