Barnstable

District Court
Expectations

● Meet people that work in the court

● Help with paperwork
● Get people coffee
● Study laws and procedure
● Get leadership tips
Experiences
● Started with a tour of the court house
○ Except lock up
● I was introduced to lawyers, judges, court
officers, and DAs
● Sat in many pre trials → a lot of sitting around
● Read case files
● Observed two trials
● Reviewed with a Judge after the trial
● Observed leadership in action
● Learned more about court procedure and laws
 “
What do you think of
when you hear the words
drug dealer? Assault and
battery?
Stories
● A 20 year old boy was charged with possession of cocaine,
heroine, and marijuana
● Facing years in prison
● He was a drug dealer
● Meeting him, I was expecting the worst
● He wasn’t what I expected
○ He was polite and kind
○ He was with his parents - father has terminal cancer
○ He has a little brother that’s still in school
○ He turned to dealing because it was the only way to
make money fast to support his family
● Attorney Thayer was able to turn is sentence into only
probation
○ The Judge respected her and knew she is a very good
lawyer
 Other
Experiences ● Counterfeit money case
○ CIA analyst had to come to
in Trials Barnstable to analyze the money and
and Pre testify
● Dispute between business owners over
Trials parking
● OUI trial
○ Negligent operation
● Child pornography trial
○ Expert testimonies
 “
“I’m not always defending
the best people, but until
the law changes I am
doing my job and what is
right.”
Observed Leadership
Levels of Leadership Handling Conflict Other
▹ Attorney ▹ With each ▹ Strong public
Thayer is a client and trial speaking
level 4 leader A. Thayer was skills
▹ People follow faced with ▹ Respect →
her and trust small goes both
conflicts ways
in her
▹ She was calm ▹ Resourcefuln
because of
and ess
what she resourceful, ▹ Importance of
does for she would listening
them and for turn to the ▹ Time
the results judges and management
she gets attorneys to - never late
help her solve ▹ Influencing
the problem others -
clients, judge
Important Lessons

● People/things are not always as they seem

● Creativity is very important
○ Find the wrinkles in the case
● Reputations are very important
○ Respect gets you far
● Communication is key