Court bonding

Going to court this Monday really made me think about why people commit crime.

It was my first time at court, ever, and I went there with my Media Law and Ethics class to practice court reporting (I know, fancy stuff). We had a short briefing about the court system by the Clark (and his assistant-person who was completely powerpoint illiterate). He went on and on about how drug offences were the most common crime among youngsters and other sorts of crime he had judged.

Of course it's horrible that 10 to 17 year olds shoplifts stuff at Marks & Spencer's and sell them to buy drugs, but that's just another story for me.

The first trial we went into was in the end of some guy's sentence. He was this typical, large, shaved, sweatpants kind of guy, you know. After he was done, this girl comes into the defendant's stand. She was about my age and well dressed. When the Judge (person) asked her to stand up and state her full name, her voice was trembling. She was crying.

It took a while before we realized what crime she had actually commited (because they were hearing a breach in bail condition, sry I speak law not). She was earlier found guilty of taking a car without consent (almost stealing a car).

I kept wondering to myself "why did she steal a car?". What was going on in her head at that moment? For a moment I could imagine her and 2 of her friends giggling while she took the car. All excited and didn't think she'd get caught. That's totally imaginable, almost usual.

But in court there's a whole different story. The Judge (person) sitting behind his high desk, the lawyers, the security guards, the papers... all of it is not a joke. They are serious about punishing you for whatever you've done.

It's all scary stuff.

Sincerely,
Tiffany