Since Selby is out in the middle of no where and it was a relatively small court day with only 5 offenders, the judge appeared over the TV from Aberdeen so he didn't have to make the trip. I had never heard of this or seen it before so that was a new experience. I'm not sure if I liked the "feeling" of court without the judge physically present - I think it loses some of it's meaning without all parties there, but that's just my opinion after the first time. From what I heard, it's pretty common around that area and in the State of South Dakota because judges have to travel to so many different counties. I can definitely see it being beneficial during the winter with bad weather when it's not safe to travel on the roads. Tim also brought me over to tour the county jail in Selby which was an experience in itself! It was great to see, but I would never want to go back. There is honestly no way to explain it that would do justice - It should be somewhere every young child should have to tour and experience so they know what is coming when the law is broken.
On Tuesday, I went to MORE court right in Spink County which is located right in Redfield where I work. I try to go to court right in town each time it is held every other week. There were many interesting cases and hearings that I got to sit through on Tuesday... Some more difficult to hear than others, but also some that lightened the mood like adoption cases! The picture above is the inside of the Spinky County courthouse that I took above during an intermission period (not sure if I'm supposed to do that...)!
On Tuesday, I had the chance to sit down with Kimberly who is the Deputy State's Attorney over in Huron, SD. She was there for court that day and gave me several dates that I could come sit-in on court over there and shadow/work with her. So on Wednesday, I headed over to Huron to meet up with Kimberly for a jury trial hearing for a rape case. It wasn't her specific case, but she told me it would be an interesting one for me to see. This morning they started with a jury selection then got right to the court process. It started with opening statements from the State Attorney and the Defense Attorney and then went right into calling witnesses for questioning and cross-examination. The first witness for the State was the actual victim of the rape... It was difficult to hear the story and watch, but beneficial to hear what she had to say. The rest of the afternoon was hearing from witnesses which will continue into tomorrow along with closing statements. From there it will be up to the jury if the defendant is guilty or not guilty. I texted my boss tonight and told him I'm going back to Huron tomorrow to hear the rest of the case :) It was too interesting today to just leave right in the middle!
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