Court Room Work Group

Courtroom Work Group

Joseph R. Bain

CJA/204

Dec. 13, 2013

Tracy Webb

The Courtroom Work Group

        Inside of any courtroom consists a group of primary, secondary and ancillary personnel performing a myriad of support functions and services. Your primary role players are the officers of the court. Specifically the judge, the prosecutor and the defense attorney. Secondary characters of the court are the defendant, the court reporter, witnesses, and the jury. The people fulfilling ancillary functions or support functions are the court clerk, the bailiff and thee press/media and spectators. This workgroup is the grease applied to the very wheel of justice each doing its part to move the process along in pursuit of “justice.”

Understanding the Primary Members and Roles

        Judges, whether State or Federal have a duty to seek justice while protecting the rights of both, the accused and interests of the state/ government. In the courtroom workgroup, the judge holds ultimately authority over all other members of the group. The judge is charged with maintaining order in the court, sentencing offenders, managing court staff, scheduling court cases, train new judges, and coordinate with other courtroom work group members.

        Federal Judges are nominated by the President of the United States and appointed by the Senate following confirmation. State Judgeships are awarded one of two ways, popular vote and gubernatorial appointment.

        Prosecutors are more commonly known as District Attorney’s or simply DA’s. This is because prosecutors are usually employed by and represent the District Attorney’s Office and by extension the government. The district attorney’s duty is to seek justice on behalf of the victim and the community by attempting to secure society from criminal actions.

 In so doing, the district attorney must review a case and determine whether to seek charges based on the facts of the case and evidence. When there is sufficient evidence to file charges the district attorney decides how many charges can be filed against said offender. The district attorney can also negotiate plea bargains on behalf of the people (state).

        Defense Attorneys fall into two categories, Public Defender and Private Criminal Attorney. The defendant in the case can either be appointed a public defender free of charge or seek to hire private counsel. Regardless, defense attorneys support and protect the civil rights of the accused in court. Defense attorneys are charged with protecting the rights of the accused from the criminal justice system. Defense attorneys enlist the services of investigators, defense experts, and character witnesses in building a defense strategy. The defense attorney has a duty to challenge the prosecutor’s (district attorney) case and also negotiates plea bargains on behalf of the accused. The defense attorney is 1/3 advocate, 1/3 officer of the court and 1/3 minister of justice.

        Quite simply the district attorney and defense attorney have an adversarial relationship much like two boxers in a ring and the judge is the referee, ensuring that a good clean fight is held and rules of the ring are adhered to and respected.

Secondary Members and Roles

        The Jury has a responsibility to hear testimony from witness, weigh evidence and ultimately decide guilt or innocence based on the facts of the case. The jury normally consists of twelve people and two alternates. The jury will decide guilt or innocence but the judge will prescribe the punishment.

        The defendant (the accused) moves thru the criminal justice system from arrest to booking, leading up to preliminary hearing and eventually trial. Along the way the defendant is provided a defense attorney (either private counsel or public defender) or can elect to represent himself. The defendant is involved in the plea process and appeal process.

        The jury will rely heavily on the evidence in considering guilt or innocence. Witnesses are important workgroup members. The testimony given by various witnesses will either help bolster the prosecutor’s case or allow the defense to create doubt and tip the jury in the defendant’s favor. The jury normally will hear from character witnesses, lay witnesses, victims, expert witnesses, i.e., gang expert, narcotics expert, firearms expert, ballistics expert, forensics expert, crime scene analysis expert. Witnesses provide information, facts and opinions for the jury to weigh in determining the defendant’s guilt or innocence.

        Lastly, the court reporter and the bailiff are also considered to be secondary courtroom members. The court reporter types a written record of everything that occurs in the courtroom. Also known as a stenographer the court reporter must keep an accurate record for purposes of appellate court review and appeals.

        The bailiff maintains safety and order at the behest of the judge. The Bailiff if an armed law enforcement officer. In Los Angeles the bailiffs are LA County Sheriffs Deputies. In federal court the bailiffs are US Marshals.