We got to visit real courtrooms!
On June 12th, the grade 7s visited the downtown Vancouver law courts to watch real trials in progress and observe the roles of justice system professionals: judges, lawyers, sheriffs, and court clerks. Participants may see witnesses and the accused in court. There may also be the possibility to see a jury trial. You got to meet a judge and a lawyer for 30 minutes each to ask about their role and experience in the justice system.
- I think this court setting is important because _______ .
- Some important concepts are _____________ . Or the big idea is ____________ .
- see blue sentence starters for other response ideas click here
I think this setting was important because the court is a serious and respectful place. There are two types of courts. One type is the civil court (where two individuals can’t decide and ask a judge or jury to decide their case). Then you got the criminal court, where if you’re accused of a crime (like murder, thief, robbery, etc.) you’ll end up here. Now the thing that stunned me was how respectful the accused lawyer was to the opponent. Phrases like ‘my friend’ really shows how respectful the court really is. The court is also really important because if we didn’t have court, criminals could be roaming free, and have no punishment to their actions. Free and happily doing crimes. So like we need a court.
I too was stunned about how respectful the lawyers were to each other calling each other my friend. I also agree on how we are lucky to have a system like a court system or either criminal would roam free without any justice done against them.
yeah if there were criminals roaming around without a punishment. I think half the world would be dead.
It’s wonderful that you understood and respected the court house. I wasn’t at the court house but this really gave me an idea about what you guys saw and learned there.
I agree to you Laurance and I liked how they discuss the different categories of law and courthouse.
very nice, you did well on putting your ideas.
My time at the courthouse was a truly memorable moment which I will never forget until I probably get in to high school. Which, is why I am going to tell you three important things about the court house. First, I’m going to tell you why the setting of the court house is so important. Secondly, I will tell you the important concepts about it. Lastly, I am going to explain why I think it’s important to learn about court.
Firstly, I think that the court setting is important because it teaches people how to be respectful. Even when the lawyers are saying each other are wrong or both dislike each other they still call one another my friend which is an I find stunning because even if one of the lawyers are defending a possible murderer the other lawyer is still very respectful. It is not just with other lawyers it also with judges. When a person who is in trial and they are not satisfied or disagree with either the Jury or Judge decision they don’t break out and make a scene they just keep it to themselves and not let it disturb the courtroom.
Secondly, the important concepts or the big ideas of the court house is to be fair and just. For example pretend you and another associate are having a fight about who gets more of the money that you guys both made. But, you guys can’t come up with the solution so you have another party vote on who gets it, and there is where the civil court comes in. Since, the courthouse is supposed to be a completely non-bias they can decide on who is right and who is wrong or on who gets the money or on who doesn’t get the money. Another big idea is that the court house is built in a way that they would rather let a criminal go than to convict an innocent. Basically when a judge or a jury is deciding if the person is guilty or innocent there has to be 99% doubt to none for them to convict the person guilty or innocent or there will be a mistrial.
Lastly, the reason why you or other people should learn about court is because
you can understand that it’s not just people arguing with each other like how you see in movies or tv shows. Court is a place where people go through a fair and honest process where other people judge them. It’s also important to learn about court house because you can get to understand how people build cases that can put people away, but not with violence, but with using a person’s words which has more power than any weapons can ever have.
In conclusion, the time I had at the Vancouver Supreme Court was a truly educational and memorable moment about law and how justice can be served in a mannerly way. But, I also had a bit of fun hearing the cases that the lawyers had to present to the judge to prove to them that the person is guilty or why I should get that. It is also an experience that I would like everybody to see and feel. So, if you ever have a bit of spare time maybe like an hour or two go down to the Vancouver Supreme Court and watch some of the trials or cases that are open to the public. Trust me it is worth the time.
Nick, I didn’t read the whole thing, but I can tell you put a lot of effort.
I also think that kids should learn about the court system so they would know how criminals get put away and it could also be a great career choice. Another thing is that you said the court system is absolute because if you wanted to convict a person the judge or either the jury have to have absolute 0 doubt.
The visit to the Vancouver Supreme Court was really worth my time too. Meeting that judge was really awesome. The job is a really serious job to do, you need to go to university and be in a program for about 2 to 4 years. Next, you have to get a bachelors degree to get into a recognized law school. Then, complete a bar admission course and exam to get your license. Then, you need the job as a practicing lawyer for at least 10 years with your experience to at least be a provincial court judge. So really it takes a lot of time and effort, but the salary pays off.
Laurence, I enjoyed talking to the judge. and yes the job is very serious.
This is Mustafa. your comment is long but i enjoyed it -_-
Wow that gave me a lot to think about. I think It’s cool how much you learned and understood about what happened at the court house and gave a good amount of facts and information.
It looks like you put a lot of work in this. I enjoyed reading this.
I relate to you when you say the Supreme Court was an educational and memorable trip.
Nick Excellent work. Why? well because you have a lot to say in just one day in the court you can write a blog this long that is very impressive.
I think you really did a wonderful job, especially on how much ideas and effort you put in it. \(‘=u=’)/
Nick Excellent work. Why? well because you have a lot to say in just one day in the court. You must have observed very well just to write a blog this long.
Very nice, I can see that you put in a lot of effort.
nick, you really put a lot of effort in this. nice work!
When I went to the courthouse it reminded of when I went to the courthouse in India. One thing that I noticed that the way of talking to each other between the crown attorney or the judge. I also noticed that the way how they talk to the criminal is totally different. The most important part, in my opinion, the most interesting part of going to the courthouse was asking questions to the judge and the crown attorney. This whole courthouse journey was familiar for me because my uncle is a lawyer and I have been to the court house several times with him.
It is interesting how the courthouse in India is different. I would like to know how they are different like are they less kind or just a different system of court .
wow when my grandma watches Indian shows where they go to court it is way more violent than I thought
It’s awesome that you have been to the court house before. It sounds like you guys have fun at the court house.
Yeah, asking questions. That was very interesting to do because I never got to talk directly to a JUDGE before.
i like the way you put your own history and you did well on putting your thoughts.
hi this is Mustafa this setting was important because the court is a serious and a respectful place .there is two types of courts . one is Provincial Court, and the other one is appeal court. The court is also really important because if we didn’t have court, criminals could be every where free, and have no punishment to their crimes. Free and happily doing crimes. So that’s why we need a court.
I agree with your reasons why to have a court, Mustafa.
I agree that the courthouse is a serious and respectful place. I also think that you are right about being lucky to have a court system or we would have criminal running around.
I never knew there were actually two types of courts. I thought all cases would just go to one case. Also, I never knew juries could decide the case. So yeah a really educational visit.
My experience at the courthouse was very interesting because it was nothing like the movies where the criminal and the victim would start fighting, it was the opposite! It was so quiet except when the judges were talking. I think this court setting is important because there are laws and if people didn’t follow the laws then they would get sent to court, but if court’s didn’t exist then humans would probably be extinct right now, or everyone would just hate each other. Also with courts, sometimes one crime case can open up another case because if a person kills one person, he/she would maybe have killed another person in the past but didn’t get caught.
I think the big idea is that us kids need to learn more about society and how it could really affect someone emotionally because now a day, with phones, people don’t really know what’s going on in the real world because the internet is full of fake news that kids fall for and sometimes could get us in trouble.
At first, when we came in the courtroom, I thought it was pretty boring because in movies, you would see people fighting and we didn’t really know what the cases were about because we weren’t there since day one, but when we started getting more into what happened, it actually kind of gave me chills because as a kid, you wouldn’t even think of doing those things and sometimes it make you think about why the person did those things and why innocent people get in trouble.
I’m getting a different picture here because before you pick a side, you would have to hear from both sides of the story because you never know why the person actually did that, of course it is still bad to do illegal things but maybe the ‘victim’ also committed a crime.
I agree it was nothing like the movies. it was more peaceful and kind.
I think this court setting is important because tv show courtrooms it is loud and disrespectful but in the courtroom, they all called each other my friend or my lord/lady.
Some important concepts that I saw were that the accused never talked out of turn or really talked at all.
I think the setting of the courtroom was important because it was quiet and there was no talking unless it was your turn to speak. In the courtroom, everyone had a role to play.
I wonder how the man who was sent to prison for murder and got another man to murder the witness feels now that he has been caught for the second time.
I wanted to go and watch family court because I wished to see what my parents went through when they got divorced and when they were fighting for custody.
Same! I also wonder how it feels being the accused in courts facing a judge.
Your comment was so outstanding. Keep up the good work! 😀
Visiting the courthouse was really fun and interesting because the first case that we watched was a conspiracy murder case with teenager that told another teenager to kill some other teenager but he shot the mother instead and for me that was the most interesting case because i could under stand it really well and the other cases were really confusing. At the end the class talked to a judge and a lawyer and we asked questions to them and it was really interesting how they answered our questions one of them was what is your morning routine which was really funny. When we were waiting for the sky train Ms Smith let us get ice cream and i want to thank her.
I agree I also want to thank Ms. Smith for that ice cream break. It was really fun.
I agree. I would also like to say thank you to Miss Smith for giving us this experience.
I thought the courthouse was interesting too.
Our trip to the Vancouver law courts even though was very fun, had very serious cases. We got to see the worst parts of some peoples lives. We saw a variety of charges against people such as firearm possession, drug-trafficking, even conspiracy to murder. It was a very eye-opening experience seeing the real thing versus what I’d watch on TV.
I think this setting was very important because the courts are the places where life-altering decisions are made. One choice made by the judge or jury could change someone’s life for the better, or for the worse. For example, if someone robbed your house and killed your child in the process, it would mean a lot to you for the judge to give the culprit a long sentence for some closure. On the other hand, it would change the person who did the crime’s life for a long time because they would have to spend the rest of their life in prison. Lots of decisions both small and large are made inside those courtrooms and for that reason, that setting is very important.
An important concept of the court I’d say would be that judges shouldn’t be biased. If the judges were biased there would be many unfair decisions made. If someone lost a case just because the judge didn’t like their race, gender, sexuality that would ruin all the “just” and “fair” decisions made. Some judges still are biased against certain people and it is wrong, everyone should be treated fairly no matter who they are. To me, that is a key concept in court.
In conclusion, the courts were very interesting to see, I got to see the accused, real courtrooms, the beautiful glass ceiling it was a very nice experience. I hope in the future I can go court watching again.
Same i would love to go court watching again.
Same I would go to the court again.
I agree it was a very eye-opening experience
My first experience at the courthouse was very exciting because i enjoy watching these kinds of situations in TV shows. This mostly reminds me of my oldest brother, because he has a problem in court. I think this court setting is important because some people are giving harm to countries, cities, or provinces. Some people make sever mistakes, but some has been planning on doing these illegal things.
I think the big idea is that Ms. Smith brought us to the courthouse for us to understand on how breaking the laws or making big mistakes can get extremely serious. In court you have to be very respectful. You are not aloud to talk or stand and specifically do not make any noise.
I like the part where people are willing to help these people with big problems and mistakes. But sometimes people are put to jail even though they are innocent. I dislike the part where some people are almost heartless because of the illegal and terrible things they have done to others.
The courtroom was something I enjoyed watching as well.
I enjoyed going to the courthouse as well!!
I think this court setting is important because the court is a solemn place. In the courtroom when the judge talks or other people talk they say, my friend or my lady, that’s how they respect each other in the courtrooms and even outside of the courtroom. The courtroom is always open to the public unless there is something wrong. The important idea is that we need a court. Without it our planet would be a very violent place. Also the court is not just about crimes it’s about money and family problems. What would it be like without the court there would be a lot of people fighting for money and family concerns. I read this on the internet “An open society means an open court”
“Without it our planet would be a very violent place.”
I agree the planet without a way to solve stuff would cause a lot of violence.
This reminds me of the time I went to the courthouse watching with my sister and my father. It was also this year. The first time I went to the court house (with my sister and my father) it wasn’t that fun, but the second time I went I saw MORE. I saw more interesting ones. Ones that had crime, ones that had mystery. I also really liked that they all listened to each other. They were polite. The lawyers called each other their friend. It didn’t feel like they were fighting. It was formal. It was calm. It was a valuable experience because I got to spend it with my friends.
an important concepts are you HAVE to be quiet.
I want to go court watching again too.
Same i would love to go court watching again.
I think that this court setting is important because it’s a type of surrounding that shows real people and what they have been doing in real life including them doing really low standards of matter which I find quite interesting watching what was going on in the area which was the courtroom and what really interested me was that everyone in the room managed to remain quiet the whole entire time and they no one even said a word in the room which really came to my surprise because our class is never this quiet and so interested in such a sensitive topic on what was going on in the courtroom which means a lot of people must of had tons of interest on what was going on for example conspiracy murder, murder, firearm possession, and drug possession which are very serious topics that should have very appropriate behaviour to observe about.
Some important concepts are to remember to be respectful when at the courtroom by not talking the whole entire time if you are an audience, standing up and taking a seat back down before the judges say anything at the courtroom (even the suspect), to leave at the appropriate timing if you’re willing to leave in the middle of the trial and you should be quiet at all times when your’e leaving as well. Lastly, to never talk about what happened at the courtroom because you might make a comment about what happened in the courtroom in front of the victim’s family friend, friend, or someone who might have been against the victim and what you might say could really effect them, the family, or the whole trial itself which could actually happen so that’s why I would recommend if you were to talk about what you saw at a courtroom it should be outside when you leave so no one around you could be upset about it.
I think this setting was truly an important and memorable moment that I will never forget. Well, I might forget when I get older. Since this trip was such a big experience I will be listing three reasons why going to the courthouse was so important.
Firstly, going to the courthouse was important because they show you how to be respectful even when you are arguing with someone. When the lawyers were arguing with for their client they would call them `My friend`. Which shows how serious and respectful they are.
Secondly, the courthouse is important because without it we would have criminals on the loose, chaos, and bad things would happen.
And lastly, going to the courthouse was important because it shows you what it is like in the real world. It would open peoples eyes on how serious somethings are. For example, many people are so caught up in their own world they forget whats going on in the world (murders, human trafficking, and many more.) But the one thing that confused me the most was this one case because my group came in the middle of a case (which I can not specify) and we did not understand what was happening.
In conclusion, I think that going to the courthouse was an incredible experience. Most cases stunned me when I heard about them and some were boring. But I would definitely remember this.
I would never forget the memorable moment at the courtroom too!
1. I think this court setting is important because _______ .
I think this court setting is important because it is formal and a serious place of business. Everyone there looks formal and acts formal. Each courtroom has it’s own issue, like car disputes, taxes, and all that. But the real disputes (or cases) I think are in the huge courtrooms. The disputes in the huge courtrooms are, firearms, 1st degree or 2nd degree murder, sexual assault, robbery, and a bunch more. I think the setting of the courtrooms make it more calm and safe for the people in it, like the Jury, the Judge, and the spectators, that might not be all of them but it is the people I know that are mostly there.
2. Some important concepts are _____________ . Or the big idea is ____________ .
Some important concepts or the big idea is that the courthouse is a civilized place that find ways to solve disputes.
3. See blue sentence starters for other response ideas.
I had difficulty understanding most disputes in each courtroom. When you go to a courtroom that you don’t understand, it gets boring. I fell asleep in one courtroom because I didn’t know what was going on. So my group woke me up and we left the courtroom. That’s what I dislike the most, when you don’t know what someone is talking about.
All right at first, I thought the courthouse field trip would be a waste of time, like sitting in a courtroom with these cases you don’t even know about, and all these fancy words, like bruh, come on. But when we got and started talking about the serious felonies, and time you would do from them, it started getting…I guess a little scary. I am not a patient person, I can Not sit in a courtroom for 7 months and not say a word. But never the less, at least I don’t have to.
I think court plays an important role in the world, cause it can determine a persons future. You can be either innocent or guilty, basically the innocent is the person that did not do the thing that there being accused of. Guilty means, responsible for the specific wrongdoing.
Some important concepts are? or the big idea?
important concepts of court are rallying, fighting, and to win the case.
The big idea is to defend your client, (crown council) and the person that’s trying to prove the accused guilty, (prosecutor).
I think this court setting is important because it is respect, quiet, and serious. It really sets the mood and it is respectful to be serious and quiet. It would be really rude if you were loud and the judges would probably have to continuously tell you to be quiet. The judge already has a hard enough job to solve the case. The thing that really surprised and amazed me was how respectful the accused lawyer was to the opponent. They use phrases like “my friend” because they are in a setting where they have to respect each other. If there was no such thing a court or a law then every crime that is happening now wouldn’t even be called a crime. We would just be able to do anything we want. I know that some people like a lot of freedom but too much freedom isn’t amazing for anybody. That is one of the reasons that court is amazing. Court is really amazing because it teaches you how to be respectful and it is also proper manners.
The big idea of the court was to teach kids about what society we live in and what is happening around us that are not always in technology. Here is a quote when we go on field trips. “ We are not going on a field trip to go on our phones the whole time, we are trying to unplug instead of plugging in”.
-Miss Smith
The court is showing us all this crime or divorces that are going on in people lives that most of us don’t experience in our daily lives. It is hard for these people to have this stuff going on in their life and we get to witness this in court. We get to see what they have to go through and how hard and long it takes.
At first, the building wasn’t that impressive at ground level and just had a clear roof with water for effect but, later on, I thought that it became tighter and more organized as we began the tour of the building and seeing the court casts before our own eyes. Before we got there Ms.Smith mentioned that the courthouse experience would be different from anything else we’d ever experienced before and she was right. Because we couldn’t talk about the cases in the halls or in the rooms since we could affect the opinion of the jury and can cause a mistrial because of it.
Something like keeping quiet when you need was a very important and a necessary concept as they wouldn’t get anywhere if they did. I think the most important point to get out is that everyone is respectful and always call each other friend and not speak over each other.
The court system is a very complex and fair system. All the levels of a court or the names and titles that are given, but I think being a judge or lawyer is very boring and I wouldn’t want to spend most of my life being in a courtroom. In all i think that the law courts was a cool place but just not for me but, i would like to return one day not for a case but just to watch whats happening in B.C. at the time.
I think this court setting is important because of the respect and honour of the crown councils and the workers, as well as the people who contribute to the place. Moreover, the fact that I saw the tremendous respect and honour to one another, made me think about the crown councils as how they communicated to each other. Eventually, I saw that they speak towards the judge and call the other “friend” and usually say something like this.” my friend said this but I disagree so i would say that…” toward the judge. For me, the basic gist is that people in the setting are truly , and highly, respectable and show honour when they speak, when they wait patiently for their turn, as well as talking amongst another toward the judge.
Some important concepts are that the court room is a room of business and is very quiet and most importantly, you shouldn’t talk about the case in the building at all because a witness or relative might over hear you while they are waiting to get called in and can have a different attitude towards the case after you’ve said something.
my latest thought about this field-trip was that how the criminal or the accused could handle the stress and anxiety from sitting there and hearing all of this stuff that he probably did or didn’t do; and not to say anything. I definitely wouldn’t be able to handle 5 minutes of that, but they have to do that for as long as 100 days.( anyhow between 2 hours or 100 days) depends on the case.
I think the court setting is important because it it shows a lot of respect and calmness regarding any type of situation. so being crazy wouldn’t solve problems when you’re in court.
the biggest idea is to balance the situation and hear both stories. once you have, you can sentance them and come to a conclusion that will help both sides.
My grade 7 students were excited to visit the Vancouver law courts and most definitely will remember it since it was different from anything else they’d ever experienced, right before their eyes. They were really surprised and amazed with how respectful, honourable, calm, quiet, and civilized it was when handling disputes and took away with them this necessary concept. It also opened their eyes to how serious some things are.
I think this court setting is important because
1.There important because there could be people fighting for custody of there kids. Another reason is for crimes like armed gun robbery and drugs so that’s why theirs court settings
2.Some important concepts are .That people are doing stuff illegal like selling cocaine and meth and those people need to be convicted