The Day I Went to Court in France…
So yesterday, I went to court. But don’t worry! It was for a class! (As an aside, I find myself continuously wanting to write French metaphors and idiomatic phrases, except in English, and then I realize that they don’t really make sense in English.) Next week, I have to give an oral presentation for my course, Le Métier de juge (The Job of a Judge, basically). The topic is a summary of the events that happened yesterday. I’m really scared, because I admittedly only understood about half of it, but if anything I can always just summarize an episode of Law & Order.
The court I went to was an appellate court, and I’m not sure what even an American appellate court is, so it’s hard for me to compare. However, it was certainly interesting. The cases that we heard were either about transporting and possessing drugs, or transporting or possessing prohibited weapons. I actually sat right next to the judges (there were three of them, plus a court clerk at the right, and then the attorney general that sits on the left), as opposed to in front of them with the rest of the public. I got to see their notes (though, from personal experience, the French are not known for their legible handwriting) and see them shuffle through files and look things up while the trials went on.
From what I can tell, there were two sorts of cases. The first case seemed to be people that had their appeals and just came before the judge for re-evaluation. The second was a lot longer, where the people would come before the judge and basically have [what I consider] a typical trial. The judge asks them for their personal information, there’s a summary of the story, the attorney general asks questions, then the defendant’s attorney asks questions. Then, the attorney general gives his argument, followed by the argument of the defendant’s attorney. After that, the judge dismisses the defendant and the verdict is announced at a later date - something like a month ahead. I told the one of the judges I was expecting that they would have the verdict then and there, but he said that they need to consult papers and previous trials to figure out what to do.
The actual atmosphere was very interesting. On one hand, it was very tranquil and laid back. Other attorneys for the following cases would come up to the clerk and ask questions, the judge next to me would get on the computer to look at the schedule, and the judges would openly go through their files while the trial was going on. Sometimes defendants wouldn’t come (most often they were “gravely sick”) and would just be represented by their attorneys, and the judges never seemed annoyed by this. People laughed and joked and it was sort of jovial. But, on the other hand, there was still a sense in the air that this was indeed a court and serious matters were at hand. The judges maintained their authority, and the attorney general kept people on their toes by changing his intonations from calm to forceful in a matter of seconds. I of course understand the necessity of the judges to exact their power in dealing with criminals, but at the same time the two sides of the atmosphere seemed so distinct.
There are two trials that I’ll briefly summarize: The first one was about a man who was looking to appeal his case. He had been caught with possession and consumption and dealing of drugs. The guy was required to pay a fine, but he said that he didn’t have any money. It was soon revealed that he had recently bought a car. The judges, amused, as how this was possible, and the guy said that he bought it for a good deal from his brother.
The other trial: Four men (though only three were present, as the other one was, of course, “gravely sick”) had been driving around late one night, looking to go clubbing. One way or another, they were pulled over by the police. Upon investigation, the police found a baseball bat and two prohibited guns in the car. I have no idea why having a baseball bat is so important, but it was often mentioned in the case. (I guess it’s because it was in conjunction with the guns?) So the judges asked why they had the guns, and the guys said that they had the intentions of using them in making a video clip. When asked what kind of video clip, they explained that it was a “gangster” clip and that in most gangster videos, there are guns everywhere. The judges then asked why didn’t they bother to get plastic guns, which don’t have the capacity to kill people, instead of real guns? And the guys didn’t seem to have a proper answer.
So yeah, that was my day yesterday. It was extremely fatiguing, 1) Because it’s rough to sit there for three hours, listening to people, and 2) It’s even rougher to sit there and listen in French. I, uh, just hope that my presentation goes well next week.
