Being that procrastination is a big part of my life, on April 4th I went to NY Supreme Court, Kings County to observe a civil court case. I begin to the supreme court on 330 jay st but then remembered that one is for felony cases only so I headed to the civil one on 360 Adams st. After going through the metal detectors, which made me feel like I had a flight to catch, I went to the information desk and asked where should I go to sit in on a case. The court officer gave me a bunch of numbers of floors to choose from so as I entered the elevator I randomly pressed a button and decided the 4th floor was the one for me. I got off the elevator and not too far from the doors was another court officer who gave me more numbers of rooms to choose from so I chose room 441. As I entered the room the bailiff quietly approached me, I told her I was there to observe the case for my civil law class and she generously told me where to sit and if I had any questions I can come to her before recess. The case was a motor vehicle accident and to my understanding the plaintiff was rear ended which caused a ongoing physical pain in his back and left shoulder and was suing for more than $100,000 (which is why it was supreme court and not civil). During my time there, which was approximately 3 hours, they called the plaintiffs doctor to the stand who played as a witness and expert witness because of his experience and education as a neurologist. during the questioning of the witness things started getting intense. there was a lot of objections thrown out and hearing the judge say “overruled” was my favorite part. Around 12:45 the judge dismissed the jurors for recess, the lawyers made a couple more statements and then the judge dismissed them and himself for recess. I then went to the bailiff and the assistant in the room for all the information on the case and this concluded my day in court.
Corey, thank you for your “descriptive” summary, I agree security is like being in an airport! (Minus the fun destinations.) It sounds like you had a positive experience, and I’m glad you took the initiative to approach the staff for the information you needed. That’s an important quality in a paralegal. I look forward to learning more about your case!
Prof. C.