Court Moves on Its Own Time

As a court watcher, I’ve observed the court move exceedingly slow, with countless delays, acting with little regard for people’s time or lives. Most often, the majority of cases I observe are also adjourned, requiring defendants to return to court again.

My experience in court a few weeks ago really captured the way the court seems to move on its own time.

I got to court at 9:01 AM. I was running behind, and I was nervous as I took the elevator up from the basement where I parked my car. When I got to the first floor the court doors were locked and there were no guards anywhere. A few people were standing in the lobby. I was super confused. Was court canceled? Did court start early, and they shut the doors? As I waited in the lobby, more people started showing up. “What’s going on?” Everyone was asking, but no one seemed to know. Finally, a court guard walked through the lobby. “Court starts at 10:00 AM of course, didn’t you know?” Clearly not. Court is always scheduled for 9:00 AM.

At 9:00 PM the night before, I went on WebCriminal to get the day’s docket and fill out my forms. While it had already started to snow, it was only predicted to snow three inches, and the docket was up. The other week, I tried to get the docket the night before court, and – due to snow closure – there weren’t any cases. I assumed that court would start at 9:00 AM, as always, since the docket was up. I was wrong.

Everyone groaned when they heard the news. “Really? How were we supposed to know?” “They never tell us anything.” The guard shrugged and walked away. While I was leaving City Hall to get a coffee to pass the time, I ran into multiple people walking up to the building. “Did court start on time?” They all asked in a hurry. When I told them court was delayed until 10:00 AM, they all sighed. “I missed my doctor’s appointment,” one woman told me. “I could have dropped my kids off,” said another.

While I am voluntarily taking time out of my day to observe court, most people are required to show up for a scheduled court appearance. They are forced to put their lives on hold to come to court and appear before the judge. The lack of communication from the court to the people this morning made clear to me just how little the court cares about people’s lives outside of the courtroom. I’ve also observed this during cases when defendants are sentenced to or threatened with jail time without consideration for how this will entirely disrupt someone’s everyday life.

When court finally did start today, around 10:15 AM, it was slow moving and the room felt a bit different than it had in the past. For the amount of people waiting for their cases to be called, there seemed to be too many lawyers and guards. Cases moved really slowly. Judge Volkman left his chair at least five times during court for up to 10 minutes at a time. While I felt the slowness of court, I could only imagine how people waiting to be called felt.

While people are required to show up on time for their court cases, the court seems to move and function on its own time, not understanding the full effect that it has on people’s lives. Showing up to court is a job for judges, guards, administrators, clerks, lawyers, and more, but it is a highly disruptive obligation and potentially life-harming sentence for defendants.

Reflections of a Court Watcher

I wake up at 7:00 AM every Friday morning, anxious about going to court. Although my feelings could never be as intense as those I assume defendants probably experience, I still worry about the outcomes from what happens in the court each and every Friday. Since details about every single case is public information -- thank you, WebCriminal! -- my view of defendants mimics what I imagine judges see before they arraign an individual. Court Watchers can imagine what kind of person defendants are based on their view of the charges, guess how much money they have depending on whether they have a private lawyer or not, or even assess their behavior based on when the defendant was born. One can make up a whole thought process of how the case will go based on that implicit bias from the information on WebCriminal alone.

I am new to the court system in Poughkeepsie City Court. The anxiety I have gets worse when I sit and watch the case in court because situations don’t get personal until the statistics I read online show up in the form of a human being. In the current political climate, it’s easy for someone to worry about the way the criminal justice system works. However, my time court watching has shown me both the good and the bad of the system. I have seen Public Defenders offer their clients helpful support, thorough preparation, and care. I have seen judges who try to make decisions that would produce the best outcome for the defendant. Court personnel and others try to make the place friendlier, sometimes.

The problem is that Poughkeepsie City Court may have good intentions, but poor execution. For example, I have seen many instances in which threats are made to the defendant to do the “right” thing. “I can make the Public Defender come to visit you? Do you want that?” - a sly way to say the judge will put you in jail for not going to see whether you qualify for a public defender. "Have these fines paid in full by the next court appearance or you will be going to jail … Both dockets must be paid on this date or pack a toothbrush.” I didn't know you could go to jail for the inability to pay. Why do people consistently use jail as a fear tactic? “If it takes a year in jail [for you] to get the record straight, so be it.” Where is the judicial impartiality?

In one case that stood out to me, a preliminary hearing was scheduled on the day’s docket. Upon her appearance, however, the assistant district attorney announced: “I’m willing to go through with the hearing, but the new offer will be a prison sentence. I originally offered 10 months.” A preliminary hearing is used to determine whether there is enough evidence to require a trial or continued attention. Is the new offer of a harsher punishment being used as a scare tactic to circumvent the trouble of revealing evidence that could undermine her case?

In Court Watch, you get to see and learn a lot about the criminal justice system. This observational experience allows me to see how many kinds of charges were brought up for specific individuals. I appreciate my role in this process because my presence is helping to make sure that judges, DAs and other personnel are held accountable. Self-regulating no longer works in the criminal justice system -- true justice requires a community effort.