This week I spent my mornings in the Supreme Court building but sat in on a bunch of lower court trials. It was really fun! Considering I want to be a trial attorney, I would hope that I enjoyed being in the court room J Course, I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I could understand what was being said. But I could usually understand what was basically going on. There are some major differences though in American and Spanish courts. Here are some:
1) 1) There was not one witness or accused who was not wearing bluejeans. I sat in on a sexual abuse case today where the dad was accused of sexually abusing his daughter – and he was wearing jeans! I mean, if I were he, I would have at least wore some nice pants. Geez. Spanish courts seem a LOT less formal than US ones. I don’t think that’s a plus for the Spanish.
2) The lawyers and judge sit while the witnesses stand. It’s quite strange. And the “accussed” sits by himself in a bench in the middle of the room. He/she doesn’t even sit by their lawyer! Then, when a witness stands up to testify, they have to stand right next to where the accused is sitting b/c that is where the microphone is.
You can't have a bathroom in Spain without one of these. But please note that it is never used - interesting.
3) 3) It’s very informal. I mean, sometimes the accused will talk while he’s sitting down, the court reporter will talk, etc. It’s so strange. Course, I don’t really hang out in US courts where there is just a judge and no jury so maybe it’s more similar than I think. Guess I’ll eventually find out.
4) 4) Some of the judges and attorneys even wear jeans under their “togas.”
If you can tell, the shower head is in the middle of the tub. Can anyone figure out why this is like this? It is quite a pain to take a shower. Although, I don't think people in Spain use the showerhead - note that it is not hooked up at the top. I'm just confused.
5) 5) The public prosecutor sits down and prosecutes about 6 cases in a row without getting up. And I’m not sure, but it sure seemed like the prosecutor had never spoken to any of the witnesses in any of the cases before the trial.
6) 6) Unlike the US, the prosecutor is not the representative of justice exactly. Meaning, that everyone is the administrator of justice in a courtroom so half the time, the judge is interrogating the accused instead of the prosecutor. Also, their might be 2 prosecutors if the victim hires a lawyer too. And the 2 prosecutors will never speak to each other usually.
*Note – some of the above info may be wrong. This is what I understood to be happening.
At the end of Wednesday, I was able to meet with the President of the Supreme Court. He explained a lot of the differences b/w US and Spanish courts. It was quite interesting. I also felt important getting to meet such an important person. Again, these people do know that I’m a nobody, right?
Ice cream that I bought - why does everything just look better here?
The afternoons I spent at a civil lawyer’s office. He gave me a very long case to read about a divorced couple that had lots of interesting fights/emails and issues. I was able to learn a lot of the ah, foul language used in Spain.
Ok, so everyone knows that I love Spain to death. BUT, people do not know how to dress here. If I walked out of the house wearing the tackiest outfit ever, I would get less stares than I do now wearing my Ann Taylor Loft outfits to work. The outfits are outright appalling. I wouldn’t be caught dead in any of these clothes. And I have to say that the outfits of the people in court surpass everyone for ugliest clothes.
I think the best case I sat in on was about a guy who was arrested for a DUI but claimed he only had 2 beers. Well, they had both cops there attesting to the fact that he was obviously drunk. But he had his 2 girl friends who were with him (apparently every second of the entire night) swear that he only had 2 beers. Yes, he only had 2 beers the whole night which started at 5pm at a bar, then proceeded to a discoteca at 1am, and then going home after that. But in all that time, he only had 2 beers. Um, ok. But the best was the commentary from his friend in the back – she was obviously very annoyed that these cops said her friend had more than 2 drinks. She got so loud that the judge shouted “Salga afuera!” It was great J The judge couldn’t make up her mind though for the outcome of that case so she said she’d let them know within 5 days. Um, is that normal in the states to delay a judgment like that? Dad?
P.S. just saw an ad for potato chips that taste like ketchup. I'm gonna have to try those.
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