On Tuesday May 23rd Professor Coughlin, two other students and I visited NYS Criminal Court.  This court is located right next to campus and shares the building with Family Court.  We selected this court as the class had already observed Federal Court.  Earlier that morning Professor Coughlin spoke to one of the officers in the lobby and ascertained that there were cases that we could observe.

We arrived at the court by 10:30am approximately, we checked in with the officer once more and he kindly gave us three cases we could observe on the 19th floor, so off we went.  All of the cases we observed were already in progress and there was very little information, if any at all, regarding each case. Two were bench trials and one a jury trial.

Both of the bench trials, we didn’t have any of the particulars regarding the charges etc. One thing I took note of is that both of them used technology to present their respective cases.  The first case, in my opinion, was building the foundation of the case and was kind of routine, mundane questions.  The video showed snippets of five individuals walking Franklin Avenue at 4:23am from various cameras.  There was no information available as to what the trial was actually about and how these individuals might be involved.

The second case we observed was also in progress and the prosecutor was questioning the arresting officer.  Fortunately, for us we saw the officer downstairs and we asked him questions pertaining to the facts of the case and he was so willing to accommodate us.  The case was about a young man that an ICard was issued for. An ICard means that if any officers sees the individual they can arrest him.  The officers saw the suspect walking on Broadway and entering a restaurant so they followed him in an arrested him.  There was a warrant for his arrest for gun possession.  The young man did not resist, was very calm and fully cooperated with the officers.  He truthfully said that he did have a gun on him which the officers confiscated and placed in a bag for evidence.

I enjoyed this observation.  While we didn’t have much information regarding the cases, it was an interesting experience.  It only served to reinforce my desire to be an integral part of the legal field.