Social Work Court Observation

For our court observation assignment, I was really excited about this project. I couldn’t wait to see what it was like going to court. I have never been in a court room and therefore, this was my chance to see what it was like entering a courtroom, and listening to the many different cases. Depending on the case, social workers play a critical role in our nation’s criminal justice system. This can be a large or small part of a social workers job. I learned that if one wants to observe court they must attend early in the morning. My first attempt to observe court was a failure. I leaned that court cases start early therefore, I needed to be there first thing in the morning. I also found that with each trip I made to the courthouse, it was filled

Most of the defendant were dressed appropriately but others were questionable. The judgement for each case went very quick, approximately 5 minutes. I was quite surprised by this. I had it in my mind that cases were longer. There were several defendants who had a court appointed attorney defending their case asking for leniency and others pro se. I noticed that the court appointed attorneys did not spend much time with their client. I would estimate about two minutes. Something else that stood out to me was the court reporter who was recording the trials was not using a stenographic machine but rather an electronic recorder. This was something that I had never seen before. The judge was very observant with the defendants and at times had a good sense of humor. He would often ask the defendants why they did what they did, and if they had ever thought about the position they were in, and what this might do to their children. The judge was very understanding and reasoned with most defendants. He wanted to get a sense of what the defendant was thinking, and often gave good advice to those he felt deserved it. He appeared very relaxed and at