The evidence for this objective will a be a paragraph explaining why the court system has so many steps. Popular television shows like Law and Order may be very entertaining, but they leave out a lot of the steps before a case reaches the "dramatic trial" portion. This evidence is connected to my classroom learning in the same ways as my other three objectives. My classes that had elements of the Law in the curriculum helped give me a foundation about such elements of the judicial system such as Pre-Conference Trials.
What I did for this piece of evidence is interview my supervisor and various others in my office. They were able to give me the information I needed to explain why the court system has numerous, yet necessary steps. These interviews enabled me to learn why these steps exist as critical functions of the Judicial system. This evidence is a testament to my skills and abilities because; the paragraph summarizes the reasons why there are many steps in the court system, while also illustrating my knowledge of this topic.
I can testify to the fact that without the various conferences before a trial, the legal system would be so backed up, cases would take five to ten years to get resolved. When the Attorney Generals office decides that there is enough evidence for a defendant to be formally charged with a crime, that person will be scheduled for a Pre-Arraignment Conference. This is a conference in which Defendants may wish to apply for public defender representation, as at this point they are not yet formally represented. After this conference there is a formal arraignment which occurs no later than fifty days after an indictment. At the arraignment defendants must appear and face formal notification of their charges. After the arraignment, there is a Pre-trial Conference. At this conference the opposing attorneys meet with the Judge and discuss if the case should go to trial or have the defendant accept a plea agreement in order to avoid trial. This conference is the most important step of the court system before a decision to go to trial is reached. This conference enables the majority of cases to get pled out in order to avoid trial and not back up the system. I have personally sat in on one of these conferences. They are very informal, but they are an excellent forum for opposing counsel to justify their stance on the case, and allow the Judge to weigh in on their opposing ideas. If these different steps did not exist, the defendant would not be given their fair chance at justice because the system would stall at various steps, backlogging the courts.
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