The first court I attended was a district court case that was supposed to be a jury trial. The presiding judge was Vernice Trease. The defendant, Joshua Robert King, was charged with: Burglary a second degree felony, two counts of propelling a substance at an officer a class a misdemeanor, and assault against a peace officer knowing person is an officer …show more content…
I took a seat in one of the rows and noticed there were cameras everywhere. The courtroom had this dark wood encapsulating the room and behind the judges seat was a U.S. flag and also the Utah flag. Soon the attorneys entered and I heard one of them say “Yeah, he was drunk and tried to enter so…” he stopped talking once he saw me. I realized they were discussing the case. One of the attorneys said “I wonder if she will accept it” and soon the bailiff entered the courtroom again and the attorneys asked if the judge was in. He said yes and the said “we might have a deal”. "Plea bargains are quite common in criminal cases. Thus trials in the United States (especially jury trials) are quite rare." (). Which is why I was excited to see a jury trial but from the way they were talking it didn’t sound like that was going to …show more content…
She tells the sister that her job because he was on parole and this is a felony the only thing she can do is decide whether the sentence is served consecutively or concurrently. The judge calls King up to the podium one last time and says “I do not believe you are a bad person, you have people surrounding you and all the help you need but you are choosing not to take it.” She tells him he has no more excuses and that if he commits another crime he’s going to be locked up for a very long time. A decision is “affected by the judge’s life experiences, prejudices, and overall social values.”(Carp). Judge Trease seemed to show compassion towards King but strictness in her tone. She orders him to serve these crimes concurrently and dismisses court.
For the second court I attended justice court and the first thing I noticed was how big the courtroom was there were more seats and rows before the line where the attorneys sit. The courtroom seemed lighter and not nearly as formal. There was a small state flag in something similar to a picture frame behind her and a United States flag off in the corner to the