At 9:00am Friday, I was immediately stationed in room 302 with Judge Chasse. 302 is People’s Court on Friday mornings. I specify Friday mornings because the types of court sessions held in each room can vary by day. That’s why it seems to take so long to get a court date: they have to find a specific day where your case will fit the theme. What I mean by People’s Court is that it’s the courtroom you go to after you tell your neighbor “I’m pressing charges”, with an added twist. This People’s Court was held in a criminal courtroom, which means that the person continuing charges believes a crime has happened, and that the defendant should be held criminally responsible. From there, the District Attorney prosecutes the case and often calls the victim to the witness stand.
The Assistant DA goes out of the courtroom to talk to people involved, and I notice that she has a shadow. Apparently, all of the DAs have Campbell Law students following them around for the summer. Because they have some understanding of the law, they’re allowed to help out and actually do work. I, on the other hand, am not allowed to do any work. That would be so much of a liability, so it is understandable. Early in the morning, one file came back with a green sticky: incarcerated. The bailiff called the jail to request that the man be sent upstairs. Apparently, there was a mistake, because the jail said they had released the man five days ago on bail. In fact, the guy just hadn’t shown up on his court date. Oops. They held him in contempt, so we all knew he would be back in the jail in no time.
People’s Court involved, once again, lots of discussion between the DA and the Public Defender. Judge Chasse told me that most of the time he doesn’t even know what’s going on in his own courtroom because these negotiations are kept at a low decibel. He really only learns of the situation after the lawyers are done discussing. He also told me that in North Carolina, People’s Court charges can be filed online or with a form. Because no officer or magistrate has to issue charges, there are presumably lots of people filing claims out of spite. To keep this number in check, cases can easily be dismissed if the accusing party doesn’t show up to court.
In the afternoon, there was a Bar appointment scheduled in room 2A with Judge Davidian. Judge Davidian made the new lawyer swear to protect the Constitution, and then the man signed some papers and was admitted to the NC Bar. Even though taking pictures in courtrooms is not allowed, Judge Davidian allowed the countless family members in attendance to have some pictures for safekeeping. There wasn’t anything scheduled after the swearing-in, so we had a pretty relaxed afternoon session.