Free Essay

Courtroom

In:

Submitted By Ayanna
Words 1206
Pages 5
Courtroom Participation
Lumengo McGhee -Houston
CJA/224
November 24, 2010
Bruce Cartwright Sr.

Courtroom Participation

The defense attorney represents the defendant, the person accused of committing a crime or a wrongful act. Criminal defendants who are unable to come up with the money for to hire a lawyer are allowed to have the judge appoint them a lawyer who is then paid with public funds. The courtroom deputy or courtroom clerk administers the oaths to the witnesses, marks the exhibits, and generally helps keep the trial running efficiently. The courtroom deputy is employed by the clerk of the court. The clerk of the court is selected by all of the active judges on the court and works closely with the chief district judge, who is responsible for the court's overall administration in the courtroom, the parties may be present at the counsel tables with their attorneys. The accused in a criminal case has a constitutional right to be present. Parties in civil cases may be present if they wish, but are often absent.

The plaintiff's attorney represents the person or company, or the government, which filed the complaint. In criminal cases, a United States attorney represents the administrative branch of the government.
United States magistrate judges are court officers who support district judges in preparing cases for trial and administer some of the discovery process. They may also be in charge of over less serious criminal trials, and, when both parties consent, over civil trials. Bankruptcy judges and United States magistrate judges are appointed for specific terms of office and do not enjoy the same protections as judges appointed under Article III of the Constitution. Life tenure. Federal district court judges, court of appeals judges, and United States Supreme Court justices are selected to office by the president of the United States, with the approval of the United States Senate. Generally, federal judges have life tenure. Under Article III of the Constitution, federal judges serve "during good behavior." They may be removed from their positions only if Congress impeaches and convicts them of being accountable of "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Article III also prohibits lowering the salaries of federal judges "during their continuance in office." After an assured age and number of years of service, a federal judge may take senior status. Senior judges receive full salary and generally continue to hear a reduced level of cases. District court judges are mandatory to reside in the district in which they serve. district court judges, court of appeals judges, and United States Supreme Court justices are appointed to office by the president of the United States, with the approval of the United States Senate. Generally, federal judges have life tenure. Under Article III of the Constitution, federal judges serve "during good behavior." They may be detached from their positions only if Congress impeaches and convicts them of being guilty of "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Article III also prohibits lowering the salaries of federal judges "during their continuance in office." After a certain age and number of years of service, a federal judge may take senior status. Senior judges receive full salary and normally continue to hear a reduced level of cases. District court judges are required to reside in the district in which they serve.
In the courtroom, the judge presides over the trial and pre-trial proceedings. A trial judge has four main responsibilities: • to maintain order • to determine if the evidence offered is illegal or inadmissible • to instruct the jury about how the law applies to the case (in jury trials) • to determine the facts and make a decision (in nonjury trials)

A federal civil case begins when the petitioner, or usually the plaintiff's lawyer, files a complaint with the clerk of the court that states a claim against the defendant or person accused of committing a wrongful act. When the grievance is filed, the clerk of court assigns it, generally by random rotation, to the judge who will hold all matters related to that case until it is determined or closed.
A criminal case may begins when a legal representative for the federal government, the U.S. attorney or an assistant U.S. attorney, convenes a federal grand jury and presents it with evidence or information that indicates that a specific person committed a crime. Only crimes that engage federal laws are tried in federal court, such as bank robberies, serious drug law violations, securities law cases, or damage to federal property. If the grand jury believes there is enough evidence to show that the person in all probability committed the crime, it issues an indictment. Following the indictment, the court may summon the accused to appear in court, or it may authorize a U.S. marshal or federal peace officer to arrest the defendant. The defendant is brought before either a judge or a magistrate judge, at an indictment and is asked to plead "guilty" or "not guilty." If the defendant pleads "guilty," the judicial police officer will set a time for sentencing. If the defendant pleads "not guilty," the judicial officer will set a date for trial. Most of the time lawyers may ask the court to rule on the admissibility of substantiation or to make a conclusion on other case-related issues before the case can proceed to trial. In most cases, the judge, assisted by law clerks, will promptly respond to these motions to avoid delaying the matter. If the court rules that key substantiation was illegally obtained and cannot be used, the government may have to drop the charges if it does not have a strong case. Sometime before a civil trial, the lawyers and the judge or United States magistrate judge meet to narrow the issues in the case. Both sides make known the witnesses they have it in mind to call and what evidence they will introduce at the trial. The issues that stay behind in dispute after the pretrial conference must then be decided by the judge or jury. And most likely the jury has a hard time deciding who’s right and who’s wrong in the case, the trial starts when the lawyers for both sides present their opening statements. The opening of evidence begins after the opening statements. The government attorney, or the plaintiff's lawyer in a municipal case, questions his or her own witnesses first. After the direct examination, the defendant's lawyer may question, or cross-examine, the witness. After all of the plaintiff's witnesses have been examined, the defense calls its witnesses. The lawyers often establish documents, records, or objects as physical verification
Both a defendant who is found guilty in a federal criminal case, and the losing party in a federal civil case, have a right to petition their case to the United States Court of Appeals Court rules provide strict procedure and time limits for when an appeal must be filed. The court will dismiss premature or late filed appeals. The attorney or party starts an appeal by filing a notice of appeal in the district court.

References
Office of the Circuit Executive. (1997). History and guide to the U.S. courts. Retrieved from http://207.41.19.15/web/sdocuments.nsf/94dcdf31963df55d88256453006e368f/9d393a46072a7080882564530081e1cf?opendocument

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Tv Cameras in the Courtroom

...CAMERAS IN THE COURTROOM. Term Paper ID:19839 Get This Paper Free! or Buy This Paper Essay Subject: Right to fair trial vs. right of public to witness court proceedings & know what govt. is doing.... More... 7 Pages / 1575 Words 5 sources, 11 Citations, MLA Format $28.00 More Papers on This Topic Paper Abstract: Right to fair trial vs. right of public to witness court proceedings & know what govt. is doing. Paper Introduction: SHOULD CAMERAS BE ALLOWED IN THE COURTROOM? Introduction and Problem Statement Although the title of this research is broad, cameras, in the context of this paper, refers to television cameras. Courts in different jurisdictions in the United States impose differing restrictions on media coverage within courtrooms. Some jurisdictions do not allow cameras of any kind, requiring even the print media to employ artist sketches for any visual reporting of courtroom proceedings. Others permit the use of still cameras under controlled conditions. Few jurisdictions permit the unrestricted use of television cameras in courtrooms. Most jurisdictions that do permit television cameras in the courtroom do not permit continuous live coverage of the proceedings. Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while...

Words: 2168 - Pages: 9

Free Essay

The Application of the Scarf Model

...Michelle del Rosario Effective Leadership & Management Class - Barbara Miller Individual Paper March 14, 2013 The Application of the SCARF Model on the 2011 Re-Organization of SF Court Reporters I. INTRODUCTION On Friday, September 30, 2011, the San Francisco Superior Court (SFSC) laid-off a total of sixty-seven (67) employees, including twenty-nine (29) Certified Court Reporters. The Court started the fiscal year of 2011-2012 with a $13.75 million budget deficit, and had initially mailed out two hundred (200) pink slips in July, representing 41% of it’s staff. Fortunately, austerity measures (such as extending mandatory furlough days, enforcing voluntary unpaid time off, reducing office hours, and closing civil courtrooms) and very aggressive negotiations with the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) resulted in an additional $7.5 million that was used to salvage one hundred thirty-three (133) careers. September 30, 2011 was a devastating day to these sixty-seven (67) employees, and this paper will focus particularly on the effects of this re-organization on the emotions and reactions of the Court Reporters who were directly and indirectly affected. The SFSC website defines Court Reporters as “guardians of the record”. It is emphasized that not only are they Court employees, but they are also purveyors of transcripts for all interested parties. Their main job duties are providing legislated transcripts of criminal proceedings, and providing...

Words: 4369 - Pages: 18

Premium Essay

Fiction vs Reality

...reality based television shows that depict the inner workings of a convicts mind and how the hero police officers, detectives, crime scene investigators and judges outwit, catch and then prosecute these lawbreakers. This exciting new fad has people watching these half hour shows and believing that they are entirely accurate. There are some television shows that use a great deal of fact in the creation of the show while other shows do not even come close. Since people have become enamored with courtroom based movies and television shows this has created a false sense of knowledge among common viewers that almost an entire nation believing that courtrooms consist of a defendant and a plaintiff (or a prosecuting attorney and a defense attorney) yelling back and forth at each other while a judge feverishly pounds his gavel on his podium in attempt to gain order in their courtroom. This is far from the way that an actual courtroom operates. Television shows will spark heated debate in a courtroom and solve each case in thirty minutes in order to collect ratings. According to Reality vs. Fantasy, “To...

Words: 1267 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Cameras in Court Rooms

...Should Cameras Be Placed in Courtrooms So That Criminal Trials Can Be Televised? It is axiomatic in democracy that everyone has access to the justice system and has the right to know how those laws are enforced. This can be ensured by having trials in courtrooms televised. Whether to have cameras in courtrooms or not was a huge debate that began back in 1977 in Miami (May 2008). After a long debate higher court judges decided to allow trials to be televised in Miami. Those debates never ended because of different judges all over the world having different opinions. Personally speaking, cameras should be allowed in courtrooms so that criminal trials can be televised, to make it clear to people what circumstances they would face if they were to do anything illegal. In every country in the world laws are made in the parliament by the government in regards to the opinions of higher court judges. Many proceedings carried in the parliament are allowed to be televised so that citizens can know what the laws they should abide by are. The irony in televising parliament proceedings is that people are allowed to watch laws being made, but they cannot see how they are being enforced. If criminal trials are televised then people can know how those laws are being enforced and would be more cautious by restraining themselves from breaking the law. This is because they would know what the circumstances of their actions are, thanks to the televised criminal trials. In the United States...

Words: 907 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Courtroom

...Courtroom Observation Case White v. Gibbs John Simpson Louisiana Tech Abstract This paper observes the court case of White v. Gibbs in which Debbie White is suing Patrick Gibbs and O’Malley’s Tavern under the civil provisions of Indiana’s Dram Shop Act (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2014). Deborah White brought this court case to the Supreme Court in order to argue against the summary judgment filed by the defendants. A summary judgment would allow for them to avoid going to trial only if the Judge sees fit to deem that there are no disputes to the material facts of this case (West Encyclopedia of American Law, 2008). The attorneys representing Mrs. White are Amanda Babbitt and Jackson Walsh. The attorneys for the defendants are Benjamin Walton and Jordan Van Meter.   Courtroom Observation Case White v. Gibbs The lawsuit arose from an incident where Mrs. White and her husband Bruno were having dinner at O’Malley’s Tavern. On that night there was another patron at the bar, Edward Hard, who was also Mrs. White’s ex-fiancé. During the court case we find out that Mr. Hard had shown a lot of animosity toward the White’s due to Mr. Hard and Mrs. White’s previous relationship. There was also a former altercation between Mr. White and Mr. Hard, and even though this had been resolved, Mr. Hard still showed this animosity. On this night, Mr. Hard had a bill from O’Malley’s Tavern in which he was charged for purchasing 13 alcoholic drinks. According to the...

Words: 1400 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Courtroom Roles

...Roles of a Courtroom There are many responsibilities when working in the government particularly when it is protecting the public’s safety and the sentencing of those who commit crimes. Matters such as adoption, divorce, juvenile matters, and custody are a few issues that must go through the court system. The individuals such as jurors, prosecutors, defense attorneys, witnesses, victims, defendants, and judges all play an instrumental role during the court process. In addition to these key roles, the courtroom clerk and reporter are administrative roles that allow the court rooms daily operations to run smoothly and keep a record of the preceding. Understanding that it takes these roles to work as a team all playing their part to accomplish the objective. The judge is the main authority in a courtroom. They are appointed differently in federal and state courts. In a federal court the judge is appointed by the President of the United States with the advice and approval of the Senate. The federal judge serves a life term unless he or she is impeached, retires, or dies. The state judge can be appointed by the governor but usually are required to run for election and voted by the people. The judge’s main responsibility in a courtroom is to safeguard the rights of the accused and the interests of the public. They oversee trials and ensure both parties are representing their case under the law ("Role of the Judge and Other Courtroom Participants ", n.d.). The judge hears...

Words: 1108 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Courtroom Observation

...BUSI 301 COURTROOM OBSERVATION PAPER Indiana Northern District Court Case Number 82a04-8876-cv285 Plaintiff: Deborah White Plaintiff representatives: Walsh Jackson and Amanda Babott Defendant: Patrick Gibbs and O’Malley’s Tavern Defendant Representatives: Benjamin Walton and Jordan Van Meter Defendant Council Overview: Jordan Van Meter and Benjamin Walton are representing the defendant who is Patrick Gibbs and O’Malley’s Tavern. The representing defense suggests that the Court give a summary judgment to John Daniels who was the bartender at O’Malley’s Tavern. The Plaintiff is seeking damages from the defendant, Patrick Gibbs and O’Malley’s tavern stating that Mr. Gibbs had knowledge of Mr. Hard’s intoxication. The Indiana Law. Ind Code Ann 7.1-5-10-15.5 2006 does require that a defendant have actual knowledge in order to recover damages. Constructive knowledge does not satisfy the presumption, only subjective knowledge. Circumstantial evidences cannot support constructive knowledge, but only actual knowledge. According to the 7th circuit court of Indiana, visible acts of intoxication are subjective. The bartender himself only saw Mr. Hard sitting on a stool drinking whiskey which is not an uncommon occurrence in a bar. The case that was cited in the courtroom, the Ash Lock case (Ashlock v. Norris, 475 N.E.2d 1167, 1170 Ind. Ct. App. 1985) was not as severe as this case. This specific bartender at O’Malley’s Tavern did not have actual knowledge of...

Words: 1625 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Courtroom

...Borrower: (AKA) | Co-Borrower (AKA) | | | Legal: | | USPS Address: | Current address: | | EXP | 1003-Vaildated | | | 1003 Initial Type Interview: LO Date: Borrower Date: | | | GFE Date TIL Date APR Range: | | | Section A Fee: Section B Fee: | | | APPRAISAL/APPRAISER | | | Appraisal Dated: Sales Price: Appraised Value: $ | | | Appraiser License Concessions: Max Loan (103.5%) | | | Appraiser Insurance HUD Statement Final Required: | | | Cost of Appraisal: Well Test Site Value | | | Appraiser: Septic Statement: Greater than 30% | | | ...

Words: 323 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Courtroom

...Name____Morenike Onibon___________________________ Individual Learning 55 Question Form General Information ORACLE CORPORATION’S 2014 FINANCIAL STATEMENT WAS UNAVAILABLE AT THE TIME I WORKED ON THIS PROJECT: I THUS USED THE 2013-2012 FINANCIAL STATEMENT. 1. What is the name of your corporation? The name of my corporation is Oracle Corporation. 2. Where are the corporate headquarters? The headquarters of Oracle is in Redwood City California. 3. What is the corporation’s fiscal year end? Oracle’s fiscal year ends on May 31. 4. What are the primary products or services of the corporation? Oracle corporation mainly produces hardware and software systems. 5. Graph the high and low price of the company’s stock for each quarter of the last two years. What was the high and what was the low? [pic] |Oracle Corporation High and Low Stock Prices | |Quarter per Year |High Prices |Low Prices | |Q1FY12 |26.78 |34.09 | |Q2FY12 |26 |33.69 | |Q3FY12 |25.51 |31.9 | |Q4FY12 |25.61 |30.24 | |Q1FY13 |26 |32.2 | |Q2FY13 |29.58 |33.1 | |Q3FY13 |31.61 |36.21 | |Q4FY13 |31.25 |36.34 | The highest price was $36.34, and the lowest price was $25.51. 6. Who is the...

Words: 2308 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Courtroom Players

...Courtroom Players A courtroom work group refers to the professional key players in a courtroom. These professional key players include the judges, prosecuting attorneys, defense attorneys, public defenders, and other member who make a living serving the court. The judge is the lead player in the court room and holds all the authority. “The prosecuting attorney represents the government or the interest of the community in a criminal trial.” (University of Phoenix, 2011). The defense attorney is a trial lawyer that is either hired or appointed to represent a person accused of a crime and to make sure that the rights of the defendant are not violated by the criminal justice system. If the defendant is unable to afford a lawyer than a public defender will be appointed by the court to represent the defendant in court. The bailiff role is to maintain order in the court, call witnesses, announce the present of the judge, prevents the defendant from escaping and to supervise the jury. The courtroom reporter keeps records of all the activity that takes place during a trial. The courtroom clerk “maintains all records of criminal cases, including all pleas and motions made both before and after the actual trial. The clerk also prepares a jury pool, issues jury summonses, and subpoenas witnesses for both the prosecution and the defense. During the trial, the clerk (or an assistant) marks physical evidence for identification as instructed by the judge and maintains custody of that evidence...

Words: 794 - Pages: 4

Free Essay

Roles of a Courtroom

...The Roles of Courtroom Atari Dunn CJA/204 August 13, 2012 Katina Semien Roles of a Courtroom The structure of a courtroom workgroup consists of a Judge, Jurors, and Bailiffs of the Court, clerk of court, court reporter, expert witness, lay witness, victim, defendant, prosecutors and defense lawyers. This specialized team of individuals work together to successfully prosecute criminal court cases. The courtroom work group thrives to construct a safe and care free environment of justice. However, each party work diligently in order to achieve a quality of fairness to all criminal cases presented. The courtroom work group also consists of the bailiff of court, the clerk of court, and the reporter of the courts. Each courtroom work group has these officials, and is needed so the courts can properly run as structured. Each representative has their own specific job that is carried out on a daily basis. One of most important person in the courtroom work group is the Judge. The judge is elected or appointed by the state to review and facilitate disputes presented through arguments of prosecution and defense during a trial. Judges are presumed to be unbiased in their application of Criminal Law when reviewing the facts and arguments presented by all parties, such as the defendant, claimant, lawyers, and the people in the courts. The judge informs the jury on the laws that are applicable to the crime committed. It is also the judge’s job to let the jurors know that the...

Words: 1141 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Courtroom Observation

...Activity Description: Courtroom Observation The case being presented today was State of New Jersey v. David Connor. This case is being presented in the Superior Courts of New Jersey at 50 West Market Street floor 10 Room 1004, Newark, NJ. The observation took place July 1, 2008 from 9AM until 3:30PM. The charges against the defendant David Connor are first-degree murder, second-degree aggravated assault, second-degree disturbing/moving human body, third degree unlawful possession of a weapon, and third degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose. David Connor has a co-defendant by the name of Tareek Gilliam. The judge presiding over the case is the Honorable Joseph Cassini. Romesh Sukhdeo is the assistant prosecutor from the Essex County Prosecutors Office and John McMahon is the public defender representing the defendant. Honorable Joseph Cassini began the morning addressing a motion to dismiss the indictment submitted by the public defender McMahon on the grounds that the prosecutor answered questions for the jury and the actions of the assistant prosecutor were inappropriate. The motion also stated that the assistant prosecutor became the witness. The judge also reviewed the proceedings that were mentioned in the motion to dismiss the indictment in which the prosecutor actually was answering questions the jury members had asked. Honorable Joseph Cassini sighted numerous cases including State v Bennett, A-2157-04T5 where the prosecutor misstatements...

Words: 3601 - Pages: 15

Premium Essay

Courtroom Personnels

...Introduction The courtroom procedures and operations, an evaluation of the diversity and the roles of the judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, and personnel within the court are reviewed. Understand the benefits and pitfalls involving independent and mutually interdependent. There are ethical and legal standards that affect participate and understand how it affects the substantive laws and procedural law in the criminal justice system. When it comes to judges and their role in the courtroom, there are several roles in which they have to follow. Judges have the authority and right to make sure all court procedures and rules are followed by every party within the courtroom. They also decide on the issues of law, after hearing both the jury’s and lawyers arguments. Judges also have the ability to grant encourage cooperation and adjournments amongst both parties, while hearing out the evidence of a case. Judges are impartial decision making on the pursuit towards justice ("The Role of the Judge", 2006). The roles of Prosecutors The roles of the Defense Counsels, the defense counsel are a licensed trial lawyers. The accused must have legal representation during a court procedure. The defense counsel in many cases a judge appoints legal counsel to the offender. In these cases, the defendant does not have the financial mean to cover the cost of an attorney to represent them during the trial or court procedures. Defendants that are financially able to cover the cost of...

Words: 458 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Courtroom Participation

...Courtroom Participation The court systems in the United Stated seem to be a big soap opera; everyone is a character and has to play their roll. Everyone at one point in their lives has been cast in a position of either the defendant of the plaintiff. You make characters are the Judge, bailiff, the prosecutor, the attorney, the jurors, the court clerk, and transcriber. The judge is the one that everyone has to report to and he/she will be the one that determines the outcome of the case. When you address the judge you cannot call them by the first name or last name you must at times say “Your honor”. In many parts of the world they are sometimes called “My lord” or “My lady”. He/she is the one who presides over the proceedings of his/her court room. The judge sits on his bench and listens to the both sides of the parties, and the witnesses, the attorney opening and closing statements. If you need to give the judge anything then you would pass the papers to the bailiff who is the middle man between the judge and the attorneys, he always maintains order in the court room in case the judge can’t control his/her courtroom. The prosecutor is the one that presses charges against the defendant. They have to prepare the case and follow through with their finding so they will be able to convict or even have their case heard. The defendant is the one that being put on trial for their crimes and the defense attorney is the one that is fight for their freedom and rights to have a fair...

Words: 414 - Pages: 2

Premium Essay

Courtroom Players

...Courtroom Players Response There are several components or key players that work together to make a courtroom function; each role is needed to successfully complete a trial. There are two categories of participants in a trial: professionals and outsiders or nonprofessional courtroom participants. The group of professionals is what is known as a courtroom work group. A courtroom workgroup includes judges, prosecuting and defense attorneys, and many others who earn their living by serving the court (Schmalleger 2012, p.312). A courtroom work group must interact with each other on a daily basis in order to keep the courtroom functioning properly. The group must work together in order to form stable working relationships and work toward the common goal of effectively delivering justice. “Stable and familiar relationships among the group members are more likely to lead to close working relationships. This often leads to better negotiations, less reliance on formalities, more utilization of informal arrangements, and the creation of cooperative relationships. Group interactions play a significant role in the way that one group member responds to another” (Mays, Chapter 3, 2011). One of the major key players in the work group is the prosecutor. Schmalleger (2011) stated, the prosecutor is “an attorney whose official duty is to conduct criminal proceedings on behalf of the state or the people against those accused of having committed criminal offenses” (p. 315). The prosecutor...

Words: 828 - Pages: 4