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 ...