Friday, May 22nd. Today we went to the District Court in Poznan. We were warmly received by the Chairman of the District Court, Judge Jozefowich. He is appointed to this position by the National Minister of Justice. The Chairperson of Court in each district serves a six year term. A Chairperson cannot serve more than one term. Once Justice Jozefowich's term is over he will return to his duties as a national appellate court justice.
While walking through the courthouse we observed the court docket displayed electronically on walls throughout the courthouse. Much like flight schedules in airports. After our reception, we met Judge Hejduk of criminal court. Judge Hejduk was a member of the first Polish delegation to visit Iowa 2 years ago. Judge Hejduk escorted our party to a probation revocation proceeding. The probationer represented pro se, the prosecutor did not say a word. Though we could not understand the words said between the Judge and Probationer, the Probationer's body language was quite revealing. We were convinced that he was lying when answering the Judge's questions. The court continued the matter so that probationer could address the conditions of probation. Interesting tidbit, the judge used the actual probation casefile to review the probationer's progress of supervision. Think about that.
Court room attire: Judge, Prosecutor, Defense all wore black robes. Each robe had a different colored cravat (big broad bowtie, see wikipedia). Judges were purple cravats with big gold chains, Prosecutors wore red cravats and Defense attorneys wore green cravats.
Judge Heyduk took us to the criminal court were the most serious offenses are heard. This court room seats 300 people and features a balcony. There will be no jury of peers here. Five justices hear the cases before this court. Their decision determines the dispostion of these cases.
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