The following student report was submitted by Ambassador League Agent Natalie W. during the 2008-2009 League.
Mission: Observe - Local Trial
Eleven teenagers piled into the vans and we headed to Lansing. We were going to the 54th district court where Judge Frank DeLuca was presiding. It was freezing temperatures and the wind made things even worse as we walked a few blocks to reach the courthouse. After passing through a metal detector all of us loaded in to the elevator. As we waited to see which trial we attended it was easy to see that this was a dreary and dismal place. Eventually a lady came and escorted us to a room where a hearing was taking place.
We entered the small room and took a seat in the pews. The trial was already under way and the defense attorney was questioning the plaintiff. This case involved armed robbery and fleeing the authorities. It was a pre-trial, meaning that a jury had not been brought in yet to weigh in on the case. The prosecutor did a very good job in her question and in the points she made. The defendant’s attorney however was not very sharp. He asked the same question over and over again, and was difficult to follow.
The plaintiff seemed very nervous when being questioned by the defense attorney or prosecutor. His story was always changing and he did not seem like a very honest man. I believed most of his case, but he did not make a very strong case. The plaintiff claimed that the defendant had forced his way into this man's house and struggled with him for sometime. The defendant apparently wanted this man’s money and had brought a gun along to enforce his endeavor. The plaintiff's girlfriend was in the bathroom upstairs and had called the police. The gunman fled the scene when the police arrived.
Then two policemen were brought in to testify against the criminal. One police officer claimed that he had almost been run over by the criminal. The defendant had driven directly at the policeman intending to hit him, and he would have been hit if the officer had not jumped out of the way. Another policemen had tried to chase the criminal down but he was able to escape due to the icy roads. The policemen’s stories were more convincing. They answered the questions straight on and were very easy to understand.
Judge DeLuca found the defendant guilty on three of the four counts. The criminal would be responsible for being at the next trial, where a jury would be attending.
