I watched a murder trial from jury selection to the verdict. It was an amazing process. This particular trial was a cold case--Bobby Earl Woods murdered his girlfriend 17 years ago. The state's attorneys did a great job presenting the case. It could have gone either way, but I'm glad the jury found the guy guilty. I was convinced that he did it.
I learned a lot about how to conduct myself in the court room. Hopefully if I make a mock trial team again, I'll be able to apply what I learned. It takes practice to be at ease and natural in a court room. It's also a lot of fun to do mock trials because no one's life or money is on the line.
I spend most of my time in the grand jury division. Everything is top secret so I can't say much about it. The basic thing the grand jury does is decide whether to indict a person on the charges from the police, allowing the case to move forward to prosecution. I think there are other ways to prosecute a person because one of the interns mentioned a special prosecution process. Law school teaches the academic side, but internships show you how things really work. After being at the DA's office a few weeks, I think law school should require OneLs to watch trials. I know everyone doesn't want to be a trial attorney, but it's such a great learning experience.
1 comment:
Hi Renea! I am a fellow student at Tex. Wes. I agree with you completely. I have been a paralegal for 14 years and have seem more civil trials than most lawyers I know. I told our law clerks that they need to take some time and sit through one trial. It was tremendously helpful for me.
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