As a student at SUNY Cortland, majoring in Communications with a concentration in journalism, I attended a court session at the Cortland Town Court with the goal of learning more about how a court session works and how we, future journalists, could report on cases during those sessions. Along the way, I also picked up a few observations about how you should behave in traffic court if you ever find yourself in that unfortunate position.
First Things First: Introduce Yourself
The first thing I did was to go to the Town Court a few days before the traffic court would be held and ask the front desk worker if it would be possible to observe a session. I explained that I was writing for a project for one of my classes and that I was interested in learning the procedures and system during a court session.
She said that since it’s an open session, it’s open to the public and that I wouldn’t get into any trouble for sitting there while taking notes on what was happening. She told me of the days and hours that the court would be in session. Traffic sessions happen every Mondays and Wednesdays, while criminal sessions tend to happen on a Monday every two weeks or so.
On Monday, April 21I went back to the Town Court for a traffic court session. Court attendees must pass through a security check before entering, and that was what I did next.
Six police officers stood near the security check and seeing them all there staring at me was very intimidating and made me wonder if I really wanted to go through with that report or if I should just pick a different topic for my assignment. I realized that turning around without any explanation would be worse and would somewhat make me look suspicious to them, so I gathered my courage and entered the room.
One of the police officers looked at me and asked me the reason of my visit to the court room. I told the officer about my class, and he let me in, saying that it was fine.
How the Session Works
The then officer explained how the court session would work. He said that they were holding a traffic session on that day. He said that I could stay for as long as I wanted and just so I could hear what the judge was saying better and have a better understanding of what was happening in each case, he said that I could sit at the chair next to the table where the court personnel would be.
I entered the court room, and as suggested by the police officer, I sit at the chair next to the judge, where in a jury trial court session, would be the designated spot for the jury. There were about 15 people in the courtroom waiting to have their ticket looked at, with the hope of having it waived or at least having the points on their license and ticket cost deducted.
One by one, the judge called out their names. Those who had their names called approached the front of the courtroom and were seated on the opposite side of the table where the judge was.
The judge then, in a sympathetic and calm manner, read the ticket and the information he had on the case for them. Then he would ask the person seating in front of him to explain the reason behind the traffic violation they had committed and that he had just read to everyone in court.
The traffic violators would then plead their case and explain why they had committed said violation, some presenting excuses about it, some just saying that they hadn’t realized they were doing something wrong. Next, the judge would decide what the initial violation would turn into, if they would actually have to pay the fine and have the original – already stablished by law, points added to their license or if they could have something deducted from the original amount.
All Types of Cases and Sentences
An example of one of the cases I saw on that day was of a man who had originally gotten a ticket for speeding. He was driving at 60 mph on a highway where the speed limit was 35 mph. He explained to the judge that it occurred on a Saturday night, when he was driving to Syracuse Airport with his son in the car to pick up his wife. He said that because it was so late in the night, he didn’t realize how fast he was going because there was no one else on the highway. The judge then said he understood the issue and that it was indeed dangerous to drive at night in Syracuse with a child in the car. The man had the original 6 points added to his driver’s license deducted to 3 and the ticket fee waived.
A second case that got my attention that day was of another traffic violator who had a speeding ticket but didn’t seem to care to provide an excuse for her speeding. She was going 98mph on a 55mph highway. The only explanation she provided was that she was rushing home. The judge said that this was a serious violation that would add many points to her driver’s license, and that she needed to take a driving course if she wanted to have some points deducted.
Another case involved a woman who may have been in her 50s or 60s. When the judge called her name, she approached the table in a nonchalant manner, different from all the other people who seemed to be anxious, worried. When the judge read to her what happened, he started the sentence with “I see here that you were put in handcuffs,” and started laughing.
The woman confirmed and said it was just a misunderstanding, that all was good. Her actual traffic violation was that her car wasn’t functioning properly, and the police approached her to notify her that she needed to fix the malfunctioning part of the car – the headlights. She didn’t respond to the police approach with respect, which was the reason why she ended up in hand cuffs.
Once all 15 people had their case judged, the room emptied out, and I stayed back with the judge and the police officer who allowed me to seat at the front.
Nothing to Be Scared of
The judge – who up until that point had no idea why I was sitting so close to him, asked me if I needed anything. I explained why I was there, and the police officer added that he was the one who suggested that I sat so up close at the “jury” table.
I thanked everyone for their time and left the courtroom. It was an interesting experience. I never thought of how a court session worked because I never had to attend one, hence, the very thought of being in court scared me.
However, there is nothing to be scared of. The judge, the police officers and the front desk were all very nice to me. The traffic violations people made weren’t “serious” enough that some bigger trouble could happen in court.
The Cortland Town Court, located in Terrace Road, is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Court sessions are held on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Crime sessions are held on Mondays every two weeks.