The Law of Civil Procedure - Court Observation - Assignment Example

The Law of Civil Procedure - Court Observation Last week I attended the San Jose Supreme Court for the hearing of a civil case presided by the honorable judge Derek Woodhouse. The plaintiff was a young lady a one Ms. Clare Robinson and the respondent was Dardi Limousines a San Jose Limousine rentals service firm. Ms. Clare was represented by a very young attorney Ms. Torres Ross and attorney for the defendant was Mr. Parkinson a reputable attorney from a very famous law firm here in San Jose. The case was before a 12 panel of jurors; seven males and five female jurors. The most intriguing thing about the jurors was that they were all not peers and their ethnicity cut through the races in all of America from Latin Americans, black Americans, Asian American and several Native Americans. The plaintiff was asking for 5million in damages as compensation for the accident. When the court clerk announced all rise, the court was brought to attention and the honorable judge entered in his flowing robes. He called the case and asked for the plaintiff’s attorney to give her opening statement. She was very passionate about the case and at the same time ensured that she held the juror’s attention from the beginning to end. Ms. Clare Robinson was ran over by a limousine belonging to the defendant firm and as a result one of her leg and hand were amputed. The court heard how the two parties had negotiated for a settling outside the court until the plaintiff felt that the defendants were frustrating her efforts. The Plaintiff’s attorney stated that the defendants were slowing down the process that the both parties had agreed would bring justice to Ms. Clare Robinson. Keeping in Mind that the statute of limitation for civil cases in San Jose is six months, the plaintiff felt that it was best to seek court intervention. Apart from a few objections from the defendant’s attorney; which most were denied by the judge, the plaintiff’s attorney rested her case after explaining to the jury the intensity of her client’s injuries and the implications of such injuries on her life. Next, it was Mr. Parkinson’s turn and he was obviously disliked by most of the jurors, most who could not hide their sneers at his remarks. The entire board of the Dardi Limousines must have been present in the court that day and all start immediately behind their chairman who was currently having a hard time in the hot seat. After the opening statement from both sides, the court was adjourned till after lunch when both sides will call their witnesses to testify starting with the plaintiff. At 2pm, the court was fully packed and it was obvious that this was a high profile case with all the attention it was receiving from the members of the fourth estate. The bailiff announced the arrival of the judge and once he was seated, we did too and it was time for the first witness. Plaintiff’s attorney called to the stand an eye witness who had seen the whole accident and Ms. Torres Ross lead her through her testimony before handing her over to the defendant. It was evident that Mr. Robinson was waiting to devour the witness but she maintained her calm in a very elegant manner and even made some jokes which the jury and the audience laughed at. The whole afternoon was marked by a witness after another from the plaintiff’s side and finally the defendant was asked to call their witnesses to the stand. By 5pm, the were no more witnesses and the juror were instructed by the judge on how to deliberate bearing in mind that it was their constitutional duty to deliver justice where it was due. After 8 hours of deliberation, the judge called in the attorneys whom he had a short conversation with indicating to them a note that was obviously from the jurors. Whatever the note indicated it was obvious that victory was on the way for the plaintiff because, although she tried not to show any emotion, it was obvious that she was very exited. After a few minutes, the jury was back and the media was all over the court. After asking the jury whether they had reached a verdict, the judge asked the foreman to hand it over to the clerk who in turn gave it to the judge. I must commend him for his emotionless face because he gave away no indication whatsoever of what the verdict might be. The verdict was given back to the foreman and everybody could feel the intensity of the silence in the courtroom. The foreman stated… “We members of the jury find in favour of the plaintiff in the amount of 6million U.S. dollars.” The courtroom went berserk, the media running all over to be the first to break the news to the world and deliver the most awaited news. The Dardi board had already left the courtroom and Ms. Clare’s family was embracing her and congratulating her attorney on the big win; this was the highest amount of civil case compensation in San Jose. I learnt that in civil cases it is very important to ensure that the plaintiff files a suit as soon as possible because after the statute of limitation is over, then there is nothing that the court can do for the plaintiff (Shaukat, 978). I also learnt different types of damages in civil cases, punitive damages, compensatory damages, discretionary damages and general damages (Shaukat, 981). I learnt that punitive damages are those which are awarded to a plaintiff as a punishment to the defendant as a punishment for their negligent actions. Compensatory damages on the other hand are those that cover the cost that was incurred by the plaintiff to treat the injury or medication bills. Finally, discretionary damages are those that which are a compensation for the psychological torture the plaintiff went through after the injury/accident (Shaukat, 990). I learnt a big lesson that attorney’s need a lot of knowledge which does not all come from the books we read in class. They require people skills; for instance, Ms. Torres ensured that the jury liked her feminine nature and she completely toned down her dress code so that she would fit in with most of the persons in the jury. O n the other hand, Mr. Robinson clearly lost points there because he did not make any attempts to be liked by the jury. He seemed not to care whether they liked him or not. Passion is also an important ingredient when defending your client. Works Cited Mahmood, Shaukat. The law of civil procedure; a detailed and exhaustive commentary on the Code of civil procedure, 1908, as amended up-to-date,. Lahore: Pakistan Law Times Publications, 196364. Read More