Judge Kennedy: Crj 370

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class. The summary class was offered mainly to people who had a citation, or misdemeanor and was the same class I attended to get my citation expunged. If they choose guilty the judge would give them their punishment (usually a fine), and If they choose not guilty they were giving a date to go to trial. After they were read their offense and options, the offender would give the judge a verbal response of what they wanted to plead. Surprisingly, the majority offenders that had the opportunity to go to the summary class, either choose to go to trial or just pleaded guilty. After I witnessed some of the cases being held in the courtroom, I was escorted through 601 to a back room, where I took an elevator down to another court room where a preliminary hearing was in session.

The case had just started up and The judge began by describing what a preliminary hearing was to the two people that were being accused of the crime at hand. As explained by the judge, a preliminary hearing was a hearing to determine if a person charged with a felony (a serious crime punishable by a term in the state prison) should be tried for the crime charged, based on whether there is some substantial evidence that he/she committed the crime. The two African-American males were each being charged with one count of robbery and one count of conspiracy. A plea bargain was giving in the beginning of the preliminary hearing for the two accused males to serve eleven to twenty-three months in a state prison along with two years’ probation once they got out. The plea bargain was denied by both defendants. Once they both made their decision and told the judge, the judge let both defendants know that if they are found guilty that the maximum sentence for each charge is 20 years, so they could be looking at a sentence of 40 years maximum in state prison. The judge then asked both the defendants attorneys if they had anything to say while they waited on the jury to be picked and come out. They made a motion and presented first an article, which stated the date of the Super Bowl on the 2013, and also to explain to the jury that this was a case solely on credibility and no other evidence other than that. This case had no other evidence other than credibility, so they had to figure out whether the word of this witness was credible or not. The judge denied the second request because she said it was a waste of time since the jury would already know that the case was based on credibility. I left before the end of the preliminary hearing since the jury was taking quite a long time to be picked, but I still gained a good knowledge of what goes on in a courtroom from my experience today at the criminal justice center. On top of that, I gained great insight on the type of environment that is associated with the Criminal Justice Center, and much of the activity that goes on in the building.