Court Observation

On March 22,2019 I went to the Appellate Division, Second Department on 45 Monroe Place. When I arrived at the building was small it kind of looked like a private school. I walked in and there were three security guards two women and one male. I walked through the scanners, and I told the woman guard I need help I didn’t know what to go or where to go, I was a student from city tech who had to go a court observation for homework she told me to hang my coat up and the courtroom was right there. It was surprising there were actually a place to hang my coat up at out in the open. Beside the coat rack hall, it was a big room where the security also told me I can watch the hearings on the television it’s a live recording but I told her I rather go inside. When I walked inside there were a wall blocking me from seeing the inside of the room and blocking the people inside the room from seeing the door. There were four judges only one female who was African-American the rest were Caucasian men. The room was massive but yet reasonable. There were many people there it was only two rows of seats left in the back of each section which there were only two. The ceiling was very beautiful, squares which contained a delicate blue flower in the middle of it blooming out of it. I sat in the second to last row and began to analyze what was going on there was an attorney speaking with the judges I didn’t really recognize what’s going on but I knew it was a dispute going on. After a couple of minutes, the judges demanded the following case. A woman stood up out of the audience and walked to the jury box and introduced herself. I was still extremely puzzled it’s been like the judges recognized the exact case she talked about detail for detail and just wanted to know what she desired for them to arrange. I was there for about an hour and a half.

On March 29, I listened to two more case but this time at NYS Family Court. Similar process as before when I walked in through the scanners but this court-house was bigger than the other so there were a woman security guard with her own separate desk from the scanners so I asked her where I should go because I was a student looking to observe a trial. She sent me to the 7th floor to the record room and the court clerk which when they addressed me to the six floors to the executive court clerk. Me and her spoke for about 5 minutes then she began to make calls to clerks that’s worked for her she then walked me through a restricted area to get to the elevators faster and when we got to the 6th floor she walked me through 2 double doors behind the first one there was two separate doors with two different names on them she walked me through the one that said “Denise M. Valme-Lundy, Referee, Part 54” I walked in there were only 7 people in room not including me. There were only two rows of seats I was the only person in the audience. I was kind of nervous till I heard the judge seek the clerk who I was, the clerk told her I was a student here to observe the judge said “oh good.” After that I felt a little more comfortable. I came in at the end of a case hearing so it was confusing but what I got out of it was Mother of 7-year-old Nathaniel V. Father. They were discussing about whom Nathaniel should remain with but the judge needed motions and witness list exhibit. As a result, she assigned a conference date of August 13, 2019, at 10:00 am. She also said there was a 50% chance there would be an after trail then dismissed them. Another group of people walked in and started to get themselves seated and comfortable. I Wasn’t able to catch the father name but they were there for the mother for a relocation petition. She moved to New Jersey with her eight-year-old son Julius but her process between moving to New York To New Jersey his father was informed about it and had no objections to it until Julius initial week of school. The father retained Julius every other weekend and his mother constantly transferred him to Brooklyn which were they discussed meeting place and back to New Jersey Even though the father lived in Long Island with his Fiance. One Sunday Julius father didn’t allow his mother Carla Overiver to transport him home. She drove all the way to Long Island to the father home to obtain him. She was not allowed in the house, and Julius was not allowed out the house. She called the cops which they exclusively forced the father and Carla talk. They subsequently decided to allow her to gather him on the following Wednesday at a Wal-Mart parking lot. In that location she was served a court order not to move with her son Julius till there a trial hearing of the situation. Carla wanted a Relocation Petition so that her and her son can go back home to their contemporary home in New Jersey. Since They had a trial meeting with another judge a few hours away the judge adjourned the court her decision to April 12th.