possession of stolen property

[mattreneau]

What is the name of your state? Illinois

Ok so i was at a party that got a little wild. Everyone started getting a little wild & pulling off pranks around town. A guy that i have known for a while took off to pull some letters from a advertisng sign in a bank parking lot & i followed him & assited, why idk i figure b/c i was drunk & wanted 2 fit in like an idiot. The next day an officer knocked on the door to the apartment the party was held at & said that he knew about it & was going 2 look at the security tapes 2 find out who it was & that the lettrs needed 2 be returned by the time he got off his shift. I took this to mean that he would drop the subject if it ws done so I turned them into the officer within the hour & was shocked to be arrested. I was offered 2 choices, take all the blame & get a felony charge or say who the other guy was & b/c i brought the letters back i could just be charged with a possession of stolen property. They had us on tape so i chose to take the lessor charge.

What exactly am i looking at when i go to court?

 

[outonbail]

What exactly am i looking at when i go to court?

Well, I haven't been to court in Illinois, but I figure if you've seen the inside of one court room you've seen them all.

So here's what I figure you'll be looking at.

If your sitting in the front row, directly in front of you you'll see a waist high partition or wall that separates you from the well of the court. This partition is also known as the "Bar"
You will be seated behind this partition in what is known as the "gallery"

After that you will usually find one long desk or table, or possibly two smaller tables which will often have several microphones mounted on them as well. This table is where the DA, and/or the plaintiff will be seated and at the other end or at the other table will be the defendant and his/her council. If there are two tables, then there may also be a podium between the two where the party that is addressing the court would stand.

Further on past that, you will usually find a couple of desks. One will be the witness stand and the others are where the court clerk and the court reporter will be seated. Adjacent to them you will usually find the Jury box.

Somewhere in this configuration, usually against a wall you will see a man or a woman wearing a uniform, sporting a badge and a gun. This is the bailiff and he/she will often be heard telling everyone to quiet down and to turn their cell phones off as well as telling everyone to rise when the judge enters.

Then, the main attraction will be the highest largest desk in the room. This is called the "Bench" Seated at the bench, you will find a man or woman wearing a black robe with a cup of coffee in front of them. This is the judge and there is usually a name plate in front of them identifying them as the "Honorable Judge Judy", if their name happens to be Judy.
This bench is where the proverbial book is thrown from.

Behind or alongside a wall next to the judge, you will see the American flag and the state flag and hanging on the wall will be the Great Seal of the Jurisdiction you happen to be in.

Higher up on one of the walls, you will usually find a clock and a group of Calenders showing at least four to six subsequent months.

Well that's about all I can think of off the top of my head. But that's generally what you'll be looking at.

Now myself, well I'm usually looking at the most attractive woman in the room at any given time. Which is why I choose to sit in the back!

 

[mattreneau]

Thanks 4 pointing out the obvoious especially about the most attractive girl, but i was meaning what kind of punishment will the judge be throwing at me.

 

[CdwJava]

I want to thank Outonbail for the fine laugh!

Now, as for what your sentence might be, can you tell us what statutes (the numbers) you ahve been charged with violating? Those would tell us what you might face. Plus, do you have any prior criminal history?

- Carl

 

[mattreneau]

no prior history & all it says on my ticket is possession of stolen property

IN VIOLATION OF IL.C.S. Chap. 720 Act. 5 Sec./Par. 16-1A4

the officer said that it was a misdemeanor & I would probably get probation, but he didn't know 4 sure

i was just wondering if I have a chance of getting court supervision or community service instead