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Essay On Jury Duty

1238 Words5 Pages

Prior to this assignment, I had once been to a courthouse; when I was called to serve for Jury Duty. Although I was not very excited about this, upon my arrival at the courthouse, I quickly to changed my perspective and was proud to be an American Citizen and be able to see my rights and have a voice in a case. Unfortunately, my luck did not go too far as I did not have to serve on the trial that day. Since then, I have been wondering what it truly is like to be sitting in a courtroom either as part of the jury or simply for observation. While in Boston, it was challenging for me to find a few hours during the week to go to court with my extremely busy schedule. Thus I decided that I would go to a Florida courthouse and get this experience …show more content…

I was extremely surprised as I walked into this courtroom to see the enormous difference with to the other courtroom I visited. This courtroom involved people that were in jail for 3rd degree felonies, cocaine possession, disappearing while in rehab, among other reasons. The first case I sat in to hear in this courtroom involved a 24-year-old lady that was being seen by a psychiatrist, and had committed a 3rd degree felony. Her attorney claimed that she had been in rehab for several months during her court dates and thus could not attend; however, the judge did not find this a legitimate reason and remanded her in custody. She had to sit and file some paperwork while her attorney planned their next step in order for her to be let free. When it was their second turn in front of the judge, her attorney was able to negotiate her original five-year prison sentence down to only six months. By accepting the plea, she was giving up several rights, including no trail and the chance to be deported. Once she asked the plea, the plaintiff attorney said there was DNA evidence making her responsible. The judge gave the defendant’s a 30-day appeal to legality. However, she had to check-in at least once a month with her attorney or the court so that they could keep track of her and ensure she was following her probation and had no need to go back to jail or court for a future

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