Circuit Court Observation

Mullen in department 3 at 720 9th street Sacramento, CA. I arrived at 8 and left at 10. I observed the judge read the different type of hearing arraignments offered to the defendants. There are several different types of hearing like arraignment hearing, pretrial hearing, preliminary hearings, jury trail, court trail, sentence hearings and post sentence or probation violation hearings. During an arraignment hearing the defendant first appears in court, advised of their constitutional rights, appointed by an attorney if they are unable to afford one. The defendants are advised of the nature of the charges bring bought against them. The judge gives the defendant three pleas to enter, guilty, not guilty, or no contest plea. Some of the defendants were released on their own recognizance and the judge set bail for some of the defendants. The cases I witnessed the judge set bail was for felony crimes and defendants who had prior convictions. The defendants who were charged with a misdemeanor and plead not guilty to the charges had to be brought to trail within thirty days of being arraigned if they were in custody for forty five days, bail or their own recognizance. If the defendants were charged with a felony and plead not guilty to the charges their preliminary hearing must be held within ten days of being arraigned. Preliminary hearings determination is made if there is sufficient evidence the

Following a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Charles County, appellant, Sequan Taiurque Johnson (“Johnson”), was convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to distribute, and possession of marijuana. On June 15, 2015, Johnson was sentenced to a total of fifteen months’ incarceration.

There are many different aspects of the criminal justice system. Each part of the criminal justice system has their role to ensure that the laws are being upheld. When an individual has committed a crime they are taken to a central location, which normally is a jail and booked under charges that pertain to their arrest. However, there are instances where individuals are not arrested and a judge has issued an arrest warrant and the individual has the chance to turn themselves in. There are times when an arrest warrant is being issued and the defendant’s lawyer will make arrangements for the defendant to turn themselves in while their attorney is present.

The defendants are dressing regular clothes. They still have freedom and can leave the courtroom finishing the hearing. All defendants are in the same courtroom waiting for their turn. They usually stand up in front at the judge and besides their lawyers when starting the hearing. Sometimes, the judge advices them or make questions to them.

The state court system consists of Appellate Court of Last Resort—also referred to as the State Supreme Court, Intermediate Courts of Appeals, Trial Courts of General Jurisdiction, and Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction (Bohm & Haley, 2014). Both state trial courts are local courts.

Entry into the system is the first thing is the report from the victim, then there is an investigation and finally if there is enough evidence then they can make an arrest (“The Criminal Justice System”). Prosecution and Pretrial has to do with the prosecutor seeing if there are going to be any charges made, the first court appearance, if charged they can be release on bail or on bond, grand jury hearing, and arraignment. Adjudication is when most cases are resolved by plea agreements and not a lot of people go on a trial. If they do have a trial and are convicted of the charges, then the judge will set a date for their sentencing (“The Criminal Justice System”). If found innocent, then they are released. Post-trial is when the defendant gets to see what their sentence is. Depending on the crime the judge gets to choose their sentence. They either get fines, probation, jail or prison, or the death penalty.

The Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and the District Courts are the three separate court levels in this branch. The Constitution gave the Supreme Court the power of establishing other courts to the Congress. It is also the highest court in the nation because they are able to interpret the Constitution. Courts of Appeals only hear appeals from the lower District Court. When a defendant is not satisfied with the verdict of the trial court, he or she can ask for an appeal. An appeal is a petition for the case to be heard by a new court. The District Court is responsible to hear trials that are jury trials. They are local federal courts located in major population

After an arrest for a felony, a person is then arraigned by a judge. At this time, the individual is explained why they were charged with the crime. This is also the point at which a bail is set. Bail is the amount of money an accused

An initial appearance is the first contact with the judge that a person has after committing a crime where they are quickly reviewed on the charges being made against them, their bail options, constitutional rights among other court information. During the initial appearance, the judge provides the defendant with a criminal complaint copy. In the copy, the charge or charges are listed with the maximum probable penalty in case of conviction. It is also at the initial appearance that the judge makes the first likely cause determination. In other words, the judge scrutinizes the complaint to gauge whether if the claims made by the State surely confirm if the defendant committed the offenses that he is charged for. The judge also enlightens the defendant of his /her right to counsel, especially if he/she is not represented y an attorney. When a defendant is in charge with felonies, then the judge enlightens him/her preliminary hearing right (Lorch, 2010).

The first step is the order of an arrest warrant that is issued by a judge. The warrant gives the police the authority to arrest a person that is accused of a crime. After forty-eight hours of a person being arrested, he or she is arraigned- which means that their bond is set in jail and a preliminary hearing is scheduled later. Typically, between four to six weeks after a crime has occurred a preliminary hearing is held. The VWAP office notifies the victim and witnesses of the preliminary trial. During the preliminary trial, the judge listens to the testimony of the arresting office to determine if there is probable cause. If there is the is bound over to state court. When the case is bounded over to state court a formal arraignment is taken place in the judge’s chambers. There the charges are formally read to the accused and the defendant pleads either guilty or not guilty. If the defendant pleads guilty the judge may sentence he or she there. If the defendant pleads not guilty a trial is scheduled. The defendant may choose to have a bench or jury trial. A bench trial is when the judge without a jury hears all the testimonies from witnesses, victims, police officers and sometimes defendant. If the judge finds the defendant guilty, he or she may choose to impose a sentence at once or later. If the defendant decides to have a jury trial then his or her trial will be heard in front of a panel of six jurists. If the jurist

On Tuesday, September 20th I sat down in the Brookings City and County Court to observe just over two hours of court operations. The first case was a felony that took place on the 10th of August, 2015. The defendant was escorted to the center table and took a seat next to his attorney. The judge then stated the defendant’s crime, which was an offence of forgery. The defendant was read his rights, such as the right to an attorney, speedy trial, to remain silent, and so forth. The judge then described the case as where and when it took place. The defendant cashed a payroll check of $661.17 at Brookings Hy-Vee. The offender purchased a lottery ticket and some dog food, the rest was given in cash. All of this was caught on tape, and Hy-Vee notified

Initial hearing or arraignment, this is the first court appearance where a formal reading of felony or misdemeanor charges will be presented by a judge or magistrate and bail will be determined. The formal reading is also known as a complaint and the appointed judge will identify the specific charge(s) and the maximum penalty if found guilty (Nichols, n.d). Once the complaint is read, the defendant will be provided the opportunity to obtain a court appointed attorney under the Sixth Amendment if one has not already been provided. It is worth noting that during arraignment; if misdemeanor charges are identified then the defendant has the opportunity to enter a plea of guilty, not guilty or no contest (Nichols, n.d.). Under misdemeanor charges,

The Superior Court session I observed was an alcohol impairment case. The defendant in this case, had been found guilty in District Court, but had filed an appeal to the District Court’s decision.

Social Work is a complex and very diverse field with many options to work in. Many social workers find themselves going to court to advocate for their clients. Others may consider working with the court directly. As an observer of a court it is important to notice the individuals involved, the accessibility of the court, the parties involved, and personal reflections that one perceives.

An initial hearing is when the first defendant comes to the court for the first time. It is the judge’s job to be sure that the defendant understands their Constitutional rights. The defendant needs to be aware of the possible penalties for a crime which could be either a misdemeanor or a felony and determine if the defendant has an attorney or if they request the court for a public defender. The judge will also ask the defendant if they plead guilty or not guilty. Usually during the initial hearing, the defendant pleads not guilty to protect their rights. If the defendant plans on hiring an attorney, the defendant should do so before the initial hearing. If the defendant does hiring an attorney before the initial hearing, their attorney would then waive the initial hearing, which