An interesting thing about me is that I had never really been to a courthouse or an in person court hearing until this week. The courthouse has always seemed like some mystical place, like a temple or something of the like, and even more so when I decided to go to law school. The amount of time a lawyer spends (or doesnt spend in a court house) depends on their job, but nonetheless, I think it is important that every law student and future lawyer should get some time in the court house. The courthouse is the physical pipeline of justice (or often enough, injustice). Although I had a great time shadowing a judge at the courthouse, the courthouse didn't quite match what I had in my minds eye (like most things). The biggest thing that struck me about the courthouse is how drab and somewhat depressing the feel of it was. It makes sense, this is a place where many issues reside and many hard topics are fought out. Theres alot of stress involved in legal matters. As someone who considers themselves very empathic, I think these things stuck out to me a bit more. In addition, I wasnt expecting to see that judges chambers are just offices. Perhaps the word "chambers" illicits a more grand vision, plus judges, who are kind of like holy men and women to law students (or atleast me). Most of the courthouse, minus the courtrooms, just looked like a typical government building. This is neither a good or bad thing, just different than what I was expecting. It is likely that a federal courthouse may be more what I was envisioning, although I have only seen the outside of the them I imagine they are also grander on the inside. However, the look of a court house doesnt really matter. Although I think alot more money should be poured into the facilities, like judges chambers, the thing that makes a good courthouse is the judges, lawyers, and staff that inhabit it. Justice doesnt have a certain "look". The quality of justice is based purely on the people who uphold it. All and all, a very interesting experience, and still very exciting, as I got to see courtrooms that I may even be litigating in some day.
Hi Jessica,
ReplyDeleteI agree that future attorneys and law students should visit courthouses more often. I have served on two juries—one before starting law school and one during law school—and observing the proceedings was both interesting and informative. In the second trial I was a juror on, I remember the courtroom being very grand but the deliberation room very rundown, like what you wrote about. I was taken aback when I first saw the deliberation room, but our thoughtful discussions and deliberations were not impacted by it. Like you said, what makes a good courthouse is the people.
Jessica,
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point you made about how Judges and Courthouses can be seen as all knowing, especially for law students. That is why as you said it is important to see Courthouses and Court happenings as a law student to understand how the process works and see that the Judges themselves are human. Biases and flaws that every human has does not just disappear because someone puts on a robe, and noting that I think is so important to be an effective advocate for clients.
Jessica, you wrote: "Although I think a lot more money should be poured into the facilities, like judges' chambers, the thing that makes a good courthouse is the judges, lawyers, and staff that inhabit it."
ReplyDeleteOne of my pet peeves as a lawyer has been the reluctance to spend money on court facilities. The notion of "lowest bidder" contracts to construct the most important buildings in our society, such as courthouses and public schools, is offensive if we really care about these institutions and the public perceptions of them.
I'm not advocating for opulence. But courthouses should be both functional and pleasing to visit, or at least as pleasant as the difficult circumstances may allow.
For example, many buildings that house family courts have minimal or not private conferencing space where lawyers can discuss with clients the most intimate and important parts of the clients' lives. At best, there may be one conference room per courtroom where perhaps a half dozen per courtroom are needed because there are two sides to each case and there are always multiple cases on each courtroom's dockets on any given day. Without conference rooms, we are reduced to conducting confidential conferences in stairwells, restrooms and the ends of hallways. That is no way to do justice.
I have only been in 2 courthouses in my life and they were completely different. One was "newer" and reminded me of an airport/mall and the other was old and felt like I was in the 70s. It was eyeopening to me too when I looked around and saw what people were doing because you have people with all sorts of problems there for all different issues, as well as attorneys and police officers. It was just interesting to think what they were all there for and how many types of people were there. I think when i originally thought of a courthouse or judges chambers I was thinking of a Law and Order style building with a bit of ornateness and grandeur. There's definitely a mixed bag of them out there but I'd probably need to go to New York to see ones like that!
ReplyDeleteJessica,
ReplyDeleteI've been in and out of courthouses, government offices, jails / prisons, etc., and the difference between municipalities / agencies is always striking. There are some places where a "facelift" would do the trick - others should probably be condemned and demolished (imagine working for an unnamed agency that's involved in regulating asbestos, only to be told you may have been exposed to asbestos during a remodel - whoops).
Interestingly, the more rural courthouses I've seen tend to be more "welcoming" than more populated areas. But that may be a matter of taste.