My courtroom observation was completed at Supreme Court of New South located at Phillip Street, Sydney. The proceeding that I chose to attend within the Court was listed in the Commercial List, at courtroom 11C.
On arrival to the court, I was stopped at the security checkpoint where guards checked my books and asked me to go through a metal detector. I was very surprised to find out that being a simple member of the public is sufficient and entitles everyone to enter a court room and join a trial. The security guards did not ask me for permit to attend either a court trial and/or listen to the court proceedings.Furthermore it did not take a special function like being a law student or a member of a research team.
The physical organization of the courtroom was highly unusual compared to most everyday settings. T
...he courtroom layout had significant levels of environmental cues relating to the power of the active individuals in the courtroom. The Judge’s bench was elevated and Coat of Arms was placed behind him, the bar table for the lawyers and barristers was at the same elevation as each other, there was deliberate positioning of the court staff between the judge and all others in the courtroom.The components of the setting and use of traditional wooden furniture made the courtroom exude a sense of importance, and propriety and explicitly perpetuate the symbolism in the environment.
Such design appears to aim at symbolizing the legitimacy of the power attributed to legal representatives by the society. The courtroom was crammed with mainly legal officials standing with together with their clients, who were easily recognizable,
as they were wearing suits and carrying law books and notepads.There was no other spectator beside myself within the courtroom. The court room main participants were the Plaintiff’s solicitor Brian Gillard, the Defendant’s solicitor Ted Tzorvaras, and the Plaintiff, Mihir Dave, Defendant Mark Gray and the Judge, Justice Hammerschlag. The specific details of the case appear to be complicated, and were not specified.
The Plaintiff’s lawyers wanted to set aside Notice of Motion filed by the Defendant’s lawyer.He pleaded for more time to file his clients’ Affidavit on the grounds that his client has been overseas and communication over the phone will not suffice. His Honor asked the parties to go outside and put in writing Short Minutes of Order by consent and present it to him. The parties left the courtroom with their clients and entered one of the Conference Rooms near the courtroom.
Before the entered the conference room, each lawyer was informing their client about the status of a matter and how they were going to promptly comply with reasonable requests of His Honor.After the short while, both lawyers waited for their turn and handed in the Short Minutes of Order by consent to the court. The sequencing of communicative interactions between Judge and lawyers was circumscribed by procedural rules. The Judge asked the questions, and then allowed the parties to plead their client’s case.
The nature of the controlled interaction further was atypical in that an amount of self-disclosure was unusually high. In addition, the language of the court players was very formal, rather than indirect or polite.I found it interesting the way the barristers and solicitors were addressing each other
using the words “my friend”. The atmosphere of the courtroom was very noisy and at times it would be silent. I was informed by the court clerk initially at our consultation that judges strictly prohibited any form of verbal or gestural communication from spectators.
Consequently, it is unlikely that the courtroom behavior of spectator’s observers during an active proceeding will influence its outcome.
- Supreme Court essays
- Supreme Court Of The United States essays
- Agreement essays
- Business Law essays
- Common Law essays
- Community Policing essays
- Constitution essays
- Consumer Protection essays
- Contract essays
- Contract Law essays
- Copyright Infringement essays
- Court essays
- Crime essays
- Criminal Law essays
- Employment Law essays
- Family Law essays
- Injustice essays
- Judge essays
- Jury essays
- Justice essays
- Lawsuit essays
- Lawyer essays
- Marijuana Legalization essays
- Ownership essays
- Police essays
- Property essays
- Protection essays
- Security essays
- Tort Law essays
- Treaty essays
- United States Constitution essays
- War on Drugs essays
