Court Observation Paper

2596 Words11 Pages
Court Observation Paper As part of our assignment, we were required to observe a court case dealing either a small claims or civil trial that was free for the public to attend and compare it to two similar appellant cases. Therefore, I chose to attend The People of The state of California vs. Luciano Velasquez a criminal case that was heard at the North County regional center on October 25,2012 at 9:15 am. The case I viewed was held in Department 14 with judge Aaron Katz. The case presented two young men the plaintiff Eric G (age 16) and the defendant Luciano Velasquez (age 23). The argument was a premeditated gang affiliated crime that left two minor victims severely injured with gun shot wounds. This investigation had been ongoing since April 17, 2012. The defendant Velasquez was charged with three counts of attempted murder and one count gang affiliation. From my observations I was able to infer that the evidence presented in the case was leaning in the favor of The People of The State of California. I was proficient in finding two similar appellant cases dealing with gang affiliation and attempted murder just as the case I observed did. This paper will be based on the case I observed and the comparing of two appellant cases that poses many similarities. At first I was not sure if I was going to find a case in time that met the requirements for the assignment, I had to keep pushing back the planned date to view a court case due to things constantly popping up. I decided to attend a civil case such as; The People of The state of California vs. Luciano Velasquez because it interested me and knowing the location it took place in was intriguing. Upon entering Department 14 I noticed twelve jurors and a few observers including myself listening to the case. The judge was running a little behind schedule and immediately apologized for his tardiness. Looking around

More about Court Observation Paper

Open Document