superior court

i made my first-ever court appearance today at the Los Angeles Superior Courthouse on north grand avenue. dressed in my suit (well, ernie's suit), leather portfolio in tow, i hopped on the redline and rode downtown to join my supervising attorneys in our attempt to ask for a stipulated continuance (just a fancy way to say that we need an extension).

we're arguing a case of wrongful eviction and without getting into specifics (attorney client privilege my friends), our client is a low-income family that has been served a 3-day notice and an unlawful detainer by their landlord. allegedly, something happened with their section 8 payments so that the landlord hasn't received government housing subsidies for several months. now, our poor clients owe many dollars in back rent and are knocking on the door of homelessness yet again.

obviously, i'm thrilled to be in a place where the law seeks justice, even for the poor. the legal research and preparation of court documents for the case has been fairly interesting, though requiring some long hours. despite that, the chance to prevent this family from losing their home is exciting to say the least. if they lose it, they end up in some dilapidated downtown motel. if they keep it, they have a chance to make it.

as i opened the door to division 97 where our case was to be heard the excitement came to a head. in just a few seconds i'd be participating in an actual hearing, in an actual courtroom, before an actual judge. i sat nervously with my two supervising attorneys, making some last minute preparations in case our stipulated continuation was denied. the judge entered, we were second on the docket. once called, carolyn approached the bench, asked for the stipulated continuance and it was granted. we're done - two minutes after entering the courtroom, we exited with a court date for next week.

all in all, it was pretty cool - though the two minutes of sitting in the courtroom didn't really live up to the john grisham-esque fantasies that i drew up in my head. maybe that happens at my second-ever court appearance.