Criminal Justice Paper
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Case Paper
I went to a case in Peoria, Illinois at the Peoria County Courthouse. The case that I observed was not the first that I have seen there and actually the first case I saw there was similar to the one that I had saw for my Business Law class. The case that I saw was Sate vs. Wilkers and the charge that was brought to him was 1st degree murder. The first case I went to was also a 1st degree murder but it happened a little differently then the way this one happened. There were not many people in the courtroom really just the family of the person that was murdered and I think the reason that it was that way is because the shooting was gang related. It was pretty easy to fond a trial in Peoria because they have one of the highest crime rates in Illinois, but also because gangs are known in Peoria. The first case I had ever gone to was definitely gang related because it happened in a shooting involving two gangs. One thing I noticed was that another state attorney, I think, followed every witness out that testified against Wilkers. Which was a little weird but I am not sure if that is done regularly or there was a reason why he followed just them out. I missed the opening statements but obviously they did not have a plea bargain and Wilkers obviously pleaded not guilty.
The case that they were bringing was that Quemont Wilkers was being charged with murdering Demarious Robertson in a drive by gang related shooting. The reason that Wilkers was being charged with this crime is because two days earlier these two had supposedly got in a scuffle after a high school basketball game. Now the two schools that these kids are from are both very rough schools, and right now one of them may be shut down for not having the enrollment that they need. Peoria High is were Wilkers is from and Robertson is from Woodruff, and these two schools are actually thinking about combining at this time because of the low enrollment, and bad funds. Now not only did these two get in a scuffle but the three witnesses that were brought to the stand gave a description of the car that the drive by happened in and it matches the car that Wilkers drives. The witnesses that the prosecution brought to the stage were three women that were walking back from the gas station to get cigarettes and they did not see the actual shooting but did hear the shot and saw the car drive away. The car they described was a brownish tan, older style, full-size, Chevy car. The car that Wilkers drives was a 1987 Chevy Caprice classic so right then I imagine that the jury was pretty swayed. Plus all