Shadowing Journal

Brittany Wittnebel

John Dehlzer

11/13/2017

8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Today was my first day of shadowing. I went to the Hamlin County Court House, to the third

floor where the courtroom is located. I sat with John Dehlzer, in the front of the courtroom, to

the left, where the states attorney table was located. John Dehlzer is the Hamlin County States

Attorney; a state’s attorney generally is an “officer: that makes sure the states laws are properly

enforced and followed. They also represent the people in criminal or civil matters before all

those that are in the court. Today we talked about the general stuff he does every day. John said

that he is rarely ever in Hamlin County, nor is he hardly ever in his office there either. John says

that he visits the courthouse about three times a month to either prepare for or attend to the next

scheduled court date. His office is located in Lake Poinsett; he rents an office in a small building

that share other businesses. John said, “This job is a very independent job, you basically fill out

paperwork or study other cases until something exciting happens, and you have a case or trial to

attend.”

While I sat at the table, I listened to each defendant plea whether they thought they were guilty

or not guilty. If the defendant pleaded not guilty and the evidence suggested they were not, then

the case was dismissed. If the defended were to plead guilty then the judge would sentence them

to what they need to either fine or serve.

I had a piece of paper for each defendant that I filled out. The piece of paper read “Hamlin

County Criminal Case Results” across the top. I was to record the name, date, file #, offense(s),
initial appearance, sentence, driver’s license (if necessary to the case), and conditions. Many of

the defendants plead guilty, knowing that if the Judge has evidence to suggest otherwise, they

will be sentenced to a longer time in jail or be put on probation. If neither of those applied to a

certain case, then the defendant would pay a fine or, for example, be suspended form their

driver’s license after being issues a DUI. In many cases, the offense was driving under the

influence of drugs or alcohol. In this case, as a sentence, the defendant is likely to have received

a suspended jail time, a fine of about $500, and a suspended driver’s license for a certain period.

Overall, the first day of shadowing was exciting, I found it very interesting to listen to each

defendant and hear what they plead. It amazed me how quickly the judge knew his facts and

what sentence they deserved. Each case is different and you have to be fair with each defendant,

so therefore, there is a lot of pressure on the Judge.

Mentor’s Signature:_____________________________
Brittany Wittnebel

John Dehlzer

11/27/2017

8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Today I went back to the courthouse in Hayti to shadow for the second time. I had the same

duties, which was to fill out the papers with information from each case. There were quite a few

cases scheduled on the calendar today. The procedure was the same, the judge called the case

and the defendant went up to the stand a plead either guilty or non-guilty. However, if the

defendant were not there the Criminal Defense Lawyer would then be the one to represent their

case.

In certain situations, you have to step out of the courtroom to allow a “closed case” to carry on. I

was asked to leave the courtroom twice due to the fact there were a couple confidential cases that

took place. The judge asks to clear the courtroom, and everyone in the courtroom then goes

either into a side office or out into the hallway. When the case is over the doors open again and

the Judge proceeds with the next case. It is usual to leave these cases toward the end of the

session, this way there are not so many people in the courtroom. When a case is dismissed, the

defendant in that case usually leaves the courtroom immediately. Normally, if sentenced, the

defendant will have a follow up with the clerk downstairs; in which the clerk will set up, for

example, a payment plan if needed.

After the session was over John stepped back into his office to finalize and sign papers so that

matters can be taken care of. For example, if someone were to be sentenced to the penitentiary,
John would have to write a follow up report making sure that the man is actually sent to the

penitentiary.

John and I discussed a couple product possibilities today as well. I had asked him if there was

something that could be invented to make his job easier. His response was, “It would be nice if

there was some way to always have internet, especially where my office is located. The internet

on the lake is slow and it is frustrating when I am trying to work and I have no internet.”

Although, I would love to make a product that would resolve this problem, I am going to leave

that up to the people that are smart in that department.

Mentor’s Signature:_____________________________
Brittany Wittnebel

John Dehlzer

11/28/2017

7:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

This morning I traveled to the Codington County Courthouse, where I shadowed John in two

sessions. The first session started at 8 o’clock and lasted until about 11:30 a.m., the next session

started at 1 p.m. and finished around 3:30 p.m. For the first session, the case calendar was full. I

walked up the stairs to the courtroom where there stood three officers with hand metal detectors.

My first thought was, “wow Watertown takes this way more seriously that the Hayti

courthouse.” In Hayti there were no officers standing outside the door, however, there were two

officers sitting in the courtroom while the session took place. In this courtroom there were police

officer sitting inside as well, however they had officers outside too. I was right though, the

Codington County Courthouse went about this is a totally different manner. It seemed like

everything was different. Yes, the same thing was being handled, but they went about it in a

more sophisticated manner.

I sat in the first row on the left side of the courtroom, right behind John and his assistant. There

was an assistant able to help John this session, so I was not allowed to sit at the attorney desk

with him. This woman, however, took on a lot more responsibility than I did; she helped with

organizing and seemed to know what she was doing. She knew her rights and was familiar with

what sentencings went along with which cases. Having her assistance helped John a lot and made

the process go quicker. The Judge also went about things differently; things ran a lot smoother,

as well as quicker. I sat right next to the Secretary on the front bench of the courtroom, where I
observed each case as it was called. At the end of the session, there was a “criminal session.” I

am not positive on what it had been called, but it was a session located elsewhere and we

watched it take place on a screen. This was a session where those who had been arrested were

not given a chance to be defended. Why this didn’t take place in the actual courtroom, I don’t

know, but they were able to see and hear the Judge as she went about her order. Those that had

been arrested were taken into a small room where they were on video. Sitting in the courtroom, I

was able to see them and watch how they went about that procedure.

After the first session was over, we went on lunch break. When we got back from lunch break,

the second session began. This session took place in the same courtroom and the same Judge

attended. She went about the same procedure as the first session. The only thing different about

this session was that there was no Criminal Session at the end of the regular one.

Overall, I think that my whole shadowing experience was interesting. I was searching for

something different and I was very pleased. I had always wanted to experience what it would be

like to be a lawyer, and I am glad that I now have. I am very grateful for this opportunity. I

learned a lot about what happens in the courtroom, who has what job, and what procedure takes

place. I am very appreciative for this experience; it was exciting to learn about something I have

always considered going to school for.

Mentor’s Signature:_____________________________