Courtroom 302

The book Courtroom 302, written by Steve Bogira in 2005, is about the criminal courts in Chicago, IL. Steve Bogira graduated from Northwestern University, and is an excellent reporter for the Chicago Review. Courtroom 302 is story told mainly from through Steve Bogira’s observations. Bogira observes a courtroom (Courtroom 302), and basically the entire justice system process from beginning to end. The courtroom that Bogira observes is in the control of Judge Daniel Locallo. Judge Locallo helps give Bogira an all access view, plus vital personal thoughts and feelings about issues and events that he has dealt with; and Bogira has observed. Judge Locallo is not the only person that expresses personal information. Many employees of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse also give insight on events and issues they have experienced. The way that Bogira has organized the book allows the reader to see the criminal process in a variety of stages. The effort put forth by author Steve Bogira gives the reader a real-life view of what occurs in criminal courts daily. Throughout Courtroom 302, Bogira gives the reader several different scenarios by including numerous cases. Each case has a different setting, from racial discrimination, to plea bargaining; and each case provides insight from all angles. Cases vary from murder to selling drugs, and Bogira illustrates a clear connection between each case and the common response from the justice system. The book begins where the defendants begin their time at Cook County Criminal Courthouse, a courthouse that has about fifteen hundred prisoners pass through the door weekly. Bogira explains the step by step process that occurs before the defendant even gets to the courtroom in the prologue of the book. Here Bogira sets the plot for the rest of the book by introducing many defendants of different ages, races, and criminal backgrounds. He doesn’t go into too much detail with each, but makes sure the reader knows the