Court observation report format

JOSEPH E. DWORAK BERLINER COHEN TEN ALMADEN BOULEVARD, SUITE 1100 SAN JOSE, CA 95113 (408) 286-5800 Section 1 (Green) #22479 Monday and Wednesday 10:30am – 11:45am Sweeny Hall BBC 130 HTEM/HSPM 107 — SPRING 2019 — COURT PROJECT 1. Background. A number of students have expressed an interest in the opportunity do work outside the classroom in addition to the two mid-term examinations and the final examination. Given the number of students who have made this request, I have decided to afford you the opportunity to enhance your class grade with an experimental learning project. This Project subject to the explanation below accounts for about 15% of your grade. 2. Project. We are completing the introductory part of the course including information regarding procedures and the court system. This project will allow you to experience first hand how the court system works. We are fortunate in San Jose to have trial courts in the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, the United States Federal District Court and the United States Bankruptcy Court within walking distance from SJSU. The addresses for these Courts are located below. There are two addresses for the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara, because it has a civil division and a criminal division. Before the end of the semester, at a time and date of your choosing, but during the normal business hours of the court, please visit a court facility. Typically, the court personnel are very helpful, and if not, there are calendars placed on the various courtrooms. You can spend as much time as you like, but generally 45 minutes to 90 minutes should be enough to allow you to observe what is transpiring in the courtroom that you choose. Depending upon the particular day and the court’s calendar on that day, you may witness a law and motion calendar, a probate calendar, a trial calendar, or some other calendar. If you need assistance, you may ask the court personnel about the proceedings that day. If you do please explain this is class project for SJSU designed to begin to introduce you to the court system. Generally, the court personnel are helpful provided you are polite and respectful, and do not disrupt the proceedings. If the court is in session, wait until there is a recess of some sort before approaching any of the court personnel. Typically, the bailiff is the one who is most accessible. The best times to attend are typically early in the morning around 8:30AM before the Judge is on the bench, or first thing in the afternoon around 1PM before the Judge is on the bench. Typically court personnel arrive first, and are ready to proceed before the entry of the Judge. At these times you will often be able to speak to them without disrupting the proceedings. After your observations, you are required to prepare a report which will be due the last week of class. The report will identify the date of your observation, the court which you attended and the 4839-7603-5462v1 JED\25608034 -1- name of the Judge. More than one student can attend the same proceeding, but each is required to prepare their own paper. The observations can be done in small groups, but the writing must be done individually. What you will be writing about will depend upon the matter the court is addressing that day. Some days may be very interesting. Others are less so. After your observation, in a type written format, please describe the parties or the proceedings to the best of your ability. After you have described the nature of the proceedings, please describe what you learned about the court and conclude with your thoughts and impressions about your observations and the operations of the Court. This report need not be lengthy. Depending upon your writing skills, a cogent two page typewritten summary may suffice, but probably the length should be somewhere between two to five pages. Santa Clara Superior Court Civil/Probate 191 N. First Street San Jose CA 95113 Santa Clara Superior Court Criminal 190 W. Hedding Street San Jose CA 95110 United States Bankruptcy Court 280 S. First Street San Jose, CA 95113 United States District Court 280 S. First Street San Jose, CA 95113 4839-7603-5462v1 JED\25608034 -2- ...