AP&P
I'm so glad to be home!
I was in Utah for two weeks interning in criminal court. It was the bee's knees! I was mere feet away from child molesters, kiddie porn lovers, drug dealers/users, armed robbers, forger-ers and DUI-ers. A girl's dream come true. *sigh* I was front row for preliminary hearings, sentencings & arraignments. Every day was completely fascinating. I love watching all the true crime stuff on TV; except the CSI-type shows, bleh. TruTV's crime library is one of my favorite hangouts. I like reading books about serial killers & shows detailing autopsies.
But nothing can prepare you for sitting next to a child who is testifying, about his father sexually abusing him, and not show any emotion. I had to do it twice. The first time I couldn't look at the boy or the defendant. For fear of crying or giving a dirty look. The second time I was able to look at the kids. Then two seconds later I could feel my eyes well up, and I had to quickly look down at the floor. This time I made myself look at the father/defendant. I had to be very careful not to let my face tell anything about what I was thinking or that I was even thinking. It was easier than I thought it would be & I was able to look out in the gallery and see if I could make out the players. The best part was sitting there and being able to look out and stare at people & totally get away with it! Trying to figure who were the parents of the child beater before you or who the potential witnesses are. So interesting!
One of the bailiffs was kind enough to take me back to the holding cells. As he was unlocking the door that separates the court room from the holding area he says, "These guys haven't seen a woman in a while and they will probably stare at you uncomfortably the whole time we are in here." Awesome. We walk in and sure enough. I made sure not to make eye contact. Then he unlocked the girl's holding cell. Visually the difference between the men's holding area was that the woman's holding cell had a toilet. Mind you, it still had windows that face the men's holding area. He shows me the graffiti that the girls have written and asks if I want him to lock me in the girl's cell. Um, no thanks!
The last two days I got to be in on a trial. It was a guy accused of forcible sodomy. In the State of Utah oral sex is also considered sodomy. Apparently some guy got totally wasted at his own surprise birthday party and passed out. Then his girlfriend walked in on a dude giving him is own version of a birthday surprise and he cried wolf, all the way to court. I am actually working on producing that transcript. I have the audio and my notes and want to make it as close to an actual transcript as possible, to keep for my own giggles.
The other court reporters were so nice to me! They went out of their way to help me out. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. And getting to hang out with Katie at her work. Unbelievably cool. How often do you get to bring a friend a to work?! And I got to be her scopist to boot! Getting to read actual court transcripts that your friend got to do equals totally amazing stuff.
I was in Utah for two weeks interning in criminal court. It was the bee's knees! I was mere feet away from child molesters, kiddie porn lovers, drug dealers/users, armed robbers, forger-ers and DUI-ers. A girl's dream come true. *sigh* I was front row for preliminary hearings, sentencings & arraignments. Every day was completely fascinating. I love watching all the true crime stuff on TV; except the CSI-type shows, bleh. TruTV's crime library is one of my favorite hangouts. I like reading books about serial killers & shows detailing autopsies.
But nothing can prepare you for sitting next to a child who is testifying, about his father sexually abusing him, and not show any emotion. I had to do it twice. The first time I couldn't look at the boy or the defendant. For fear of crying or giving a dirty look. The second time I was able to look at the kids. Then two seconds later I could feel my eyes well up, and I had to quickly look down at the floor. This time I made myself look at the father/defendant. I had to be very careful not to let my face tell anything about what I was thinking or that I was even thinking. It was easier than I thought it would be & I was able to look out in the gallery and see if I could make out the players. The best part was sitting there and being able to look out and stare at people & totally get away with it! Trying to figure who were the parents of the child beater before you or who the potential witnesses are. So interesting!
One of the bailiffs was kind enough to take me back to the holding cells. As he was unlocking the door that separates the court room from the holding area he says, "These guys haven't seen a woman in a while and they will probably stare at you uncomfortably the whole time we are in here." Awesome. We walk in and sure enough. I made sure not to make eye contact. Then he unlocked the girl's holding cell. Visually the difference between the men's holding area was that the woman's holding cell had a toilet. Mind you, it still had windows that face the men's holding area. He shows me the graffiti that the girls have written and asks if I want him to lock me in the girl's cell. Um, no thanks!
The last two days I got to be in on a trial. It was a guy accused of forcible sodomy. In the State of Utah oral sex is also considered sodomy. Apparently some guy got totally wasted at his own surprise birthday party and passed out. Then his girlfriend walked in on a dude giving him is own version of a birthday surprise and he cried wolf, all the way to court. I am actually working on producing that transcript. I have the audio and my notes and want to make it as close to an actual transcript as possible, to keep for my own giggles.
The other court reporters were so nice to me! They went out of their way to help me out. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. And getting to hang out with Katie at her work. Unbelievably cool. How often do you get to bring a friend a to work?! And I got to be her scopist to boot! Getting to read actual court transcripts that your friend got to do equals totally amazing stuff.