Thursday, May 28, 2015, Courthouse

Not many pictures today. We went into the city courthouse to hear a case. It was very interesting. The Dutch do not have juries, they have (or at least for this case) a three-judge panel. The case was a young man charged with armed robbery and extortion. This was a hearing to see if he could get out on bail, while waiting for his trial date in August. The defense lawyer did not have a copy of the accomplice's statement (who apparently is testifying against the suspect), so there was a 45 minute recess, while the defense lawyer read it. The District Attorney said sorry.

Prior to the recess, there were about 12 people in the court room, besides us. We sat behind a glass wall, with the sound brought in by speakers. Jaap was able to hear enough to quietly translate for us.

During the recess, we were walking around and one of the journalist's whom Jaap knows invited us into the press room. So we chatted with all three reporters for a couple of minutes.

When court was back in session, the defendant was asked if he had undergone as psychological exam while he was in jail. He said no, he had been playing sports in jail instead. It is quite common, apparently for suspects to have a psychological exam (even if they don't want it) to see if there is some underlying reason for their behavior. Based on the exam, they could get help, or they could be placed in a psychiatric holding place while they work to help the suspect.

Anyway, the defense lawyer made the arguments that there wasn't enough evidence, that it wasn't conclusive enough, and that August 13 is a long way off and his client shouldn't have to wait in jail (that is Cliff Note's version). The presiding judge asked some questions, then the three of them went out and conferred and came back in about 5 minutes and said they were satisfied there was enough to hold the suspect until August, bail denied.

It was very interesting and formal.

Several of us walked around for a bit, then met most of the other hosts and Americans for a farewell luncheon. We know we have been treated as rock stars over here and today was no different.


Here is a menu from a koffie shop--the proprietor allowed us to take pictures (he knew we were tourists). No purchased were made by us!

 Noorderpoort has bikes for its employee's to check out during the day for use around town. A great biking culture!

 This lady was on vacation last year in the US, in a rented RV in Texas. She had a marvelous time and crafted this jacket when she got back. She wore it for those from the US to see--which was very nice!

 This elegant building was described as something like the grain exchanged. Farmers would bring in their crops to be weighed and then could be sold. Like many of the buildings here, there is very old, which is maintained and then a new portion is added on.