Local Court Case Analysis

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Pages: 8

On September 18, 2017, I attended both a local court and district court. The cases I saw on this day differed in multiple approaches when allowing one to go about their court hearing. After witnessing two different courts and cases, I executed the differences between the process of justice being managed and the ideal of justice being done. I believe the local court relates to the idea of the sociological theory of criminology due to the idea of the society having an impact on one’s actions. Both courts also coincide with the symbolic image of the “Lady of Justice” and how a court sentence can be balanced, fair, impartial, and has the power to induce a punishment on the guilty. The district court differed demonstrating the criminological theory …show more content…
First off, the district court appeared more strict in the process of receiving justice. There were rules before entering the courtroom, such as, bowing to the judge, not being able to eat or drink inside the courtroom, having cell phones turned off, and having to look presentable in order to enter the courtroom. However, from my observations, the local court did not have any rules listed regarding an appropriate dress code. The judge in the local court seemed extremely laid back and mellow when taking on the case. He waited for his questions to be answered by the plaintiff and the defender but did not seem to truly take what the other’s argument into consideration. In contrast, the courtroom of the district court had a jury to the right side of the courtroom, which the defendant would constantly ask questions to assure he was sharing the correct information with the judge. Due to the discussion between the defendant and one of the jurors, I witnessed the importance of having the law applied correctly between the two. I observed a reasonable reaction to the situation being discussed within the courtroom. It was clear each person dealing with the case desired a better understanding of what occurred the night of the incident. The jury also sat on the side of the courtroom where I noticed several cameras, although I was not aware if they were in the process of …show more content…
The sentence of the case handled by the local court demonstrates the idea of due process, and having the ability to insure the government supports justice to all citizens during every legal proceeding. According to Findlay, M. (2014, p. 23) “The community warfare principle sees individual autonomy as giving way to the greater good of society. In line with this principle, objective criteria such as the seriousness of consequences and the deterrent effect of conviction and punishment should be afforded greater weight than the culpable mental state of individual actors.” The quote explains that the crimes itself should be evaluated when punishment is being given. It also states that the mental state or mental health of a person should be disregarded when it comes to them committing a crime. This relates to the importance of the criminology theory and how certain aspects of an offender can or cannot be held accountable due to the impact of their mental health. My observation amongst the hearing within the district court conflicts with the action of the local court in which justice was served. I witnessed the act of crime control and how one receives the punishment of retribution. The cases I attended in both the local court and district court strictly evaluated the specific