Doing justice

Abstract

Girard, Kansas, a town of about 2,800, is the county seat of Crawford County. The downtown is built around a traditional courthouse square with many turn-of-the-century buildings. A Vietnam-era Huey helicopter serves as the centerpiece of the square along with the Veterans of Foreign War memorial to the veterans of Girard. The courthouse was built in the 1920s, and has undergone a long-term restoration. The restoration brings the building up to current standards for use, yet it retains its traditional flavor, with wide corridors and high ceilings. Judge Donald Noland's office and courtroom are on the third floor of the building, and I walk up the marble staircase, hearing my footsteps echo around me. The building seems strangely empty. Though I have been to Girard and to the courthouse several times before, I see it with new eyes on the first day I come to meet with the judge about my research. I am anticipating the question that several of my friends and colleagues have asked me: "Why are you interested in this topic?" I'm not sure what I will say, and only hope the right response will come to me when I need it. After some initial small talk in the court offices, the judge sits down with me and gives me a brief review of how the judicial system works. He has clearly done this before, and I realize that he has probably had many college students as interns in his court. Still, I'm grateful that I do not have to ask questions about things I don't remember from my high school civics and history classes. Next, he leads me into the courtroom. It is impressive in a traditional sense. The high ceilings and formal columns fit my expectations of what a courtroom should look like. Interestingly, the judge sits in the chair on the witness stand, and I sit casually on the short marble ledge framing the jury box, prepared to question him. He begins by talking about the process of jury selection and of instructing the jury for trials. "Some people clearly don't want to serve," he says. "But I remind them, as nicely as I can, that it is their civic duty. I think people who serve come out of the experience with a much greater appreciation of the legal system and how it works. When they complete the job, I tell them that they are now qualified to criticize the system." How does the system work? This is, at least in part, what interests me. He asks about my research. I tell him that I want to know about the daily work lives of lawyers and judges. I tell him that I want to observe courtroom proceedings, everyday interactions between him and the attorneys, conduct interviews, read whatever I can, and just hang around. It may take several months. He says he will do whatever he can to help. As I leave the courtroom and start down the marble staircase, I realize that he never asked me why I was interested in knowing more about lawyers and judges. © 2007 by Baylor University Press.