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Citizens Get A Peek At Court SystemMonday, September 20, 2010 Is the local court system anything like what you’ve seen on NBC’s Law and Order? Maybe not completely. But getting a behind-the-scenes look at how things work is pretty darn exciting, at least to folks like Williamsburg resident Nathan Moore, who participated in the Williamsburg/James City County General District Court’s “Citizen Court Academy” a few years back.
Want to go?
While the Citizen Court Academy is all about educating the public, reservations are required because seating is limited. Make your reservation by calling the sheriff's department at 564-2220. The annual Academy, to be held this year in October, gives the general public a better understanding about how the court system works through presentations by various professionals from judges and attorneys to a local sheriff. There will also be tours and a mock arraignment. Maybe it is a teeny bit like Law and Order. Moore heard about the Academy and thought it sounded neat, so he decided to sign up. He says he was one of the few folks under 55 in the group, but he had a good time. What he found most interesting was learning about the jail process, and how inmates are moved from jail, to court and back. He also really enjoyed the mock bond hearing. Bond hearings are often held via video conferencing, with the inmate still at the jail. During the academy, participants get to see what it’s like watching a bond hearing from the courtroom. When a police officer came to talk about traffic issues and brought along a radar gun for participants to play with, that seemed to be a highlight for everyone, Moore says with a laugh. “I’d encourage people to take it,” he says about the Academy. “I just went because it was neat, but I learned a lot.” The upcoming Academy offers sessions one evening a week for three weeks. This year the line-up includes presentations given by General District Court Judge Colleen Killilea, Sheriff Bob Deeds and Virginia Munoz, Chief Magistrate from the 9th Judicial District, in the first week. They’ll cover an overview of the Court system in Virginia, the duties and responsibilities of the Sheriff and Magistrate’s Office, and the types of cases handled in each level of Virginia courts, and participants will get a tour of the courthouse.The second week will focus on criminal matters in General District Court and will include presentations by Commonwealth’s Attorney Nate Green and attorney Tom Turbeville. The attorneys will discuss probation, pre-trial services and the victim-witness program. They’ll also talk about the classification of crimes and courtroom criminal procedure, and demonstrate the courthouse/jail video arraignment system. The last day of the Academy will include a presentation by the Chief Judge of the Virginia Court of Appeals, Walter S. Felton, Jr., who will talk about the role of that court in Virginia’s judicial system. Attorney Michael Heikes will talk about civil and traffic matters in General District Court, including the types of cases handled in civil court, the court’s jurisdictional dollar limits, and the role of mediation. The traffic segment of the Academy will cover laws on DUIs and traffic infractions and a discussion (with demonstration) of some police issues, including radar, checkpoints, and the use of the alco-sensor.
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Wanted to share with you a high school program this educator created and utilized for some time. American gorvernment classes were taught the basics of our three branches of government, using the U.S. Constitution and the mentorship of real participants. In particular, for the Judicial Branch, after learning those important basics, a judge, lawyers, prosecutors, State and local police and even an ABC Agent were invited to the classes, for a brief intro and then the all-important Q & A. For the conclusion of the Judicial Branch basics, the classes were invited to spent the morning with our local Williamsburg/JC C Courthouse, sitting in on REAL cases in court.
When there was a break between cases, the students had an opportunity to ask questions about a case. AND...Judge Zepkin always took a few minutes, from the Bench, to field questions.
More...later, we visited, downstairs, the "holding lockup" for more REAL Q & A. What a learning session each semester, with tens of hundreds of students!! The students did it!