My experience at the magisterial DIstrict Court 27303 was not what I expected. When you go to any court, you would assume the mood inside the courtroom to be serious. However, during my time at court, it was exactly the opposite. From the moment our class walked in, Judge Joshua Kanalis and Assistant District Attorney Joseph Carroll engaged us with interesting stories and humor. In fact, the whole time we were there, only once (during the case of the guy who stole the sleeping pills) did it feel like we were actually in court.
On top of the unexpected mood, we didn't get to see any preliminary hearings while we were at court. Every defendant who came that day either waived their case or had their case dismissed. Ironically enough, a Cal U police officer who failed to show up to court was to blame for the dismissed cases. Honestly, had it not been for the judge and the Assistant DA's asides on cases, laws, and legal jargon, we would have left the court with close to nothing to write a story about. However, thanks to them, we have a really interesting sidebar about their feelings concerning marijuana laws to include in our pieces.
On top of the unexpected mood, we didn't get to see any preliminary hearings while we were at court. Every defendant who came that day either waived their case or had their case dismissed. Ironically enough, a Cal U police officer who failed to show up to court was to blame for the dismissed cases. Honestly, had it not been for the judge and the Assistant DA's asides on cases, laws, and legal jargon, we would have left the court with close to nothing to write a story about. However, thanks to them, we have a really interesting sidebar about their feelings concerning marijuana laws to include in our pieces.