On Thursday March 28 at 12:30pm I arrived at New York Supreme Court Kings County, when arriving and going through security they were very friendly and welcoming. When I was finally in I went to the information desk and a security guard was very helpful and knowledgeable with finding me a civil case, he sent me right up to a case that was about to start. When entering the court room the court officer was extremely helpful with getting me the information I needed, she also gave me a little briefing on the case so I was knowledgeable on what was going on and happening. The room was extremely quiet in the room it was only 6 jurors, 1 court officer, 1 clerk, 1 court reporter, both council and there clients and an extra with the plaintiff’s council and me. The room was empty. At 1:05pm the Judge stated for everyone to take a lunch and to come back at 2:15pm, when arriving back at the court house there was an extremely long line outside for everyone to get back inside. The court room we were in was nice just really plain nothing really stuck out. I left at 3:40pm.

First I was thinking to going to The Supreme Court in Queens County but I ended up going to Kings County Supreme Court. I. Reached in court by 10:25. By entering there was security guard standing in front checking everybody I.D he was really helpful. He told me the cases on Friday were only going on 9th floor for matrimonial cases and couple of civil cases in 4th and 7th floors. After going through a security check I took elevator to 4th floor and looked on the sheets that were posted outside the hall and one of the case was starting around 10.45. I was lucky enough to able to hear the hearing of a landlord and tenant court, Final testimony from defendant was going on in court that day regarding the case. It was really thrilling to hear questioning back and forth between defendant and Lawyer. It was really great and informative. It was an interesting assignment.

Thank You

Starting off this court observation assignment, I had no idea really where to start or whom if anyone to start it with. I ended up settling for the Supreme Court on Adams street where there is a sculpture of Christopher Columbus was located.The officers were welcoming, the judge had a quote above his head on the wall behind him everything was just smooth. Within that period of time I watched three cases, one was for the request of the court to stop an action, another was preventing the expulsion of the plaintiff’s client from expulsion due to a tweet dating back two years and the last case if I’m being honest was a waste of time. If I’m to sum everything up in the end, I’m really glad this was assigned.

Nina Hospedales
Professor Coughlin
Law 1103

On March 27th I woke up extra early to go to the courts for my observation assignment. I choose to go to Family Court, Kings County (330 Jay St. Brooklyn New York). To begin with, the moment I introduced myself as a student, security and staff went out there way to direct me to different cases and cases that would be interesting.
Sitting in the court room was another great experience. I was told to turn of my phone before entering the court room, and sat in a bench with other attorneys, while other cases proceeded. The attorneys I sat next to were on instagram and chattering the about how they want there case to be called next. They were also really friendly.
There were two cases that caught my attention that I will later write about in my memorandum, but just watching the courts delicate family matters was quite interesting. Many of the children were not present, but along with the lawyers ACS had, the children as well, had there own attorneys.

Today I went to the Civil Court in Queens County. The address is 89-17 Sutphin Blvd , Jamaica NY 11435.  The commute to the court was smooth and nothing happened in front of the court house. The case I went to was about an elderly woman looking to sue ford and a local mechanical shop. The case started when the car shop in queens refused to repair the plaintiffs car after it was wrecked. They told her to wait a week for the car to be repaired in early June but she didn’t get a response until late August . They told her screw you drive it the condition its in. Ford said they didn’t have the parts to repair the car. Geico was also involved in the case. she was emotionally stressed in court and started crying while giving her part of the case. the attorney had to give the rest of the story because of that. the plaintiff could barely stand or walk so they had to give her a chair instead standing to give her statement.I left after the two hours in court.

On Tuesday, March 18^th, 2019 the Law and Paralegals club here at New York City College of Technology organized a field trip to the New York State Court of Appeals. The Court of Appeals is located at 20 Eagle Street, Albany, N.Y. 12207. This court is located at our state’s capital.

I traveled with about 25 upcoming paralegal students on U.S. Coachways bus to Albany. Our mission is to visit the NYS Court of Appeals and sit in on an appeal. We are looking to grasp a better understanding of how laws passed in our country and gain insight while we are observing oral arguments.

I arrived at the court house around 1:30 pm. We went through security check in and it was pretty customary. Then I had the opportunity to meet Deputy Chief of Security Ron Gadson who then walked Nicole, Abigail and I to the entrance of the court room. He then handed us a souvenir and allowed us into the court room to observe and take pictures. The court room was very elegant with bright red carpeting. It had a powerful feel to it along with the very elaborate chandeliers dangling. There were portraits of the court of appeals judges around the room. The judges’ pictures go up on the wall when they leave their term.

Next, they opened the court room up for the lawyers to enter the room. There were two attorneys for each side. First, the lawyers entered and took their seats upfront in front of the panel judges. Then the seven judges walked out through a door directly behind their bench and sat down. The court officers then asked us all to rise and seven judges took the stand. All of the judges were eye level even the Chief Judge Janet DiFiore who sat directly in the middle. The court officer shouted “Hear ye, hear ye”. It felt like it was out of a movie. Then they introduced the cases to the court room.

I was very impressed at the court room and how the proceeding was organized. What surprised me was the Chief Judge of NYS Court of Appeals, the highest appellate court in New York State, acknowledged New York City College of Technology and welcomed Professor Espinoza and the upcoming paralegal students to her court room. It felt like an honor to be part of it and to be addressed as a paralegal felt even better. I was proud to be there. I chose the court of appeals to view a proceeding because it’s the highest court in NYS and was very interested in experiencing an appeal in my state’s capital were the magic happens.

Finally, it was time to start the appeals. There were three appeals being argued. The first two appeals were a matter of National Energy Markets Association v. N.Y.S Public Service Commission. And then the second appeal was a matter of Retail Energy Supply Association vs. Public Service Commission of NYS. And thirdly, the appeal was about People v. Boris Brown. The first two cases were about their findings in 2016, after finding that the Energy Service Companies, (ESCO’s) were generally charging their customers higher rates than the regulated utilities were charging. The Public Service Commission of NYS (PSC) issued a Reset Order governing gas and electric service for residential and small commercial customers to guarantee that customers will pay no more than a full service customer would. The last appeal was about a murder of a 17-year-old child named Cheyenne Baez. This case is about the potential conflict of interest regarding Browns attorney. The police quickly focused on three suspects Boris Brown, Devon Coughman and Ahmed Salaam who had been at the scene together. Salaam hired a lawyer Jeffrey Chabrowe to defend Brown in the murder case and paid his fees. Then Salaam was arrested in an unrelated fraud case, Salaam hired Chabrowe to defend him against criminal charges. The court told Brown, “There would be a problem that your lawyer would have to cross-examine someone else that he represents on an unrelated matter.” This was definitely a conflict.

I highly suggest to go ahead and experience your state capital viewing an appeal at the NYS Court of appeals. It left me with a professional view on how the court does business and how the appeals court operates regarding applying the law and expressing legal arguments. I enjoyed every minute. Good luck on your observation!