Reminder this is just a test you dont have to have real judge names. it could be something you experienced or something you observed
Your observations of court proceedings can be of any federal, state or local court in the U.S.
. The expectation is that your observations record both the superficial aspects of what you see and hear, but also a deeper analysis of the justice system. You may pace the observations as you wish.
For every observation, note the date, time, place, and type of hearing/trial/proceeding you observed. Then, you may write in general about any observations you have. You may choose to note your reactions and analysis of what you observe, and you may also integrate the classroom discussion and readings. During your observations, you may choose to focus on any number of factors you will observe:
Judge – age, race, gender. What is his or her demeanor? How was the courtroom
managed? Did the judge seem to pay attention to ensuring that the defendant’s due process rights were protected? In what way? What was your assessment of the skills that the judge brought to the bench? Does the judge have a formal or informal style?
Lawyers – age, race, gender. What was the demeanor of the lawyers involved? Were the lawyers concerned with due process? In what way? What was your assessment of the lawyers’ skills? Could you relate to any of the lawyers, or the judge, and did you think your style might be similar?
Litigants – age, race, gender, socioeconomic status, dress, demeanor, credibility, other observations?
Type of proceeding. What type of proceeding was it? Could you learn anything about the problem that brought the parties to court? Could you understand what stage of the case they were in?
Evidence. Was any evidence introduced? Any thoughts on the evidence?
Legal issues. What was at issue? How were the issues presented? Was there any resolution of the issues? Did the lawyers raise any objections? Did the court make any rulings?
Justice. Was the proceeding fair and just? Did it meet your expectations? Were you surprised by anything?
Relatability. Did you personally relate to any of your observations? Please explain.
Emotional Response. Did the observations spark any emotions (in you or the participants)? Explain.
Observations regarding the electronic nature of the proceedings.