log 3

May 15, 2002

I was with the bailiffs again today. This time Jeff was in the box for arraignments, where I sat again. I guess Wednesdays are always busy, because Wednesdays have traffic court in addition to the normal arraignments. Basically traffic court requires anyone who has had their second violation in one year to come in front of the judge. This means speeding tickets, failure to stop, and that type of minor violation. A DUS or DUI is considered to be worse than a traffic violation, and therefore are treated as normal arraignments everyday. Traffic court also does not have to be on record, whereas normal arraignments must be.

After morning court was finished, I spent some time with Pete, one of the two probation officers at the Municipal Court. I sat in his office for about an hour or so as he met with people who had just been arraigned. It is the probation officer’s job to explain requirements of, obviously, probation to the person. For example, if the person has a DUS, the probation officer explains how to reinstate your license, or will require you to rectify whatever fines may be outstanding which have suspended your license. For a person with a DUI, the probation officer may explain community service options in place of jail time, as well as treatment programs and awareness programs to replace jail time.

When Pete was done with his probationers, he showed me a sheet of paper from the County Adult Probation Department, specifically the W Probation Officer, which requested information about someone they will be trying. I used the computer criminal and traffic database to find by (social security number) and print out the requested person’s history dating back to around 1995. I then had to search by last name through huge, heavy criminal history books which date from around 1980 to 1995. I then put the cases in order, type a few things on the form they sent, and make and print out an address label (also using the computer database) to send it.

After lunch I returned to the courtroom and saw more arraignments. The most exciting part of the day, however, came at 4:30pm. Wednesday, it appears, is also small claims day. Small claims court officially opens at 4:30pm on Wednesday evenings (when court is normally closed) and lasts until each case is completed. Because the Judge has such a full schedule to begin with, two appointed magistrates run the small claims court and issue a magistrate’s decision. (Because there are two magistrates, two cases can be heard at once; one in the court room, and one in the jury/conference room.) If either party objects to the decision, they may appeal to the judge and have their case reconsidered.

The two magistrates are Randy and Paul. I met both, but only saw Randy’s cases. There were three today, all contested. After each one he and I would discuss the case. He actually wanted to know what I thought about each, and it was fun to help him deliberate. (Though I’m certain he already knew what he was going to decide.)

8:00am – 1:00pm 3:00pm – 5:45pm 7.75 hours