Court Observation Report

Brisbane Magistrates Court: Magistrate Court (Criminal) 363 George st, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 20th December 2013 Known as the first level of Queensland Court Systems, Brisbane Magistrate Court is the one which deals with most civil cases. Also, most criminals are firstly heard in this court (Queensland Court, 2012). Basically, a person who gets charged for criminal offence will be brought to this court so that the magistrate can decide whether they have enough evidence for that person to face trial or not. The cases may then be sent to District or Supreme Court depending on their seriousness. Less serious offence such as burglary, assault, drugs and so on seems to be common matters that Magistrate Court has to deal with. Brisbane Magistrate Court was constructed from September 2002 and was opened by Queensland Premier Peter Beattie on the 16th of November 2004. The design of Magistrate Court was an implementation of sustainable initiatives such as sustainable air conditioning and lighting system. It is also one of the largest Courts that have Public art interpretation into the space including aboriginal artwork in Murrie Courtroom (Diane, 2010). The Magistrate Court is designed to be an open space which provides a viewable space and makes people more at ease. Due to the open arrangement in combination with the decoration of Magistrate Court, the courtroom is easily found, hence, encouraging the public to come and observe the cases. In the courtroom, the seats at the back of the room are for public access which is divided into two, half on the left and the other half is on the right. From there, the observers have an overview of what is happening in the courtroom while hearing the case. The top bench at the front is where judge and clerks stay. The oval desk in the middle of the room is divided into two areas, respondents stay on the right and applicants stay on the left. There is a witness box on the left of the middle desk. On the opposite side, it is where suspected criminal stand. There was an emblem which is the Coat of Arms symbolises the Queen;s constitutional authority in the state (Queensland Government, 2012). The observed case was about drug carrying. The criminal of the case named Srigangatharan Magasulochana who got arrested for carrying more than 6gram of drug. In general, the magistrate read the indictment of his crime and then he was asked whether what he did was guilty or not. His respond was yes that he has committed a crime of carrying an excessive amount of drug. After that, the criminal was sent to a room where he would be temporarily kept till the next court which would be in a few days. After the visit, what I have learned was what a process of judging a typical case and also learned whose responsibility of each person in the court were. References: Diane, B. 2010. Brisbane Magistrates Court. Retrieved 10th Jan, 2014 from http://dianeadventurebeforedementia.blogspot.com.au/2010/10/brisbane-magistrates-court.html Queensland Court. 2012. Magistrates Court. Retrieved 10th Jan, 2014 from http://www.courts.qld.gov.au/courts/magistrates-court Queensland Government. 2012. Coat of Arms. Retrieve 10th Jan from http://www.qld.gov.au/about/howgovernment-works/flags-emblems-icons/coat-of-arms/