My First Court Visit

Last week I had the pleasure to visit a court of law for the first time in my life. After passing through the tight security checks, we entered into a lobby. There was a crowd of people seated waiting for their cases to come up or see the judges for various reasons. It’s not your regular lobby with a television set and coffee books and magazines to help you kill the boredom as you wait but an empty sitting area. When we got inside the court room, it was a bit small, crowded with citizens, judges, guards and the lawyers. People sited at the back were making noise in low tones, not what I expected a courtroom to look like. The experience was like no other. I learned a lot about the cases especially the murder case and the people involved. It’s amazing how far people would go to prove their innocence even when the evidence before the court overwhelmingly point to a guilty verdict. It also broke my heart to see the pain in the faces of those whom a loved one was taken from and having to relieve that through witness statements. 

I would say that listening to the lawyers argue out their case on behalf of their clients from both sides was the most intriguing of them all. They carried out their businesses very casually and with so much passion even though they seemed to lack respect for each other at times but I guess that’s what the profession requires one to do, anything to win your client’s case right? It looked like these people had met earlier and practiced their lines, something from a movie script. They also seemed knowledgeable on the facts of the case. The judge was however so patient and listened keenly and was fair in giving objections to both sides. It’s amazing how many cases one judge has to hear in a day and determine people’s fate, however, unpleasant the outcome maybe. It is such a huge responsibility for anyone. 

There were so many activities going on inside the court, people were walking in and out with no care that they are destructing the rest of the people in the courtroom and I wondered how the judge was able to concentrate on the case in question. Some cases were mentioned and either one or all the parties were not present in the court which left me wondering what all the people in the lobby were waiting for. The variety of cases provided a captivating experience for me. Each case was different. There are some things that bothered me in the court, like how informal the whole setting looked, the language spoken by the lawyers, prosecutors, and judges seemed difficult for a common citizen to understand anything. The accused looked confused as to what was being said or what is supposed to follow in most cases. These people need to use simpler language that we all can understand. 

As an aspiring lawyer, I got the opportunity to directly observe the judicial process and the law in actual practice. As our courtroom day came to an end, I walked out of those doors knowing that I had made a good career choice and I will work hard enough to one-day stand in a court of law and confidently litigate on behalf of my client with a win being my number only goal. This experience helped to open my eyes to how much we take freedom for granted. I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of the law.