Field Trip to Court

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Political Science day in court
by Dr. Jeremy Lewis. Revised 9 Mar. '06. PSC Class sessions Friday 10 March '06 are cancelled in favor of this field trip.

Docket of cases for Political Science day in court:

* Attempted murder, robbery, possession of drugs, rape, obstructing justice, aiding and abetting.

We have confirmed the invitation to Montgomery County district court.

* CAR pool leaves Blount entrance at 08:15 am on the day.

Judge McLemore will welcome us to preliminary hearings day for criminal cases, 9am to about 11 am.

* Length of session depends on the cases and trials, but you would be free to come and go between cases, each of which lasts 5 to 10 minutes.

Decorum:

    * Please REQUEST an excuse from any other professor's classes.
    * DO NOT take leave of absence without permission!
    * Dress in professional attire and be quiet in the courtroom.
    * NO chatting during a case.

Car pool directions:

    * Join a car based on when the driver needs to return to campus, if not by the normal 11:30 or so.
    * Drive West on Fairview a few blocks to Right on NormanBridge (at the triangular park).
    * Drive North on Normanbridge (which becomes Union St) a few blocks, go under I-85.
    * Proceed a few blocks up hill, take left lane, and turn Left onto Scott.
    * Drive a few blocks on Scott, find Parking deck on left, after Hull or McDonough St.
    * Pull up close to parking code machine.
    * Enter parking code XXX* (asterisk is worn off key, but find at bottom left).
    * Leave all weapons, cell phones and valuables behind, hide them in car.

Walking to Court:

    * Walk to Mgmy County Court house, on Lawrence St, north (down hill) from Scott.
    * Proceed through security gate, up stairs to second floor.
    * Judge McLemore's courtroom is likely to be at the far end, look for sign.
    * Seating on benches is usually reserved with a sign.
    * If late, enter quietly BETWEEN cases, definitely not during the judge's remarks.
    * When the judge appears, bailiff will instruct us all to rise.

Returning:

* The south heading one-way streets are Lawrence, Hull and Decatur. Take any one of these south, across or under I-85. (These alternate with one-way northbound streets, Perry and McDonough).
* Turn Left (east) on Fairview and proceed several blocks back to college.

Required?

To reduce college liability, field trips are NOT required. They are OPTIONAL only.
However, many students have commented on how fulfilling they are.
You also earn POSITIVE ATTENDANCE CREDIT.

Testable?

On the final exam you may find an OPTIONAL essay on the field trip (as with guest speakers), generally a better essay than the alternative (on a course reading).
You may also find a write-in question on any field trip or speaker.
Students who attend field trips and speaker sessions tend strongly to outperform other students.