COURTROOM VISITATION REPORT ASSIGNMENT

You must watch a criminal court trial for a minimum of two hours.Some websites where you can watch a
criminal trial are: https://www.courttv.com/programming/trial-archives/ and Courtroom View Network at
https://cvn.com/proceedings/browse. he first part of the report will cover the courtroom setting and what you
observed. The second part of the report will cover your personal observations and reactions. The report must
be typed using a computer word processing program and double spaced. The first part of the report should
include the following information about the Courtroom Setting:
• Name the court you watched ;
• What date, time of day and how long did you Watch for;
• Include the full name of the judge presiding in the courtroom you watch;
• State specifically the type of criminal action you observed;
• Indicate whether you observed a bench trial or jury trial. If it was a jury trial indicate the number of jurors;
• Give a brief statement of the facts which gave rise to the proceeding you observed;
• What punishment was the prosecutor seeking at the proceeding;
• Describe in detail what phase of the litigation you observed; and
• Was there a resolution of the issue before the court while you were present? If so, what was it?
The second part of the report must include your personal observations and reactions to the courtroom
procedure you observed. Indicate your reactions to what you observed to what you anticipated the proceedings
would be like. Only include your personal reactions. There are no right or wrong reactions. The report should
consider the following questions:
• What aspect(s) of the courtroom proceedings was/were most like what you expected prior to visiting the
courtroom;
• What aspect(s) of the courtroom was/were most different to what you expected prior to visiting the courtroom;
• Does television, movies and other forms of media accurately portray the courtroom setting and procedure as
you observed it?;
• Did the prosecution and defense attorneys effectively argue their positions?
• Did the judge and/or jury properly execute their roles;
• If you observed a criminal jury trial, did you feel the jury clearly understood the proceeding before them?
What caused you to feel that way;
• Did the physical environment of the courtroom lend itself to the orderly and professional conduct of judicial
matters? Comment on your reaction to the physical setting of the courtroom;
• Were you affected positively or negatively by the physical appearance (manner of dress and personal
hygiene) of the witnesses, the defendant, prosecutor, defense attorney, judge, clerks, or any other officer of the
court; and
• Include any other observations you made.