Running Head: COURT REFLECTION 1

Court Reflection

Harleen Virk

April 15, 2015

Family Policy – FCSC 3320-01

Professor Nina Smith

North Carolina Central University

COURT REFLECTION 2

Recently I visited the Durham County Court House to attend a Family Court session. I

located the court room as they were coming to the close of a case concerning the splitting of a

property that was acquired during a marriage and that had not been sold. The marriage had been

dissolved for a significant amount of time yet the wife who was being held responsible for

selling the property had not taken adequate measures to put the property on the market as was

agreed upon by the two parties who had dissolved their marriage. This matter was being

legitimized within the court and proper restrictions were given to the amount of time she had left

to put the property on the market. This is what I believe was going on when I had walked into

the courtroom and I slowly made myself a part of the room in the backrow.

I realized a few of my classmates from “Family Policy” were sitting in the rows before

me and we served as the only audience for this and the next domestic dispute.

The next case was concerned with the custody and visiting rights of a father who had

been recently separated and admitted in court to having abused the mother in the past. He was a

man of low intelligence who had difficultly representing himself in court. He struggled with

comprehending the judge’s questions and reasonably questioning his witnesses. The defendant,

the mother of the child, did not have any trouble convincing the court that she feared that his

behavior could be unpredictable and did not trust leaving her child alone with him although he

had never harmed their daughter. She described a man who used his ministerial position in the

church as a façade to cover up a deeply troubled man suffering from identity and worth issues as

well as an infrequent user of the prescription of Prozac which he was supposed to use daily.

The petitioner never refuted her statements and instead confirmed them in his

unintelligible pleadings.

COURT REFLECTION 3

He often brought my classmates to laughter and I often had to hide my face and stifle my

laughter as well. None of us wanted to appear cruel but he provided a very awkward court

experience.

The judge tried to reconcile the situation by allowing him to visit his child at a mutual

friend or family members home although neither party could think of a middle person to help

them facilitate this request. Therefore the court case was pushed for the next month as the ex-

couple both searched for a facility in which they could have supervised visitation. The judge

provided a list of such facilities in the area and warned that they could be a bit pricey.

After the session was finished the judge generously invited the class that had come to

observe to sit upfront and have an interview session with him. One comment he made that was

very interesting included that the things we see and hear on TV actually do happen every day in

his court room. In fact, that morning two women had gotten in a fight; an ex-girlfriend and new

girlfriend of a man who was coming in for a custody hearing.

I have to admit that sitting in on the court session was a bit like watching a court room

show in real life. It also came across as perhaps one of the most meaningful and stimulating

professions I had shadowed; that of anyone who worked in the court room. If I had more time I

would definitely like to sit in on more sessions but am grateful that there are many recordings

available. I think this experience is meaningful because it brings to life all the things we discuss

in class and policies we read. It also is meaningful because it gives you a real picture of how

much the wrong choices can cost you and your family or former family. I’ve always been a late

bloomer, slow to make major decisions without deep consideration and introspection but this

experience will allow me to really consider the depth, width, and height of my future

partner/husband and family choices.