Courthouse Visit

After calling the Calendar Department and scheduling my visit for May 7, 2014 at 9 am, went to the Santa Clara County Superior Civil Court on 191 N SST SST, San Jose, CA 951 13. SSL entered the building, was greeted by several court officials wearing badges. Proceeded to empty my pockets, remove my watch and belt and then walked through a metal detector. There's something about putting your belt on in a public setting that is fascinating. The bulletin board indicated that the trial I was to attend was taking place in Department 8 on the third floor of the building. Seed the elevator to get to the third floor and walked through the double doors into the courtroom. The bailiff immediately recognized me as a student. Judge Maureen A Flan was the presiding judge for the trial. Further research for the case showed that the case (#1 JOVANOVICH) was filed on November 2, 2010 by Austria Limited against several different people and entities in the matter of fraud. From ha TTL gathered, both t he plaintiff and defendants were in business together attempting to build a company that specializes in hosting data centers on ships for security purposes.There was a lot of money involved and the plaintiff may or may not have been siphoning money from the company's capital funds. Two witnesses were called to the stand during my visit, Mr.. Kenneth Choc and Ms. Lillian Valued. Each spent a lot of time reviewing exhibits. Mr.. Choc is one of the defendants who owns one of the businesses involved in the case. He was being asked about a lot of different p paperwork he did and emails he sent. Ms. Valued is the Assistant Branch Manager for CitiBank in Saratoga.She reviewed bank statements and wire transfer documents that involved both pa reties. Honestly, it was hard not to fall asleep. I was very uncomfortable sitting for the entire two hours Of questioning. Also felt bad for the attorneys who had to stand awkwardly because they were also trying to lean closer to the microphone so they could be heard. At first, I didn't even think the judge was paying attention. It looked like she was doing her own thing as the witnesses were questioned, but occasionally she would chime in and it was then clear that she was busy taking notes of her own. Hint the biggest upset to me was the lack of gavel usage. Overall, it was a good experience. Not only does a courthouse visit give a person more motivation to keep their nose clean but it was also an eye opener for anyone, like myself, who would like to go into business for themselves. Choose your partners wisely and always keep everything documented. Court Official Interview Name and title of person interviewed: Robert Mencken, J. D. , Attorney at Law How long have you served the courts? Almost 6 years Where did you go to school?Baylor University School of Law What was your most memorable moment on the job? Would say when recently I helped a couple that was being sued get an agree meet from the other side that dropped the case. I t is what they wanted from the beginning Eng, and I was really glad to get it for them. What was your most challenging moment on the job? When had a client lie to me, to which I put my own reputation on the line for, and then found out about the lie (that he had not done drugs, when in fact he had, and he drug test confirmed it).It was a learning experience, which makes me much more care u', but also less trusting. It's both a good thing that it happened, and a shame that it had t o. How has the court system changed in the past few years? In my state it has changed significantly because of tort reform and politics. Tort reform has affected the way that lawyers analyze cases, what cases they take, and who at the future Of the profession is going to be. Politics is always a force Of change where Jud gees are either appointed or elected, because politics ultimately are what get them into office.And the practice of law changes based upon the beliefs of the judges that are info arcing an d interpreting that law. What recommendations would you make to students who want to become De actuated? If you mean students that might want to be lawyers, I would say make sure the tatty really do want that. Observe how lavaÐ’Â »years act and what they do in court. Make sure t hat you want to do all of the things that lawyers do, not just the â€Å"fun† or â€Å"glamorous† ones. And of course, study hard, and make good grades. It makes a huge difference whew n you're applying for law schools.