The point value for this assignment is considerably more than the other assignments. Many students have told me that this is the best part of the entire course. Spend either a morning or an afternoon in a courtroom that is handling preliminary hearings or criminal trials. Report on the following:
1. Court, courtroom, judge, and date.
2.Name of several of the cases being heard if more than one (include the defendant’s name, charges, and whether this is a preliminary hearing or a trial.
3.How old were the cases (time from crime occurrence to court appearance).
4.Did police testify in professional manner?How or why?
5.Did prosecutor appear to be well prepared?
6.Were exhibits used?Explain what you saw.
7.Identify any issues we discussed this semester (i.e. search and seizure, self incrimination, identification, etc.)and report the outcome.
Include the items 1 through 7 as paragraph headings for your report.