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Superior Court Observation Essay

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Business Law 115 Superior Court Observation 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. The morning began with the juryselection process. The potential juror pool began with approximately 30 people. The Clerk of Court, Wendy Williams,drew twelve names at random form a bowl to begin the selection process. Once the initial twelve names were pulled, both attorneys had the opportunity to “interview” thepotential jurors. The prosecution attorney, Emily Cowen, began the process by asking each person to givesome general background information on themselves. This information included …show more content…

These two potential jurors were questioned in the same manner and accepted by the attorneyson both side. After the jury of twelve was seated, the process was repeated to find an alternate. The purpose if the alternate was to step in if, for any reason, any of the jurors could not serve during the whole trial. The remaining jury pool was excused from the courtroom. The attorney for the Prosecution began with her opening statement, followed by the defense attorney. The prosecution called the first witness, an officer with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department. The officer was sworn in and then questioned by the Prosecutor about the events of the night when the defendant was placed under arrest. The defense attorney then cross-examined the witness, followed by a prosecution re-direct and then a defense re-cross examination. The witness was then excused. What struck me during the questioning were the actions of the judge. He sat with his head resting in his hand, almost like he was sleeping. However, he did not miss a beat when an objection was made. He either quickly sustained or over-ruled the objection without even raising his head. At this point in the proceedings, the judge called for a lunch recess. He instructed the jury of six rulesto follow during breaks, briefly these were: They were not to discuss the case amongst themselves. They were not to discuss the case with anyone else outside the courtroom. There should be no

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